Looking for a house for a district center in Ke Galle
House Discussion Contemplation
Road Traffic Scene
Gampha District Center
Gampha district center Five Stage of Village Development
Gampha Samadhi
Headquarters
Sarvodaya Main Entrance
Front yard of my guest house
Colombo
A vendor at Galle Place
Beach at Mt. Lavinia
Sand and Sea Jenniffer Playing football
Enjoying the evening Resturant Sand
Sunset Sunset
Veshva Lekha
Entrance
Publication display
Saturday, November 19, 2005
Friday, November 18, 2005
Singapore Photos
Singapore
China town
China town flee market
Little India
Glittering Mall
Inside a Mall
Symbol of Singapore
Orchard Road
Rollerblade Marketer
A six year old Musician
A street vendor looks on
Christmas Already
Busy Orchard Road
Orchid
Diana Orchird
Little Turtle
Lake
Symphony theater
Bridge
Performing Arts Center
Temple
China town
China town flee market
Little India
Glittering Mall
Inside a Mall
Symbol of Singapore
Orchard Road
Rollerblade Marketer
A six year old Musician
A street vendor looks on
Christmas Already
Busy Orchard Road
Orchid
Diana Orchird
Little Turtle
Lake
Symphony theater
Bridge
Performing Arts Center
Temple
Post Election Unofficial Holiday in Sri Lanka
It’s so boring and everything around here is quiet. Even though today is not a holiday, only a few showed up to work. Many people had gone to their homes far away from Colombo, to vote. Many of the shops are closed and streets usually crowded with people and vehicles are empty. There seemed to be a threat of unstable political situation on immediate aftermath of election but no such activities have been reported. Even the election yesterday was quite peaceful. Matter of fact, this was one of the most peaceful elections in recent memory in Sri Lanka.
Around noon today, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajpakse was declared the winner of the presidential election with a narrow margin with about 50.8 percent over 48.8 percent of Ranil Wickermasingha. The election was awfully close. Secretly, I was routing for Ranil, in the hopes that he might be effective in establishing the peace as he was the one who signed the cease fire agreement in 2002 but ....alas…
Sarvodaya as business:
Sarvodaya is not only a large NGO but it also runs some large businesses. One of its income generating activities is running a complete printing company called Sarvodaya Vishva Lekha. Just now I had an opportunity to visit the facility with Dr. Ariyaratne. There I met Mr. Susiri de Silva, Managing Director, of the Vishva Lekha, who walked to me through the facility. The facility is spread over 2 acres of land and houses entire facility required for printing from design to printing, binding, and cutting. There were several large printers – some huge, some small, that print from one color to four color and small diaries to big posters. Mr. de Silva told me he started the business in 1982 from almost nothing and has steadily grown to become one of the most successful printing house in Colombo. The total annual revenue is SLRs. 300 million ($3 million).
It is amazing that one of the preeminent non-profit organization is also running one of the most successful company. May be it is not too surprising but I did wonder how one deals with the need to be competitive and efficient in the area where business contracts are often dealt in a shadowy manner. Mr. de Silva said the business was built completely on merits. The Vishva Lekha has many awards under its belt and these days they don’t need to go for business.
Around noon today, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajpakse was declared the winner of the presidential election with a narrow margin with about 50.8 percent over 48.8 percent of Ranil Wickermasingha. The election was awfully close. Secretly, I was routing for Ranil, in the hopes that he might be effective in establishing the peace as he was the one who signed the cease fire agreement in 2002 but ....alas…
Sarvodaya as business:
Sarvodaya is not only a large NGO but it also runs some large businesses. One of its income generating activities is running a complete printing company called Sarvodaya Vishva Lekha. Just now I had an opportunity to visit the facility with Dr. Ariyaratne. There I met Mr. Susiri de Silva, Managing Director, of the Vishva Lekha, who walked to me through the facility. The facility is spread over 2 acres of land and houses entire facility required for printing from design to printing, binding, and cutting. There were several large printers – some huge, some small, that print from one color to four color and small diaries to big posters. Mr. de Silva told me he started the business in 1982 from almost nothing and has steadily grown to become one of the most successful printing house in Colombo. The total annual revenue is SLRs. 300 million ($3 million).
It is amazing that one of the preeminent non-profit organization is also running one of the most successful company. May be it is not too surprising but I did wonder how one deals with the need to be competitive and efficient in the area where business contracts are often dealt in a shadowy manner. Mr. de Silva said the business was built completely on merits. The Vishva Lekha has many awards under its belt and these days they don’t need to go for business.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Election day at the beach
November 17
November 17, 2005
Today’s was the presidential election in the country. This meant half a day off for Sarvodaya workers. But, since many of the workers live out of town and they have gone to their home to cast their vote. Thus, many of the offices were empty and I couldn’t do much. Early in the morning I met with Mr. Emily Anthony of Sarvodaya Economic Empowerment Services (SEEDS). Mr. Anthony walked me through the various activities of SEEDS. The three main activities that SEEDS is involved, in creating economic empowerment, are encouraging collective savings, providing small scale loans (micro-financing), and conducting entrepreneurship development training. The loans start at SLRs. 20,000 ($200) and interest rate is about 22%. I had always thought interest rate for micro-lending was about 6 to 7%, Mr. Anthony told me it ranges to 30 to 40% internationally, including in Bangladesh.
Mr. Anthony told me that SEEDS is attempting to register itself as a finance company but because of high capital requirement it hasn’t been able to do so. He told me there is a shortfall of about SLRs. 200 million ($200,000) and asked whether Sarvodaya USA could help in mobilizing such fund. I assured him that I will try my best. Given that Gordon, chair of our board, is involved in such activities and had helped setting up the largest micro-finance company in Haiti, I thought he might be interested and willing to help.
Later in the day, I joined a group of foreigners to go to a nearby beach in Mt. Lavinia. I was with three American volunteers, a Japanese volunteer, and a Austrian worker. We went for there at 2 Pm, swam at the beach all day, read books, discussed about Sarvodaya and other matters, had a dinner at beach side restaurant, and returned back in the evening.
Christopher was very critical of Sarvodaya organization. He said that organization is too top down, very Buddhist meaning the organization lacks the fair representation of minority communities especially that of Tamil and Muslims. He wanted me to be aware of discontent and difficulty Sarvodaya faces as competition has ensued in non-profit world in the post-tsunami era for the skilled manpower. He also said that within Sarvodaya there are two factions, one that is attempting to change the organization towards more inclusive and efficient organization and the other that wants to remain as it is and don’t really care much about inclusiveness and fair representation of other communities.
Despite the philosophies of empowering people, Sarvodaya organization seems to be entangled in the same problems that any other organization runs into once it gets larger. According to Christopher organization runs completely against its philosophies of empowering people as every little decision has to clear through the highest echelon of the organization. The mundane matters like changing a panel of window in a district center office first goes of up the chain of command and only when cleared by highest official does can one act. This means inefficiency, centralization, and waste of resources.
However, Sarvodaya seem to have fabulous track record in empowering the poor people in the country. Unlike many of the NGOs that actually end of working with the rich and powerful (richest of the poor), Sarvodaya, even Christopher acknowledged, works for the benefit for the poorest of the poor. It has actually empowered poor people and its social mobilization has been remarkable.
The next challenge for Sarvodaya is how to remain attractive for the qualified and skilled manpower given that many international INGOs have come with lots of monies at hand after the tsunami. The challenge also is in being more inclusive and shading its Buddhist identity. Even though Sarvodaya and Dr. Ariyaratne himself have championed peace as a central to Sarvodaya’s activities, a major roadblock is its Buddhist and Sinhala identity. Despite the rhetoric that Sarvodaya doesn’t condone any religion, the presence of Sarvodaya is in heavily Sinhalese area- in the middle and south of the country. It seems that Sarvodaya is in transition as the leadership has come to young people from the founders of the movement. In the lack of charisma of Dr. Ariyaratne, to survive Sarvodaya would need to transform itself into an efficient organization. The onus to prove is in new leadership.
November 17, 2005
Today’s was the presidential election in the country. This meant half a day off for Sarvodaya workers. But, since many of the workers live out of town and they have gone to their home to cast their vote. Thus, many of the offices were empty and I couldn’t do much. Early in the morning I met with Mr. Emily Anthony of Sarvodaya Economic Empowerment Services (SEEDS). Mr. Anthony walked me through the various activities of SEEDS. The three main activities that SEEDS is involved, in creating economic empowerment, are encouraging collective savings, providing small scale loans (micro-financing), and conducting entrepreneurship development training. The loans start at SLRs. 20,000 ($200) and interest rate is about 22%. I had always thought interest rate for micro-lending was about 6 to 7%, Mr. Anthony told me it ranges to 30 to 40% internationally, including in Bangladesh.
Mr. Anthony told me that SEEDS is attempting to register itself as a finance company but because of high capital requirement it hasn’t been able to do so. He told me there is a shortfall of about SLRs. 200 million ($200,000) and asked whether Sarvodaya USA could help in mobilizing such fund. I assured him that I will try my best. Given that Gordon, chair of our board, is involved in such activities and had helped setting up the largest micro-finance company in Haiti, I thought he might be interested and willing to help.
Later in the day, I joined a group of foreigners to go to a nearby beach in Mt. Lavinia. I was with three American volunteers, a Japanese volunteer, and a Austrian worker. We went for there at 2 Pm, swam at the beach all day, read books, discussed about Sarvodaya and other matters, had a dinner at beach side restaurant, and returned back in the evening.
Christopher was very critical of Sarvodaya organization. He said that organization is too top down, very Buddhist meaning the organization lacks the fair representation of minority communities especially that of Tamil and Muslims. He wanted me to be aware of discontent and difficulty Sarvodaya faces as competition has ensued in non-profit world in the post-tsunami era for the skilled manpower. He also said that within Sarvodaya there are two factions, one that is attempting to change the organization towards more inclusive and efficient organization and the other that wants to remain as it is and don’t really care much about inclusiveness and fair representation of other communities.
Despite the philosophies of empowering people, Sarvodaya organization seems to be entangled in the same problems that any other organization runs into once it gets larger. According to Christopher organization runs completely against its philosophies of empowering people as every little decision has to clear through the highest echelon of the organization. The mundane matters like changing a panel of window in a district center office first goes of up the chain of command and only when cleared by highest official does can one act. This means inefficiency, centralization, and waste of resources.
However, Sarvodaya seem to have fabulous track record in empowering the poor people in the country. Unlike many of the NGOs that actually end of working with the rich and powerful (richest of the poor), Sarvodaya, even Christopher acknowledged, works for the benefit for the poorest of the poor. It has actually empowered poor people and its social mobilization has been remarkable.
The next challenge for Sarvodaya is how to remain attractive for the qualified and skilled manpower given that many international INGOs have come with lots of monies at hand after the tsunami. The challenge also is in being more inclusive and shading its Buddhist identity. Even though Sarvodaya and Dr. Ariyaratne himself have championed peace as a central to Sarvodaya’s activities, a major roadblock is its Buddhist and Sinhala identity. Despite the rhetoric that Sarvodaya doesn’t condone any religion, the presence of Sarvodaya is in heavily Sinhalese area- in the middle and south of the country. It seems that Sarvodaya is in transition as the leadership has come to young people from the founders of the movement. In the lack of charisma of Dr. Ariyaratne, to survive Sarvodaya would need to transform itself into an efficient organization. The onus to prove is in new leadership.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Meetings at Sarvodaya
It was a good day today little more productive. First thing in the morning I had a meeting with Mrs. Udani Mendis, the Executive Director of Sarvodaya. We discussed about several issues that are important for respective organizations. She was very gracious and took me around the Sarvodaya headquarters to meet other senior staffs. Unfortunately, many were away in the fields and out of offices. She also asked Bandula to give special priority to my needs and I was flattered.
Later, I spent some time with her at Rural Technical Service Unit (RTS), which handles all most all of the constructions activities. These days they are involved in building drinking water systems with three major donors from Europe.
A few things really struck me of Sarvodaya’s operation: First, it seems like what projects Sarvodaya takes on is dictated by donor funding and thus donor interests. I queried why the focus on “the drinking water only”. These RTS is involved in drinking water projects because “donors want that way”. Already a major donor Novitas has told Sarvodaya that they are discontinuing the project in 2008 thus the RTS either needs to find another donor or discontinue their current work. There were other examples of how donors dictate CBO (Community Based Organization). I am told in a proposed “eco village” project certain donor wanted a specific types of bricks but this was more expensive and the durability wasn’t tested.
Second thing that really struck me is the idea of “self-sustenance” of units. I was told by Mrs. Mendis again that Sarvodaya Economic Enterprise Development Services Unit (SEEDS) was “privatized” as it was self sustaining. It has a separate board of directors and works independently. While the concept of the self sustenance and independence is so much part of Sarvodaya philosophy, I wondered what happens when the conflict of interest arises between what Sarvodaya wants (what’s its philosophy dictates) and what SEEDS wants as a private and separate entity. I asked Mrs. Mendis, she said “ya there already are problems” but she didn’t elaborate what they were.
Similarly, Mrs. Mendis told me that the RTS, given that a major donor was withdrawing in next few years, is looking into ways of self sustaining itself. One of the projects they were thinking was to start a business of selling bottled water. While a very nice idea and I am told there are several businesses that Sarvodaya is involved in for example printing press, crafts etc., selling of bottle water, for me, seems to me against the philosophies of Sarvodaya, which rejects mass market consumerism and supports self-sustained village units with a major focus on sustainable development. It seems Sarvodaya is not only a major NGO it is also a major private entity. Later in the day, I learnt that a sinfincant portion of Sarvodaya’s operating budge comes from this businesses and makes up to a major portion of endowment fund, which has grown to about SLRs 130 million from about Rs. 75 million in last seven years.
Late in the day, I spent time with Mr. Saman Algoda, Executive Finance Director. Mr. Algoda is a young but talented individual with degrees in Accounting (CPA) and MBA. At times, he is self-flattering, nevertheless a good person. A lot of what I wanted to achieve here had to clear from his desks. We discussed about linking up some of our large donors with a project here and decided that we would dedicate housing projects to them. Again a few things were out of place, I am told, contrary to my understanding, that when they receive funds from us, they don’t receive any instructions. This is really not a good thing as some of the money we have sent is designated funds. Another thing he said was when they receive funds from the internet their bank only provides them with the amount and credit card number but the name and other relevant information. I was hoping to collect the name and other information of donors for our database.
Later in the evening, Mr. Algoda took me around to Colombo. He drives a Sarvodaya given Nissan Santra. One thing really has surprised me here is there are more cars and motorbikes, and most of the cars seem to be Japanese. In Nepal, motorcycles and scores of Indian cars dominate the street.
The Galle Road, a long road stretch, which is a main road from Colombo to the south of the country, is the main center of business, public and private life. Not only the big shopping complexes but banks, hotels, and public buildings stand by the streets. We stopped at the Galle Place a nice open space by the sea. I recalled that this was the place where I had seen the sea for the first time in my life when I had come to Sri Lanka for SAARC quiz. The place was packed with people taking a stroll or just enjoying the nice cool breeze, the waves slammed into the walls and vendors were busy selling foods and balloons.
As we returned back, Mr. Algoda took me to a very nice hotel called Mt Lavinia for the dinner. It is one of the finest hotels in Sri Lanka and the building must have been a colonial era palace. It was by a very beautiful beach and beach side restaurants. However, I ended up passing the dinner as I don’t like sea foods. At the end, we ended up having dinner at a local run down restaurant by the Sarvodaya headquarters. By passing, I might have saved the day for Mr. Algoda, I traded Rs.3,000 a plate of dinner for Rs.150 ones. Later I joked, “Sarvodaya workers shouldn’t be eating at such places.” He smiled said “I just wanted you to see all aspects of Sri Lanka, when you go to villages next week, you will see another Sri Lanka”.
Later, I spent some time with her at Rural Technical Service Unit (RTS), which handles all most all of the constructions activities. These days they are involved in building drinking water systems with three major donors from Europe.
A few things really struck me of Sarvodaya’s operation: First, it seems like what projects Sarvodaya takes on is dictated by donor funding and thus donor interests. I queried why the focus on “the drinking water only”. These RTS is involved in drinking water projects because “donors want that way”. Already a major donor Novitas has told Sarvodaya that they are discontinuing the project in 2008 thus the RTS either needs to find another donor or discontinue their current work. There were other examples of how donors dictate CBO (Community Based Organization). I am told in a proposed “eco village” project certain donor wanted a specific types of bricks but this was more expensive and the durability wasn’t tested.
Second thing that really struck me is the idea of “self-sustenance” of units. I was told by Mrs. Mendis again that Sarvodaya Economic Enterprise Development Services Unit (SEEDS) was “privatized” as it was self sustaining. It has a separate board of directors and works independently. While the concept of the self sustenance and independence is so much part of Sarvodaya philosophy, I wondered what happens when the conflict of interest arises between what Sarvodaya wants (what’s its philosophy dictates) and what SEEDS wants as a private and separate entity. I asked Mrs. Mendis, she said “ya there already are problems” but she didn’t elaborate what they were.
Similarly, Mrs. Mendis told me that the RTS, given that a major donor was withdrawing in next few years, is looking into ways of self sustaining itself. One of the projects they were thinking was to start a business of selling bottled water. While a very nice idea and I am told there are several businesses that Sarvodaya is involved in for example printing press, crafts etc., selling of bottle water, for me, seems to me against the philosophies of Sarvodaya, which rejects mass market consumerism and supports self-sustained village units with a major focus on sustainable development. It seems Sarvodaya is not only a major NGO it is also a major private entity. Later in the day, I learnt that a sinfincant portion of Sarvodaya’s operating budge comes from this businesses and makes up to a major portion of endowment fund, which has grown to about SLRs 130 million from about Rs. 75 million in last seven years.
Late in the day, I spent time with Mr. Saman Algoda, Executive Finance Director. Mr. Algoda is a young but talented individual with degrees in Accounting (CPA) and MBA. At times, he is self-flattering, nevertheless a good person. A lot of what I wanted to achieve here had to clear from his desks. We discussed about linking up some of our large donors with a project here and decided that we would dedicate housing projects to them. Again a few things were out of place, I am told, contrary to my understanding, that when they receive funds from us, they don’t receive any instructions. This is really not a good thing as some of the money we have sent is designated funds. Another thing he said was when they receive funds from the internet their bank only provides them with the amount and credit card number but the name and other relevant information. I was hoping to collect the name and other information of donors for our database.
Later in the evening, Mr. Algoda took me around to Colombo. He drives a Sarvodaya given Nissan Santra. One thing really has surprised me here is there are more cars and motorbikes, and most of the cars seem to be Japanese. In Nepal, motorcycles and scores of Indian cars dominate the street.
The Galle Road, a long road stretch, which is a main road from Colombo to the south of the country, is the main center of business, public and private life. Not only the big shopping complexes but banks, hotels, and public buildings stand by the streets. We stopped at the Galle Place a nice open space by the sea. I recalled that this was the place where I had seen the sea for the first time in my life when I had come to Sri Lanka for SAARC quiz. The place was packed with people taking a stroll or just enjoying the nice cool breeze, the waves slammed into the walls and vendors were busy selling foods and balloons.
As we returned back, Mr. Algoda took me to a very nice hotel called Mt Lavinia for the dinner. It is one of the finest hotels in Sri Lanka and the building must have been a colonial era palace. It was by a very beautiful beach and beach side restaurants. However, I ended up passing the dinner as I don’t like sea foods. At the end, we ended up having dinner at a local run down restaurant by the Sarvodaya headquarters. By passing, I might have saved the day for Mr. Algoda, I traded Rs.3,000 a plate of dinner for Rs.150 ones. Later I joked, “Sarvodaya workers shouldn’t be eating at such places.” He smiled said “I just wanted you to see all aspects of Sri Lanka, when you go to villages next week, you will see another Sri Lanka”.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
In Sri Lanka
7:30 PM, November 15th
November 14th, Day one in Lanka
I arrived in Sri Lanka little after mid-night on the 14th. Mr. Wijayaratne (pronounce Vijayaratna) of Sarvodaya International Unit had come to pick me up with a vehicle and the driver. Sarvodaya headquarter was almost two hours South from the international airport. When we got to the headquarters it was about 2:30 AM. I was put at a guest house by School for Deaf Children. It’s a one story house with two rooms, a living room, a kitchen. The room had two twin sized bed with beautiful green mosquito nets attached to it. It has been a while I had used the mosquito nets. Even though, it’s somewhat humid temperature was at 24 degree centigrade and was raining. Immediately, I slept and woke up only at 11 AM.
Around noon, Mr. Wijayaratne came to pick me up. He mentioned he had ferried twice already. Obviously, I was deep into sleep and I had no clue. But, after that long trip and time difference, I didn’t feel a need for to be too much apologetic.
Bandula, chief of International Unit at Sarvodaya, seemed busy with other group and had little time for me. Even though, we were to discuss my program we couldn’t talk until late in the evening. There is one group from Netherlands and other individuals, which seem to have occupied Bandula. And, the two staff he has are new to the unit and have little information for me. Thus, most of the day I spent hoping to get to talk to him. I had little idea what I could do plus language barriers make things little difficult to do on my own.
In the afternoon, Dri Ariyaratne, founder of Sarvodaya, came by the International Unit to fetch me. We walked to his house, which is inside the headquarters, and chatted for a bit and together we walked to Deaf School, he wanted me to introduce to the principal but he wasn’t around and Children were off the school as 15th was a holiday (Poya day – Full Moon day) and 17th is presidential election.
I had dinner at the Canteen, which is an interesting place. It is Sarvodaya staff and volunteers, by American standard it’s a pretty run down place but our South Asian standard pretty nice. Even though you pay for the meal, it’s a buffet style and everyone has to do their own dish (I thought it was really a neat idea, this way there is no sever and boss, everyone is equal true Sarvodaya spirit). During the lunch, I felt so awkward on whether or not to use my hand to eat. As I took food, a girl working there brought me a spoon and a fork (because I am the guest from America) but everywhere around me was using hand. I wanted to use hand also but I realized it was very difficult to do in public spaces (even though I eat with hand all the time at home, I don’t remember eating with hand in public spaces for a long term). Apparently, I had internalized using spoon and fork in public spaces. At the end, I used hand as I didn’t want to remove myself from the surrounding.
November 15th
I went to bed early but couldn’t sleep well. I woke up at 4 and remained awaked after that. At about 6 O’clock I took a short walk around the Sarvodaya headquarter, it was as if I was in Nepal. I could have been walking in any place in terai, similar roads, similar houses, shops lined by the road while a thela wala stood to sell hot tea and bread. The billboards stood exactly the same way as they would have been in Nepal except for it’s language. Even one video store had posters of Hindi films – Salam Namaste and Ajnabee along with some English movie posters.
Dr. Ariyaratne had invited me to for breakfast at his place and later on to go to Kegalle to site visit. I dutifully followed as it was a holiday and offices would be closed. We took off at about 8:45 in the morning in Sarvodaya owned vehicles. I was with three senior staffs of Sarvodaya. This gave me an opportunity to get to know them and talk a little bit. Language again is a big issue, all the way, I wished I would understand Sinhalese it would make whole thing easier and experience richer.
Kegalle is a town about 90 KM (50 miles) north east of Sarvodaya Headquarters in Moratuwa. The Sri Lankan roads and traffic were again similar to Nepal’s. People drove from every in every direction without care to other vehicles. Thus, it took almost four hours to get to the place, we did stop at a point for tea for sometime.
In Kegalle, Sarvodaya needed to get a new building for district centers. We looked at a nice three story house. It was a good house with quite a chunk of land but built on hilly surface. I was told that the current district center was to be given to another project where a school for girls will be built with the cooperation Navitas and Sarvodaya. The school apparently won’t follow the tradition curriculum but a new curriculum has been designed and is labeled “live and learn”. The focus, I was told, will be in teaching life skills and not necessarily in formal education. The course is designed by former Education director of the country, who was also in the group.
On the way back we stopped at another district center, where we ran into election monitors from Afghanistan and Burundi and a Sri Lankan. As had been the theme all day, Dri Ariyaratne started to introduce me, “he is from Nepal but is the Executive Director at Sarvodaya USA. After completing his work there Shisir wants to go to Nepal and start Sarvodaya, get rid of king, and create Sarvodaya style village republics.” I started laughing even before he started that, because that’s what he is been telling whenever he introduces me. In response, he said, “Isn’t that true?” I had to concur, “that’s the plan”.
We returned back to the headquarters after 6PM. I am tired and want to sleep but then I have to eat too…..just waiting for dinner time ………….
November 14th, Day one in Lanka
I arrived in Sri Lanka little after mid-night on the 14th. Mr. Wijayaratne (pronounce Vijayaratna) of Sarvodaya International Unit had come to pick me up with a vehicle and the driver. Sarvodaya headquarter was almost two hours South from the international airport. When we got to the headquarters it was about 2:30 AM. I was put at a guest house by School for Deaf Children. It’s a one story house with two rooms, a living room, a kitchen. The room had two twin sized bed with beautiful green mosquito nets attached to it. It has been a while I had used the mosquito nets. Even though, it’s somewhat humid temperature was at 24 degree centigrade and was raining. Immediately, I slept and woke up only at 11 AM.
Around noon, Mr. Wijayaratne came to pick me up. He mentioned he had ferried twice already. Obviously, I was deep into sleep and I had no clue. But, after that long trip and time difference, I didn’t feel a need for to be too much apologetic.
Bandula, chief of International Unit at Sarvodaya, seemed busy with other group and had little time for me. Even though, we were to discuss my program we couldn’t talk until late in the evening. There is one group from Netherlands and other individuals, which seem to have occupied Bandula. And, the two staff he has are new to the unit and have little information for me. Thus, most of the day I spent hoping to get to talk to him. I had little idea what I could do plus language barriers make things little difficult to do on my own.
In the afternoon, Dri Ariyaratne, founder of Sarvodaya, came by the International Unit to fetch me. We walked to his house, which is inside the headquarters, and chatted for a bit and together we walked to Deaf School, he wanted me to introduce to the principal but he wasn’t around and Children were off the school as 15th was a holiday (Poya day – Full Moon day) and 17th is presidential election.
I had dinner at the Canteen, which is an interesting place. It is Sarvodaya staff and volunteers, by American standard it’s a pretty run down place but our South Asian standard pretty nice. Even though you pay for the meal, it’s a buffet style and everyone has to do their own dish (I thought it was really a neat idea, this way there is no sever and boss, everyone is equal true Sarvodaya spirit). During the lunch, I felt so awkward on whether or not to use my hand to eat. As I took food, a girl working there brought me a spoon and a fork (because I am the guest from America) but everywhere around me was using hand. I wanted to use hand also but I realized it was very difficult to do in public spaces (even though I eat with hand all the time at home, I don’t remember eating with hand in public spaces for a long term). Apparently, I had internalized using spoon and fork in public spaces. At the end, I used hand as I didn’t want to remove myself from the surrounding.
November 15th
I went to bed early but couldn’t sleep well. I woke up at 4 and remained awaked after that. At about 6 O’clock I took a short walk around the Sarvodaya headquarter, it was as if I was in Nepal. I could have been walking in any place in terai, similar roads, similar houses, shops lined by the road while a thela wala stood to sell hot tea and bread. The billboards stood exactly the same way as they would have been in Nepal except for it’s language. Even one video store had posters of Hindi films – Salam Namaste and Ajnabee along with some English movie posters.
Dr. Ariyaratne had invited me to for breakfast at his place and later on to go to Kegalle to site visit. I dutifully followed as it was a holiday and offices would be closed. We took off at about 8:45 in the morning in Sarvodaya owned vehicles. I was with three senior staffs of Sarvodaya. This gave me an opportunity to get to know them and talk a little bit. Language again is a big issue, all the way, I wished I would understand Sinhalese it would make whole thing easier and experience richer.
Kegalle is a town about 90 KM (50 miles) north east of Sarvodaya Headquarters in Moratuwa. The Sri Lankan roads and traffic were again similar to Nepal’s. People drove from every in every direction without care to other vehicles. Thus, it took almost four hours to get to the place, we did stop at a point for tea for sometime.
In Kegalle, Sarvodaya needed to get a new building for district centers. We looked at a nice three story house. It was a good house with quite a chunk of land but built on hilly surface. I was told that the current district center was to be given to another project where a school for girls will be built with the cooperation Navitas and Sarvodaya. The school apparently won’t follow the tradition curriculum but a new curriculum has been designed and is labeled “live and learn”. The focus, I was told, will be in teaching life skills and not necessarily in formal education. The course is designed by former Education director of the country, who was also in the group.
On the way back we stopped at another district center, where we ran into election monitors from Afghanistan and Burundi and a Sri Lankan. As had been the theme all day, Dri Ariyaratne started to introduce me, “he is from Nepal but is the Executive Director at Sarvodaya USA. After completing his work there Shisir wants to go to Nepal and start Sarvodaya, get rid of king, and create Sarvodaya style village republics.” I started laughing even before he started that, because that’s what he is been telling whenever he introduces me. In response, he said, “Isn’t that true?” I had to concur, “that’s the plan”.
We returned back to the headquarters after 6PM. I am tired and want to sleep but then I have to eat too…..just waiting for dinner time ………….
Sunday, November 13, 2005
In Singapore
8:40 PM
Changi Airport, Singapore
Immigration
As I headed towards the immigration, I was nervous. But, to my surprise I was given visa for 13 days without a single question. For the most part, I have always experienced almost a harassment or humiliation in many of the countries for carrying Nepali (for that matter third world country could be lumped together) passports. Even though, I have entered and existed United States quite a few time, it takes some endurance to get pass the immigration (more difficult is getting a visa at the embassy).
Service
After exiting the immigration and customs, I headed straight to the Singapore Visitor’s Center, where I hoped to get information about visiting the city. At the center, a friendly staff informed me that at the Terminal two there would be a shuttle bus that would take me to the city for free. He gave me a form to fill and directed towards the Skytrain that would take me to the Terminal two.
As soon as I had gotten out of the Visitor’s Center, a lady approached me, with a survey questions. She asked questions like “Was the person at Service Center Helpful?” “Did the person greet you?” “Did he say Thank You?” “Was he proactive?” Obviously, I said Yes. But, I was thinking, “god! If people are after you in such a way, obviously you will find friendly and helpful staff”. At the end of the day, I found Singapore to be filled with people that displayed extraordinary “Customer Care”.
A short Skytrain ride brought me to the Terminal One. At the Visitor’s Center, another friendly Staff Mr. Ee Tan Tang briefed me of my options. He said I could take a free shuttle to the City, where I can find a bus called “SIA Hop On”. A Singapore Airlines passenger can pay S$3.00 for a day pass that goes round the city and stops at 21 places at every half an hour. He also gave a pass that would allow me to take a shower or have a snack, at the airport terminal, upon my return later in the day.
I took 12:00 PM’s bus to the City, which took about 30 minutes. The bus stopped at Sun Tec City plaza and I was instructed to return to the same place to go back to the airport later in the evening. The Sun Tec City plaza boasted five tall office and shopping complex. In the middle was a huge fountain, world’s largest, but unfortunately I couldn’t enjoy its display as it was under construction.
From there I hopped on to the “SIA Hop On”, a bus operated by Singapore Airlines. My first step was Merlion Park. By the Singapore River, the park is a small but beautiful green space where people can take a rest or jug around. Out of the air-conditioned bus it felt hot and humid. I walked along the clean road and passed Esplanade, a performing arts center. I walked up to the statue of Merlion, a half-lion and half fish. According to the legend, prince Sang Nila Utama of the Sri Vijaya Empire rediscovered the island and sighted a beast on shore which he later learnt was a lion. The fist tail of the Merlion represents Singapore’s humble beginnings as a fishing village.
After wandering around for half an hour, I skipped the museums and old parliament to get to the bus (the bus came every half an hour). Next, I stopped by temple of Sri Mariaman. This is the oldest Hindu temple built in 1827 and is the temple of Mother Mariaman ( I don’t know what Mariaman means! Never heard of such Goddess must be one of the 3.3 billion Hindu Gods and Godess). Ironically, the temple is in the middle of China town. I walked down the China town and had a lunch of roasted chicken and noodle.
I walked pass a bus stop to enjoy the city, it is extremely well maintained. Everything was marked and to my surprise everything was in English. Public transportations seem to be quiet convenient as one bus after another stopped at the bus stop very frequently. I only saw a little of motorbikes or scooters most of the street was busy with shiny Japanese cars. Buses were colorful working as running billboards; one display struck me, “Our Taxes. Our Nation”.
My next stop was Singapore Botanical garden. This garden seemed like the only green space there is in Singapore. Needless to say, the garden was very well maintained. One major attraction was an Orchid garden. The garden boasted several breeds of orchids and has a major orchid breeding and hybridization program. Some of the hybrids are dedicated to well known visitors of the garden. Some of these dignitaries included Nelson Mandela, Margaret Thatcher, Princess Diana, and Amitab Bachhan.
From the garden, I headed to the Orchard Road. Until I had come there, I was thinking people in Singapore don’t like to come out much. Orchard road is towered by major shopping malls and hotels. The road was crowded and Christmas shopping season seem to have arrived to the road as it was already decorated and a huge decorated gate wished “Season’s greetings.” I was determined not to spend a penny but I couldn’t resist buying books when I entered this huge bookstore called KinoKuniya. I bought a book on Singapore’s history and two volumes of Lee Kwan Yew’s memoirs both of which are almost 700 pages long.
Again after an hour, I took the bus and stopped at the area called “Little India”. It is a major center for Indians. The streets were lined with stores displaying Indian clothes and jewelry. Hindi songs were booming and scores of Indian were walking or driving. Indian immigrants have been coming to the island for years and make up a significant portion of the population. Despite that fact, the Little India actually resembled India more than Singapore itself. For the first time in the city, I saw streets somewhat littered, saw police guarding there posts and people spat as they walked. It seemed Indian immigrants make a significant portion of manual labor manpower. Almost all of the people, I saw, working by the street on construction or cleaning seemed to be of Indian origins.
Finally, I returned back to Sun Tec City, where I was on time to catch free shuttle back to the airport.
Back at the airport, getting boarding pass and clearing through the security and immigration was smooth. The airport is truly world class, even the couches by the TV areas were fitted with digital sound system.
Right now, I am enjoying my complementary snacks of a coffee and cheese pizza while using my computer at the laptop access area. It is designed specifically for people who have laptops. The desk has an Ethernet and power plug on the desk.
In summary, Singapore is a big shopping mall. A true spirit of capitalism as Milton Friedman would say. This place is filled with malls everywhere and it comes with the service that is exception. No wonder people like shopping here.
It’s about 9:45 PM, I have about an hour for my flight to Sri Lanka.
Changi Airport, Singapore
Immigration
As I headed towards the immigration, I was nervous. But, to my surprise I was given visa for 13 days without a single question. For the most part, I have always experienced almost a harassment or humiliation in many of the countries for carrying Nepali (for that matter third world country could be lumped together) passports. Even though, I have entered and existed United States quite a few time, it takes some endurance to get pass the immigration (more difficult is getting a visa at the embassy).
Service
After exiting the immigration and customs, I headed straight to the Singapore Visitor’s Center, where I hoped to get information about visiting the city. At the center, a friendly staff informed me that at the Terminal two there would be a shuttle bus that would take me to the city for free. He gave me a form to fill and directed towards the Skytrain that would take me to the Terminal two.
As soon as I had gotten out of the Visitor’s Center, a lady approached me, with a survey questions. She asked questions like “Was the person at Service Center Helpful?” “Did the person greet you?” “Did he say Thank You?” “Was he proactive?” Obviously, I said Yes. But, I was thinking, “god! If people are after you in such a way, obviously you will find friendly and helpful staff”. At the end of the day, I found Singapore to be filled with people that displayed extraordinary “Customer Care”.
A short Skytrain ride brought me to the Terminal One. At the Visitor’s Center, another friendly Staff Mr. Ee Tan Tang briefed me of my options. He said I could take a free shuttle to the City, where I can find a bus called “SIA Hop On”. A Singapore Airlines passenger can pay S$3.00 for a day pass that goes round the city and stops at 21 places at every half an hour. He also gave a pass that would allow me to take a shower or have a snack, at the airport terminal, upon my return later in the day.
I took 12:00 PM’s bus to the City, which took about 30 minutes. The bus stopped at Sun Tec City plaza and I was instructed to return to the same place to go back to the airport later in the evening. The Sun Tec City plaza boasted five tall office and shopping complex. In the middle was a huge fountain, world’s largest, but unfortunately I couldn’t enjoy its display as it was under construction.
From there I hopped on to the “SIA Hop On”, a bus operated by Singapore Airlines. My first step was Merlion Park. By the Singapore River, the park is a small but beautiful green space where people can take a rest or jug around. Out of the air-conditioned bus it felt hot and humid. I walked along the clean road and passed Esplanade, a performing arts center. I walked up to the statue of Merlion, a half-lion and half fish. According to the legend, prince Sang Nila Utama of the Sri Vijaya Empire rediscovered the island and sighted a beast on shore which he later learnt was a lion. The fist tail of the Merlion represents Singapore’s humble beginnings as a fishing village.
After wandering around for half an hour, I skipped the museums and old parliament to get to the bus (the bus came every half an hour). Next, I stopped by temple of Sri Mariaman. This is the oldest Hindu temple built in 1827 and is the temple of Mother Mariaman ( I don’t know what Mariaman means! Never heard of such Goddess must be one of the 3.3 billion Hindu Gods and Godess). Ironically, the temple is in the middle of China town. I walked down the China town and had a lunch of roasted chicken and noodle.
I walked pass a bus stop to enjoy the city, it is extremely well maintained. Everything was marked and to my surprise everything was in English. Public transportations seem to be quiet convenient as one bus after another stopped at the bus stop very frequently. I only saw a little of motorbikes or scooters most of the street was busy with shiny Japanese cars. Buses were colorful working as running billboards; one display struck me, “Our Taxes. Our Nation”.
My next stop was Singapore Botanical garden. This garden seemed like the only green space there is in Singapore. Needless to say, the garden was very well maintained. One major attraction was an Orchid garden. The garden boasted several breeds of orchids and has a major orchid breeding and hybridization program. Some of the hybrids are dedicated to well known visitors of the garden. Some of these dignitaries included Nelson Mandela, Margaret Thatcher, Princess Diana, and Amitab Bachhan.
From the garden, I headed to the Orchard Road. Until I had come there, I was thinking people in Singapore don’t like to come out much. Orchard road is towered by major shopping malls and hotels. The road was crowded and Christmas shopping season seem to have arrived to the road as it was already decorated and a huge decorated gate wished “Season’s greetings.” I was determined not to spend a penny but I couldn’t resist buying books when I entered this huge bookstore called KinoKuniya. I bought a book on Singapore’s history and two volumes of Lee Kwan Yew’s memoirs both of which are almost 700 pages long.
Again after an hour, I took the bus and stopped at the area called “Little India”. It is a major center for Indians. The streets were lined with stores displaying Indian clothes and jewelry. Hindi songs were booming and scores of Indian were walking or driving. Indian immigrants have been coming to the island for years and make up a significant portion of the population. Despite that fact, the Little India actually resembled India more than Singapore itself. For the first time in the city, I saw streets somewhat littered, saw police guarding there posts and people spat as they walked. It seemed Indian immigrants make a significant portion of manual labor manpower. Almost all of the people, I saw, working by the street on construction or cleaning seemed to be of Indian origins.
Finally, I returned back to Sun Tec City, where I was on time to catch free shuttle back to the airport.
Back at the airport, getting boarding pass and clearing through the security and immigration was smooth. The airport is truly world class, even the couches by the TV areas were fitted with digital sound system.
Right now, I am enjoying my complementary snacks of a coffee and cheese pizza while using my computer at the laptop access area. It is designed specifically for people who have laptops. The desk has an Ethernet and power plug on the desk.
In summary, Singapore is a big shopping mall. A true spirit of capitalism as Milton Friedman would say. This place is filled with malls everywhere and it comes with the service that is exception. No wonder people like shopping here.
It’s about 9:45 PM, I have about an hour for my flight to Sri Lanka.
Night at Singapore Airport
Day2: November 13
10:49 AM (Singapore time)
Changi Airport, Singapore
Six and half hours of flight between Tokyo and Singapore was fine, I endured most of the flight sleeping. The plane landed little past the mid-night here. I had over 22 hours in transit. Most of the stores in airport were closed only with a few openings. The airport looked nice and well-maintained. I had heard of a place where you could sleep at the airport. Actually, it turned out to be fine Hotel.
At the corner of Terminal one, Ambassador Transit Hotel, was still busy with customer. I was told it costs S$ 54 for a block of six hours. I got two blocks for US $70 and headed to the room for a good night’s sleep after 29 hours of travel.
It was nice room with two beds, slept for eight hours, took a long shower and I am here at Pacific Café drinking a café latte, which costs me over S$4.00. At this point, I still have over ten hours and I am contemplating a visit of the City. There is a free tour for transit passenger. Now, I am headed that way.
10:49 AM (Singapore time)
Changi Airport, Singapore
Six and half hours of flight between Tokyo and Singapore was fine, I endured most of the flight sleeping. The plane landed little past the mid-night here. I had over 22 hours in transit. Most of the stores in airport were closed only with a few openings. The airport looked nice and well-maintained. I had heard of a place where you could sleep at the airport. Actually, it turned out to be fine Hotel.
At the corner of Terminal one, Ambassador Transit Hotel, was still busy with customer. I was told it costs S$ 54 for a block of six hours. I got two blocks for US $70 and headed to the room for a good night’s sleep after 29 hours of travel.
It was nice room with two beds, slept for eight hours, took a long shower and I am here at Pacific Café drinking a café latte, which costs me over S$4.00. At this point, I still have over ten hours and I am contemplating a visit of the City. There is a free tour for transit passenger. Now, I am headed that way.
Long Flight to Sri Lanka
I arrived in Narita airport after a long flight that left Seattle about 11 hours ago. My trip to Sri Lanka actually started early morning yesterday about 6 AM US CST in Madison. On the way, I stopped in Denver and Seattle for a couple of hours and have about two hours in Narita before I continue on to Singapore for today. My next flight for Colombo is after 23 hours, a long layover in Singapore tonight. This flight is too long.
The flight so far has been fine except that I didn’t get a seat by the window. This morning, when I had boarded in Madison, I specifically asked for the window seats and the person at United counter had assured me that he had given me one. The, seat 41F on flights from Denver to Tokyo, I thought was by the window until I boarded huge Boeing 777, which had 3 rows with five seats on the middle row. The seat 41F was not only in the middle row, it was middle of the middle row. Plus, because of the seat arrangement, the little screen in front of row was little to the right, which meant I had to tilt my head by 30 degree to the right to watch movies. I hated that. Again, in next flight to Singapore, I am not by the window……………… I like window seats not only because it allows me to look outside but even when cruising over 35,000 feet where can’t see anything, I can have my little private space by the corner, tilt my head and sleep my way.
Despite the window less situation, the flight’s been ok. Even though it’s long flight, I am pretty used to these long hauls and once you are used to sitting in the chair, in front of computer, for eight or nine hours straight, these flights don’t become terribly bad. It’s almost the same, except that I had to bother people around me to go to bathroom or straighten myself.
In between the naps and movies – Bewitched, Transporter, and a portion of Batman Begins – I managed to read a book called, “Beyond Our Borders – Grant Making to International Organizations.” Reading this book had been on my list for last several weeks, finally got the chance. After reading the book, I am worried that Sarvodaya USA (SUSA) might not have been strictly following IRS rules in international grant making. One major problem was the notion about control and oversight over the fund granted to international partners. According the book, IRS rules doesn’t allow tax deduction to organizations that are established as a conduit or act as a conduit of international organization to tap into resources of the US. To a degree, the explicit board approval to send money to Sarvodaya in Sri Lanka (LJSSS) can be called as “control over the fund” but I am worried that might not be sufficient and some form of formal grant making process seems inevitable between these two entities. One question, I had reading the book, however, was what would constitute control and oversight? The book acknowledges that there is no clear explanation that IRS has given and recommends to lean on conservative side. It recommended that a formal contract be signed, formal language be adopted to define the project where fund would be used, and finally a strong and stringent reporting requirement put on place. Again, on reporting requirement, I wonder if general reports would suffice or should there be separate reports to Sarvodaya USA? Gordon has always said that one general report should be sufficient but I am not so sure at this point, a more thorough investigation needs to be done, I think. One more thing to work on when I return back. Plus, these stringent requirements might not be easy for LJSSS to accept easily as it would add extra burden on reporting but to sustain Sarvodaya USA as a viable and legal entity that would funnel funds to it, this seems to be like a necessary evil.
In Narita, I had hoped to find free wireless connections and to check emails. But, unfortunately, you have to pay to access the internet. I only have a few minutes to be on the net and I am not in a mood to do that………..
The flight so far has been fine except that I didn’t get a seat by the window. This morning, when I had boarded in Madison, I specifically asked for the window seats and the person at United counter had assured me that he had given me one. The, seat 41F on flights from Denver to Tokyo, I thought was by the window until I boarded huge Boeing 777, which had 3 rows with five seats on the middle row. The seat 41F was not only in the middle row, it was middle of the middle row. Plus, because of the seat arrangement, the little screen in front of row was little to the right, which meant I had to tilt my head by 30 degree to the right to watch movies. I hated that. Again, in next flight to Singapore, I am not by the window……………… I like window seats not only because it allows me to look outside but even when cruising over 35,000 feet where can’t see anything, I can have my little private space by the corner, tilt my head and sleep my way.
Despite the window less situation, the flight’s been ok. Even though it’s long flight, I am pretty used to these long hauls and once you are used to sitting in the chair, in front of computer, for eight or nine hours straight, these flights don’t become terribly bad. It’s almost the same, except that I had to bother people around me to go to bathroom or straighten myself.
In between the naps and movies – Bewitched, Transporter, and a portion of Batman Begins – I managed to read a book called, “Beyond Our Borders – Grant Making to International Organizations.” Reading this book had been on my list for last several weeks, finally got the chance. After reading the book, I am worried that Sarvodaya USA (SUSA) might not have been strictly following IRS rules in international grant making. One major problem was the notion about control and oversight over the fund granted to international partners. According the book, IRS rules doesn’t allow tax deduction to organizations that are established as a conduit or act as a conduit of international organization to tap into resources of the US. To a degree, the explicit board approval to send money to Sarvodaya in Sri Lanka (LJSSS) can be called as “control over the fund” but I am worried that might not be sufficient and some form of formal grant making process seems inevitable between these two entities. One question, I had reading the book, however, was what would constitute control and oversight? The book acknowledges that there is no clear explanation that IRS has given and recommends to lean on conservative side. It recommended that a formal contract be signed, formal language be adopted to define the project where fund would be used, and finally a strong and stringent reporting requirement put on place. Again, on reporting requirement, I wonder if general reports would suffice or should there be separate reports to Sarvodaya USA? Gordon has always said that one general report should be sufficient but I am not so sure at this point, a more thorough investigation needs to be done, I think. One more thing to work on when I return back. Plus, these stringent requirements might not be easy for LJSSS to accept easily as it would add extra burden on reporting but to sustain Sarvodaya USA as a viable and legal entity that would funnel funds to it, this seems to be like a necessary evil.
In Narita, I had hoped to find free wireless connections and to check emails. But, unfortunately, you have to pay to access the internet. I only have a few minutes to be on the net and I am not in a mood to do that………..
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