Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka
By penfold Benadryl how much antihistamine , May 18, 2008
A?a??A?a surf trip to a country struggling through the aftermath of tsunamic devestation whilst in the grip of civil war certainly leaves you with some intense and varied emotional responses – the most potent being at the epicenter of destruction on the east coast at buy trimox Arugam Bay. At times the despair and futility of life there could be overwhelming but then miraculously overshadowed by the genuine joy and laughter of the local children playing innocently in the water that swept away lives that they will only ever know about through story telling from the survivors.
The world was told that this country had been rebuilt and that the millions of dollars that left the western world found itA?a??a??s rightful place sheltering and feeding families but we saw little evidence of that – a half built housing complex with a billboard thanking A?a??E?OprahA?a??a?? or dozens of unused fishing boats. It seems a lot of good things were started with the best of intentions but many projects still remain unfinishedA?a??A?
What we did find were a few good people taking small but vital steps towards rebuilding a forgotten corner of the planet. One being Tim from Paddle 4 relief – a Devon surfer that has made Sri Lanka his home. Disgusted by the horrendous mishandling of funds he started his own charity – organising sponsored paddling events and small gigs in the UK to raise cash that would go directly to the people that needed it. A new pre-school has been built, water supplies cleaned and roofs mended. A plea in the West country for used surfboards produced the start of the Arugam Bay surf club and swimming school.
Of course itA?a??a??s not all about saving lives and digging wells – Tim still finds time to drop in on a few mates at the point every day getting his 9A?a??A? 6A?a??A? nicely slotted into the face of one of the best rights in the Bay of BengalA?a??A?
I didnA?a??a??t surf today but I did sneak a few off the locals at Abay a couple of weeks ago.
Walling, peeling, walling, peeling, walling, peeling, hmmmA?a??A?..
Arugam Forum
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Press Coverage
Surf Forecast for Arugam Bay
# Daddy Papersurfer Says:
May 18th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
I’m convinced that small, very personal charitable works are much more efficient than the large ‘catch all’ ones. Hurrah for Tim – and he’s finding time to have some fun as well.
As a long term expat living in Arugam Bay I can endorse the good work Tim is doing locally!
If we had 5 or 6 more individuals like Tim:
A lot, lot more would have been achieved by now – 3 years thereafter.
The BIG organizations managed to spend your precious donations – mainly on themselves, their own job security and elaborate lifestyle, Jeeps, travel, PR exercises, etc.
The local Tamils don’t call them “NGO’s” but “ENJOY’s” – which is quite fitting, as they truly enjoy their cushy stay in the sun in SL.
I suggest never to donate anything to large organizations, but support small, devoted guys like Tim!
Fred & Family
SVH Team
& Arugam Hotel Association
Arugam Bay