As Sri Lanka struggles to revive itself after the devastation of the 2004 tsunami, members of the Penn community are looking for long-term solutions.
A team of six faculty members from Penn visited Sri Lanka in February for two weeks to study areas where Penn could contribute its expertise.
"Sri Lanka is a country that has been looked over by the rest of the world," said Harris Steinberg, a team member from the School of Design. "It is a country that can use a lot of friends. ... Penn, with its intellectual resources, can be useful and can help them were they want to go."
Sri Lanka -- a small island nation off the eastern coast of India -- saw much destruction after the tsunami. Over 24,000 Sri Lankans died as a result of the natural disaster.
The University is looking to help.
Penn's plans are still in their initial stages. Some of the projects could include partnering with local universities to train teachers, build community and education centers and develop curriculums. One of the proposed projects would involve developing English-language skills among Sri Lankan teachers.
"What I expect to see is something sustainable," said Arancha Garcia del Soto, a representative on the trip for Penn's Solomon Asch Center for Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict. "This involves training local professionals, teachers, social workers ... who will be working with the [tsunami] survivors."
These projects will be funded by a $75,000 grant, arranged by the United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Jeffrey Lunstead. Lunstead received his Ph.D. from Penn in 1977.
In the long term, the team wants to create exchange programs between Penn and Sri Lankan universities, and even undertake joint research.
The team of six included representatives from Penn's School of Design, Graduate School of Education and the Asch Center.
The idea for this effort emerged after several members of the Penn community made trips to Sri Lanka last year, according to Tom Kecskemethy, assistant dean of the Education School. Kecskemethy traveled with the team in February.
The trips last year included one made by 16 undergraduates over the summer to help with relief efforts and another trip made by JoAnn McCarthy, the assistant provost of the Education School. Along the way, she met government officials and members of local non-government organizations.
Sotto, who had been working in Sri Lanka prior to the tsunami, noted that after the tsunami, "too much money came in too quickly, ... and they did not know what to do with it."
She said Penn's efforts will not be solely focused on tsunami relief.
"Education is something that is fundamental for a developing country, ... and education is our expertise," Kecskemethy said. "We wanted to figure out how their local needs could match with our capacity."
