Team rebuilds homes in Sri Lanka

Until recently, people in Sisters had never heard of Hikkaduwa.

Last week, a group of Sisters men returned from the village after spending their time, sweat and money rebuilding homes for families devastated by last December’s earthquake and tsunami.

Sisters Habitat for Humanity team leader Woodie Woodsum and Three Sisters Fellowship Pastor Mike Boswell quickly organized 11 men to become the first Habitat team from the United States to build shelter for the victims.

Hikkaduwa sits on the coast of the tropical island of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean, southeast of India. This fishing village and former tourist destination was hard hit by the natural disaster which struck the day after Christmas.

The men spent 10 days building the footings and walls for eight homes, and completing the roof and windows on one of them.

“This process is going to take years,” said Woodsum, noting the huge scale of death and devastation.

His team braved mosquitoes, 100-degree heat, and “the smell of death everywhere” to begin rebuilding the village. The Sri Lankan men also worked to clean up their village.

“They were hauling off garbage in a broken down wheelbarrow,” said Woodsum of the efforts of the locals who “worked like mules.”

“You could see in their eyes there was hope,” said Woodsum.

He said the local families built shacks next to the site for their new home where they nailed burlap to a wooden frame for a bed. They cooked outside over wood splinters. Woodsum said despite the “relentless” heat and wreckage from the disaster, the people were “immaculate” and sent their children to school each day. The local families were gracious and offered them tea. However, Woodsum said some locals could not understand that the team volunteered to build houses rather than working for money.

Pastor Mike Boswell said he was thankful to have been a part of the trip but “we wish we could do more.”

He said, “It’s so different when you see it on the news to when you talk with someone there.”

He said after talking with the local families about their losses, team members couldn’t help but think of their own children being lost to a disaster they couldn’t see coming.

“They were amazingly resilient,” Boswell said of the villagers. Boswell said the stories of the people in Hikkaduwa “gripped my heart.” He talked with one boy who was playing on the beach with a friend when they saw the huge wave coming. The two boys ran through the village warning people and then headed for the hills. The boy’s friend died.

Boswell and Woodsum are talking with the national Foursquare Church and Habitat organizations to look at additional opportunities to continue to help earthquake-tsunamivictims.

“We’re going to continue to send teams,” said Woodsum of Habitat’s commitment.

After the disaster struck Southeast Asia, Habitat for Humanity International pledged to build 25,000 houses for the victims.

The Sisters volunteers brought expert building and medical skills, and their own funds to help the devastated area.

“A lot of us went on faith and credit cards,” said Boswell.

While Three Sisters Fellowship raised several thousand dollars through a thrift sale and other donations, the volunteers may still need to pay for part of the trip out of their own pocket. The trip cost several thousand dollars per person for travel and inoculations.

The team is sharing stories this Sunday, April 3, at Three Sisters Fellowship, 442 Trinity Way, at 6 p.m.