Less than two years ago, the Foundation of Goodness existed as a Sri Lankan charity on a very small scale. Seenigama, a coastal village where the Foundation is based, was hardly on the map. One could have never imagined that giant ocean waves could transport the plight of the villagers of the Seenigama region across seas and to lands they have never known. But on 26th December 2004, a catastrophic tsunami changed the fate of the region and the Foundation forever.

Many people throughout the world knew little about Sri Lanka and particularly rural villages like Seenigama prior to the Asian tsunami. But since that day, the stories of tsunami-affected families and disadvantaged villagers have been heard throughout the world. Unfortunate but true, it took a devastating natural disaster like this one to attract a great deal of international compassion, foreign donors and media attention. Over the last year or so, the Foundation of Goodness and the Seenigama region have received an enormous amount of support from stakeholders all over the globe.

For many villagers, what was once thought to be an unattainable lifestyle is now their daily reality. Life has transformed in the Seenigama area so much since the tsunami that it is now referred to as the "Golden Wave". As they say, the waves of compassion that followed were much greater than the force of the tsunami. That's quite a statement for those who experienced such devastation and evident of how truly profound the response has been.

In fact, this "Golden Wave" has even carried the Foundation of Goodness across continents to some high-profile places, typically out-of-reach for the general public. Not long after the tsunami, Founder, Kushil Gunasekera, was invited to visit Buckingham Palace where he made a presentation to the Royal Household Committee. Not only Foundation staff, but also the villagers have ridden this wave of opportunities - four young village men who head the Seenigama Men's Volleyball Team have been chosen to travel to Jersey in the Channel Islands this July to compete as well as greet donors and sponsors. For these young men, an overseas trip to pursue their talents is a dream come true.

Most recently, Kushil was fortunate and privileged enough to be invited by United States Government, as part of a group of nine delegates (including Kushil and a fellow delegate from Sri Lanka) from South Asia, to travel to a variety of high profile places in the USA in order to share experiences relating to natural disaster management and emergency relief and to learn from the superior research of various organisations throughout the U.S. Held from 8th to 26th May, 2006, this United States International Visitor Program was titled, "Humanitarian Responses to Crises and Disasters - South Asia Regional Project".

Some of the many highlights of the trip included visits to:

• U.S. Department of Defense (The Pentagon)


• The gates of the White House


• George Washington University Institute for Crisis, Disaster and Risk Management


• U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)


• U.S. Department of State, Burea of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM)


• U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)


• International Rescue Committee


• American Red Cross


• U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Western Region Service Center


• Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC)


• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC)


• International Tsunami Information Center (ITIC)


• Pacific Disaster Center (PDC)

Upon his return, Kushil said, "This visit has no doubt been by far one of the most enlightening experiences I could have ever wished for because of the high profile exposure to learn so much on preparedness, response, mitigation, recovery and incident command in battling tragic disasters of the kind we in Sri Lanka encountered with the tsunami in particular.

It is very generous and thoughtful on the part of the [U.S.] government to extend this opportunity which in numerous ways enabled me to comprehend better not only how disasters originate but the technique applied all round by experts in planning to reduce the impact on those who have had to endure such misfortune.

The highlight for me personally was to focus on how quickly one can transform into action efficiently at ground level the superior research and resources gained so as to take control to help those in trouble recover speedily".

The Foundation of Goodness cannot thank enough those stakeholders, such as USAID and the US Government, who have recognised the plight of our people and so generously assisted the underprivileged villagers of the Seenigama region. We are eternally grateful to the U.S. government for initiating the waves of compassion, which in the minds of many were far more overwhelming than the waves of destruction, enabling us to successfully build a better village than before, empowering and improving opportunities for the disadvantaged rural community.

For more information on USAID and their work, please visit www.usaid.gov.

For more information on the organisers of the event, please visit the website for the Institute of International Education at www.iie.org.