Indian woman helping to rebuild Sri Lanka with the 'Hansa' Pre School
(17 July 2009)

Indian woman Lina Desai, together with her husband Pritesh Desai, has been helping to rebuild Sri Lanka following the traumatic effects of the Asian Tsunami in 2004. Mrs Desai raised funds and founded the 'Hansa' Pre School in the Uragasmanhandiya, which is 5kms inland from Bentota in a region that was devastated by the Tsunami. Named after her late mother Mrs Hansa Patel, who was a teacher and keen enthusiast for girls education, the Hansa Pre School officially opened in August 2007. Described as a beautiful education facility, the school is now at full capacity, catering for 70 three to six year olds in the morning and over 250 children enrolled at the English language classes in the afternoons. The Desais have personally donated thousands to help build the school and create a state-of-art library and IT suite.

In the first four months alone the Hansa Pre School library had enrolled a staggering 1,400 members for the library, with some children travelling up to 16kms to get there! At the start of 2009 there were over 2,500 members who have joined from 64 different schools and the library has recently been acknowledged as the best quality, fastest growing facility outside the capital. There is still a great demand for new books and the pair continue to welcome donations for this fantastic facility, which has become a beacon in the local community. "Enormous thanks are due to Lina and Pritesh Desai and The Asia Foundation for their continued support of this project" states the Rebuilding Sri Lanka project. The Desais request donations rather than books as the requirement is for Sinhalese language texts that are best sourced locally.

Extending the Hansa Pre School into a centre for excellence

Lina and her husand plan to develop an adjoining plot of land for an extension to the hugely popular Hansa pre school - a project that needs in the region of £50,000 - £60,000 - which the pair hope to raise from family, friends and philanthropic donors. 'No one can do everything, but every one can do something' is the motto of the Rebuilding Sri Lanka project "but we both hope to do more than one thing" explained Lina "we want to develop the Hansa pre school, the library and IT suite as a centre of excellence for this region. We won't be moving onto the next thing, or the next project because RSL have done a brilliant job and we can see the benefits to the community with our own eyes".

The pair have visited Sri Lanka every year since 2004 and supervised the Hansa Pre School project since its inception. Lina, a pharmacist, also uses her professional skills to assist local hospitals to source the right medications, improve hygiene and find further information on treatments, when she visits the country.

About Rebuilding Sri Lanka

The Asian tsunami on the 26 December 2004 killed almost 40,000 people in Sri Lanka. Most of the small, coastal villages in southern and eastern Sri Lanka were completely destroyed with over a million people left homeless. 'Rebuilding Sri Lanka' (RSL) has been active since the day of the disaster and continues to provide sustained support, rehabilitation and shelter to these shattered communities. The organisation is now in its fifth year of post-tsunami relief and development work. A great deal has been achieved since the disaster in 2004. Donations have enabled RSL to improve the lives of thousands of people in Sri Lanka and the UK registered charity (number 1109622) has raised £800,000 to date.

"However, the reality is that there is still a great deal of work to be done to help rehabilitate these communities. The civil war in Sri Lanka is one of the worlds most protracted and bloodiest conflicts and the results are exacerbating the already dire conditions in the North and North East. Over 500,000 people have already been displaced, adding to the figure of those still struggling to recover from the affects of the tsunami." explained Clare Allen Crook - Trustee of RSL. "The need for help remains critical. Additionally the economy is fragile and many people are going hungry as a result. It is estimated that 22% of children under five are now malnourished. In so many ways they need our assistance more than ever before. Please continue to support us so that we can respond to the problems they are facing in Sri Lanka. Together we can make a real and lasting difference".

Visit www.rebuildingsrilanka.org.uk for further information or to make a donation. Lina and Pritesh Desai are also welcoming direct donations for the Hansa Pre School - you can contact them via the Redhotcurry.com office (T: 01707 269 660).