28th December 2009
It’s been another fantastic week here at the Seenigama Sport project, with a whole host of different experiences. However, one of the main ones took place a long way from the sunny palm frond environs of Seenigama, but required just the same level of physical exertion if not more.
I was invited by the Laureus contact out here to climb Adam’s Peak with her and her parents on Christmas day. Given the way I knew my family and friends would be spending the day I thought it would be fun to do something a little different. Adam’s Peak, or Sri Pada as it’s known in Sinhalese, at 7500ft high is the second highest peak in the country and a special site of religious pilgrimage for Buddhists. The climb starts from the village of Dalhousie, which is a 7 hour bumpy twisty ride from here. Having left just after lunch, we arrived at our guest house just after 9pm in time to wolf down a huge plate of fried rice before heading straight to bed. It was lights out at 10pm as the alarm was set for just after 2am! Somewhat bleary eyed we met in the reception and at 2.30am started walking. As we’d been told, the route is lined with little kiosks ready to sell pilgrims bottles of water, cups of tea, roties or sickly sweet blocks of ant covered congealed honey (at least one aspect of which was not intentional)! However, contrary to what we’d been told the temperature was positively balmy compared to back home, particularly once we’d started climbing the never ending supply of steps, and the layers were quickly peeled off as we steamed our way to the top. The climb was pretty tough going even for someone like me, and I’m considered pretty fit, so I was very impressed by the number of elderly people doing it or those carrying small children and particularly by those doing it in bare feet! The ascent itself took about 3 hours. After a chilly hour watching the sun rise at the temple at the top (where those layers finally came in handy) it was time for the long slow painful descent and we eventually hobbled back into our hotel at 9am, however not before taking in the sensational vistas that the mountain affords.
After another twisty bumpy ride we arrived back in Seenigama just as Xmas day was coming to a close and in time for the Tsunami commemoration service. Various services happen throughout the day and the sound of monks’ prayers resonate from speakers dotted round the village. Seenigama’s main service takes place at the temple, which rather poignantly, in addition to its normal use, is now used as the designated meeting point should such a disaster strike again. Everyone was wearing white, as is the tradition with religious occasions. There are tiny oil lamps dotted all over the village, with a confluence at the temple itself, leading up to a tower of lamps, each one inscribed with the name of one of those who lost their lives. Although most people have managed to successfully move on from the disaster, in large part thanks to the work of the Foundation of Goodness, occasions such as these provide a necessary time for reflection, resulting in an inevitable and palpable air of sadness that impossible for anyone who has not been through a disaster on such scale to fully comprehend.
This is in stark contrast to everyday life at Seenigama, which is constantly filled with the noises of all the various activities going on: splashes of water from the pool, bouncing of netballs on the gravel court and the almost constant sound of leather against willow, which I’m becoming quite accustomed to and really rather enjoying. In addition, a lot of people are all too aware of the ‘positive’ impacts of the disaster. As one project leader said it has been a “blessing in disguise” as the village would have been very unlikely to have received anywhere near the same level of outside support should it not have happened. An uncomfortable truth maybe, but possibly a pragmatic one nevertheless and exemplary of the positive attitude that pervades Sri Lanka.
