Sri Lanka

We are pleased to announce the completion of our tsunami reconstruction project in Sri Lanka. With the support of our donors, we raised over $25,000 to make a direct impact on the lives of 41 families in the coastal village of Panama in southeastern Sri Lanka. SELF teamed with the Rebuild Sri Lanka Solar Initiative, a program of the Rebuild Sri Lanka Trust, and Rebuild Sri Lanka collaborated on the ground with India-based SELCO to install solar power systems in 41 homes. The installations began in December 2005 and were completed at the end of January 2006. A solar-powered pumping system (to pump water from a deep well) will also be installed in June, after the southwest monsoon fills the well. The central location of a water pump will be an invaluable help to families who currently have to travel long distances everyday for fresh water.

A renewable source of energy is a simple but spectacularly effective gift. Even as you read this, children in the village of Panama can study at night. Women can see clearly in the early morning when they get up to cook. Families can listen to the radio and watch television and stay connected to their community and the world. Solar power is bringing a measure of self-sufficiency to people in Panama who were emotionally and financially devastated by the tsunami.