A Volunteers Story

Shiva Logarajah (Third Year Law Student at Columbia Law School, New York, New York, USA) talks about his experience volunteering for Ocean Stars in Sri Lanka....

OceanStars :: Wednesday 14th September 2016 :: This Story

Ocean Stars ("OST") was an organization that I had only fleeting contact with before my first trip to Sri Lanka in August 2016.  Despite this, Dilanee and the OST Team went out of their way to organize a trip to visit some of their projects while I was there.  I visited the Mahadeva Children's Home in Killinochi, nurseries in the Batticaloa area (Amaplanthurai, Nallur & Karaveddy), and the Hope House in Amaplanthurai. 

On the whole, I was thoroughly impressed with the difference OST was making in people's lives in areas that have been devastated by war and natural disaster.  What really stuck with me was the fact that OST was going beyond the "life-support" aid that many of us tend to associate with NGOs operating in these sorts of environments.  The work OST was doing was, in fact, empowering people--particularly women and children--to be able to help themselves and their communities. 

I was born in the United States to Sri Lankan Tamil parents, and I have always been keenly aware of the suffering that people in Sri Lanka have endured after years of war and natural disaster.  OST is doing remarkable work--in a compassionate and well-appreciated manner--to help turn the page for many of these communities, and I look forward to supporting OST as it continues to assist people in Sri Lanka.

 

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