Tsunami: 5 Years After

Many children do not feel comfortable expressing difficult issues or complaints directly, so when the tsunami ploughed upon their shores, Plan in Sri Lanka decided to encourage children to instead write out their feelings, problems, needs and ideas and drop them inside the Happy/Sad Letterbox.

These bright blue boxes, decorated with cartoons of children placing their own letters into the slot, were placed in 64 schools in Hambantota, one of the hardest hit districts on the southern coast of Sri Lanka. The box invites children to write in their concerns with a message that requests of them simply, "Tell us why you are happy or sad."

Letterbox as a crucial helpline

Although children at first submitted many requests for material items, gradually they began expressing needs that were closer to their hearts. Teachers and counsellors, who received training on how to respond discreetly and appropriately to the letters, also helped children with communicating their feelings.

Soon after, the appeals trickled in:

"I want my mother back," wrote an eight year-old girl who lost her mother in the tsunami. Her mother had gone to the market to buy food for the anniversary of her father's death when the waves swept over her. The girl moved in with her grandmother, who treated her poorly. The school met with the grandmother, making the girl's life more bearable.

A 16 year-old girl wrote that after the tsunami, she had not seen her father's body, so she was still waiting for him to come back.

Some letters were related to the tsunami, but the letterbox became a crucial helpline for others who had trouble at school and in their homes. Several pleaded for help on behalf of their silently suffering friends.

"I am in Class IX and I cannot write," confessed a 16 year-old boy, who drafted this letter with the help of a friend. A counsellor found that routine classroom instruction could not cater to his learning needs. Several other students were found to need special support, so the school opened a section for slow learners.

"Please save our friend." A 14 year-old girl was being sexually abused by her father. While her father was in jail on suspicion of murder, the girl's friends reported the abuse, and the school informed authorities. When the father found out, he threatened to kill his wife and daughter when he got out of jail. The mother became angry with the girl, who feared for her life from both mother and father. The girl moved to a children's home, where she was safe.

Better communication with children

Letters such as these prompted Plan to start child abuse awareness programmes that informed children and their families of child abuse, their rights and support services. Plan also helped to strengthen support services and worked with police stations to improve their responsiveness to cases of abuse.

The Happy/Sad Letterbox proved such an effective channel to the children that the program was expanded to a total of 75 schools. By writing letters, students found it easier to reveal issues they might not otherwise say aloud to a teacher. The programme improved communication among children, their teachers and their families.

The simple cardboard box was a child-friendly counselling tool that enabled many children to overcome their grief and agony in the aftermath of the tsunami disaster, and to carry on with their lives.

"For a while, I didn't come to school. Instead, I stayed at home with my mother and sister while ignoring my studies, and I felt very negative. After using the Happy/Sad Box, my feelings changed and I started regularly coming to school. It changed my life," said a tenth grade girl who lost her father and younger brother in the tsunami. "Children here don't open up that easily. We keep to ourselves," the girl said. "There was a big change in the school community after the Happy/Sad Box. Children's ideas were understood through the notes."