Photo Gallery:   Helaine Daniels visits Kennedy School Students & Alums Working in Tsunami-Affected Regions

For the remainder of the Spring 2005 semester, my energies went toward supporting students’ efforts to: 

   In April of 2005, the parent of one of my students came from Colombo, Sri Lanka to Cambridge.  She told me that she and others in her country were very pleased that I would be coming that summer to Sri Lanka to view the work of our students.  I gulped silently.  With a May wedding quickly approaching for my only daughter, I wondered how I could possibly recover finances so quickly.  My reading of the look in this parent’s eyes was that she truly believed that I would keep my word and that my presence in Sri Lanka would make a difference not only to my students but also to the people of the country. 

   What happened later in Sri Lanka was an amazing reward to all of us (the 9 students and me).  We found that the Sri Lankan government in partnership with private citizens of the country met us half way on everything.  They made arrangements so that all of the students lived comfortably during the 8-12 weeks they were in the country.  They made extraordinary arrangements for me such that my personal costs were minimal. 

   I visited each site where our students were working.  (You may read the details of each student’s results under Student Field Reports on this website.)  What struck me most about our students were the steadfastness and sense of purpose that each of them exhibited as they completed the work they had started.  The students described to me how they had spent their early days in the country listening to and working with the staffs of the various organizations to understand the organizational goals for the summer.  They worked for the rest of the summer as facilitators to help each organization achieve its stated goals. 

   I also visited a few families who were still living in tents as well as the more sturdy transitional camps.  I sat inside the tents and the wooden transitional structures with people who had lost many loved ones as well as all of their possessions.  There was a palpable sense of perseverance among families who had suffered greatly.  To witness for myself the resilience of those who had lost so much was both a moving and humbling experience.  Searching for words, I complimented the earrings of one woman who sat next to me and she offered them to me. Her name is Mrs.V.D.S. Kumari.  As I was leaving, she looked me straight in the eyes and said, “We are glad that you came.  We are glad that you have taken an interest in us.” 

   I am glad that I found a way to keep my word.