Aussie volunteers help tsunami affected

FOURTEEN Australian volunteers put their 'mateship' skills into action when they helped a number of Sri Lankan communities affected by the tsunami.

The volunteers, aged between 19-28, working with Australian organisation OzQuest: Young Australian Adventures, signed up to work with local villagers on community projects during December 2005.

OzQuest projects included building the 'peace bridge' to join a Tamil and Sinhala community in the Uplands-Watagoda area, planting banana trees at the Sarasavigama Organic Farm in Kandy and clearing and painting a number of community health centres around Matugama and Kalutara.

Jon Herd said the Australian volunteers partnered with micro-financing group SLPSM (Samastha Lanka Praja Sangwardana Mandalaya) and Satyodaya Centre for Social Research and Encounter.