A Milestone of Renewal

“We realized that we weren’t alone.”

So says Vasansa,  who lives in the village of Pannaichadar  in Sri Lanka’s eastern Batticaloa region. Thanks to the financial backing of all our supporters, the Japanese government and “Chabo!”, JEN is able to work to restore the livelihoods of returnees who, like Vasansa, were driven from their homes by regional conflicts.

“My hopes stand on this rock, the one I’m sitting on now. This was a milestone in my life, dug out of a hole fifteen feet deep. That’s right—this is a stone that came up when JEN dug our village a well, to provide us the water we needed during the drought. That well brought stability to our lives.”

Vasansa continues.
“ First of all, JEN’s support allowed us to rebuild our lives, bringing us confidence. We know there must be challenges waiting ahead, but now we can prepare ourselves for them. Living a normal, hopeful existence gives you greater hope, and makes you grow as a person. Confidence spreads not just to those who use the agricultural wells we constructed with JEN, but to other members of the village, who are raising livestock like goats or cows, running small shops and working hard at various other domestic industries. We now work not just with nearby villagers, but with our village leaders and government officials. We are truly happy, but we’ve only just begun to leave peacefully. We hope to use the ‘PLAN, DO and SEE’ methods we learned from JEN to work, and make our capabilities, our determination and our hopes even stronger.”