Tea Plantation Line Homes - 08 February

This morning we visited a line home community called Summerville. Line homes are prevalent on tea plantations. The Dickoya Rotarians brought us to this community to show us how a significant portion of the population live in Sri Lanka. There are no facilities for children to play, although there is a very small daycare - a room no larger than 15'x15' - where about 25 less than school-age children spend the day while their parents work the plantation. There is water available here but it is of questionable quality. The line homes are usually 7 to 1o rooms in a row. One family lives in each room ... that could be up to 10 people. The rooms are somewhat divided into two - sort of an entrance/foyer and then what appears to be sleeping quarters. The rooms are very small ... 10'x10' on average. The residents have made makeshift ceilings so that they can store things above in the rafters. The cooking facilities are limited and the cooking fire is kept inside with no chimney. Consequently lung problems are prevalent with the women. Waste disposal is also unsanitary. There is a high infant mortality rate in these communities. As Rtn. Dr. Chandra puts it, "Everything here can be a Rotary project." It is the Dickoya Rotary Club's goal to address these issues in their local community. They will be forwarding ideas as to how Rotarians in District 7630 can help in partnership with them.

The people that live here appear happy and they were very friendly. They were proud to show us their homes and openly invited us in. We shared some salt water taffy with the children - they loved the sweets!