Despite the destruction caused by the tsunami the blessings that it has brought have been many fold and varied. One such blessing, to which no monetary value can be attached, has been the many volunteers who have from all parts of the world come to Seenigama to do their bit to help the tsunami affected people. Whether they have come for two years, two months or two days our volunteers have come with a ready smile and a helping hand to chip in wherever there is a need and make a difference to these people who have lost so much.

One such group of volunteers are twelve students who on the 26th of June arrived from the University of Melbourne in Australia. Arriving at the Foundation Secretariat they were met by the Founder / Trustee of the Foundation of Goodness, Kushil Gunasekera who took them on a tour of all the sites explaining the destruction caused by the tsunami and the many efforts, both completed and on going, to rebuild the village of Seenigama and surrounding area. Their tour ended at the KPMG - LOLC village, a housing complex of 50 houses, community centre, children's play park and grocery store, which was going to be their project for the next two weeks.

The initiative and drive shown by some of our volunteers have been truly wonderful and it was no different in this case. On their first day itself, after a briefing from Kushil during which they were severed tea and biscuits by some of the members of the Goodness Children's club, whom they were to work with, Tom and his friends got down to basics playing with the children, meeting with the villagers and getting to know everyone.

During the following two weeks, Tom Walsh, the volunteer team leader, and his friends made a tremendous contribution to the villagers of the KPMG - LOLC village. Dividing the day into two they spent the mornings working in the village and the afternoons teaching and playing with the children. Thus during the mornings they helped to upgrade and bring together this cluster housing complex making it a unique environment to live in. They mended fences; cleaned out drains and dug holes to facilitate the flow of excess rain water; cleared rubble and debris; worked in several of the gardens cutting grass, weeding and tidying up; helped to set up some of the houses; worked with and educated the householders on cleanliness and maintaining their homes, gardens and surrounding environment; worked with several of the householders looking into the household items they had received and what they required; and took a stock inventory of the grocery store. They also conducted a complete survey of the village compiling a database of very useful information for future reference incorporating information such as the gender and age break down of the villagers, their means of livelihood, number of householders and household composition and so on.

The afternoons, though equally busy, were a welcome break from the hard work in the mornings. The children of the KMG LOLC village enjoyed the time they spent with the volunteers as much as the volunteers did. They played games, held learning activities to teach the children basic English, played sports and held a sports meet, conducted an art competition themed on the tsunami, played music and sang and danced with the children and held many other competitions and games. The children enjoyed winning the many prizes that the volunteers had brought with them all the way from Australia.

The 2nd of July was a Sunday and thus technically their day off, yet these volunteers chose to spend this day too with some of the Seenigama villagers; more specifically the Seenigama cricket team who were playing a series of matches that day for the inter-village trophy. Not to be left out of the action there was a friendly game of cricket between the volunteers and the Seenigama boys, which was won by the Seenigama team who then went on to win the inter-village trophy that day.

Their last day in the KPMG - LOLC village and indeed in Seenigama itself was quite sad for many. The volunteers went around the village speaking to and saying their good byes to all those they had met and made friends with. They gave out more presents to the children they had spend so much time with; a little token of friendship to remember their friends from Australia; whose influence in our village is huge especially with the Victoria Gardens modern, double story, housing park to relocate 84 100metre zone families badly affected by the tsunami.

The changes that can be brought about through kindness, compassion and concern are absolutely amazing. Tom and his friends, spending time with, becoming part of and working and playing along side these people, who faced a tremendous devastation through the tsunami, made an outstanding difference to their lives. The people's appreciation for the time and effort put in by these volunteers and the lasting impressions they made in the minds of these people can be seen through the conversations the villagers still have about the boys and girls who came from the University of Melbourne in Australia and became part of their village.

The volunteer team who came included Tom Walsh, Anne Webb, David Carmody, Grace Jennings-Edquist, Issac Lowrie, Jessie Smith, Nicholas Croker, Penelope Thompson, Sophie Robson, Tim Goot-Brennan and friends.