presentatione

TSUNAMI PHOTO MUSEUMTELWATTA SRI LANKA

On the 26th of December 2004	

the TSUNAMI hit different countries

In Sri Lanka many lives were lost and the damage was huge.
Many people on the coast lost nearly everything they had.

It is impossible to tell all the Tsunami stories, as there are
too many. But by telling some of them we think people will get a
general idea about what happened.
The museum is about the Tsunami and the first years after,
as so much changed every day. Here we see local peoplebuild up their lives from scratch.

Here you can see the situation ofthe museum a few months after
and the situation a few years afterthe Tsunami. The museum wasbuild on the old foundation, which
was the only thing left after thedisaster.

The museum is situated on Telwatta junction on Galle Road
(this is the main road from north to south on the westcoast ofSri Lanka) between Ambalangoda and Hikkaduwa. About 2
hrs drive south of Colombo and about 20 minutes drive northof Galle.

The project is run by Mrs. Kamani Girly de Silva (Sri Lanka) and by Mrs. Jacky van Oostveen(The Netherlands). Mrs. Kamani and her family take care and maintain the museum in SriLanka, they where Tsunami victims themselves and also lost everything. Mrs. Jacky is
responsible for the exhibition, collecting material, raising the funds and the further developmentof the museum. All the work is done on a volontary basis.

“From my experiences, working as an after Tsunami volunteer,and my own background as a visual artist andan art teacher I decided to start this museum”

Mrs. Jacky has been up and down to Sri Lanka since the Tsunami. The first years
after the Tsunami I had taken lots of photographs. I also found out how important
photo's are for the Sri Lankans themselves. Not only because they like them and put
the photo frames on a central place in their house. Very much because, through theTsunami, the affected people lost 98% of their photographs and they didn't have any
camera's themselves to photograph their own situation. It where the aid workers,
volunteers and journalists that had the camera's. They took all the pictures, but mostof these photos where never seen by the local affected people.

Main reasons to start the museum where:- To visualize the stories of the local people who where affected by the Tsunami. Aplace where big and small stories can come together and can be shared. Not only
the stories of the local people, but also about the people who came to help.
- To try and collect international photo material and bring it back to Sri Lanka andthe affected villages, like Telwatta and Parelyia.
- To create a place where the Tsunami affected people can see and remember what
has happened, because their experiences and the disaster that followed has had
such a big impact on the lives of so many people and will stay with them all theirlives. The museum can help the victims to deal with their memories and emotions.
- The Tsunami story has become a major subject of Sri Lankan history and it isimportant to save these images to show to the upcoming generations.
- By showing non affected people what has happend, the museum hopes to create
more understanding for the Tsunami victims, what happenend on the Tsunami day
and everything that happened afterwards.
- The Tsunami brought people from all over the world to Sri Lanka. Many villages
had not met people from other cultures before. I hope the museum will be a place
where cultures can come together in the future as well.

Tsunami Photo Museum

Some extra museum information
The museum is a individual institution and is dependend on donations of other people.
The museum opened its doors in March 2007 and it is open every day.
The visitors come from all over Sri Lanka and from all over the world.
We do not ask any entrance fee to the visitors, because we want everybody to be able to visit
the Museum.
Main museum items are photoʼs, but we also exhibit some objects and we have a special
section where one can see childrens drawings.
We have a donation box inside the museum where people can put a donation. This money isused for the museum and mainly for its maintenance.
To develop the museum and for the building and construction we try to find specific donors
and sponsors. Slowly the museum is growing. Still a lot of work needs to be done and we keep
on developping the museum. Also the search for new photo material is an ongoing proces.
Main advertising is the signboard on the main road and through people who have visited themuseum and tell others about it or take other people to see the museum. Besides this we haveprinted a flyer which can be taken by the visitors.

Inside the Museum

Reactions of the visitors" Very good work - time will heal xxx"

" Your pictures help othervisitors to touch reality of thatday. Very humbling. Thankyou. "" The photos show to us, just what happened - it's hard to imagine. Good Luck. "" The never seen of photo Sri Lanka “" Heart rending commitment "" An extremely commendable task. Future generations would know what Tsunami did. "" Ich habe alle fast noch einmal erlebt “" These images remind us the work is not done "" A really important establishment both as a document of the Tsunami
and a memorial to those who lost their lives. "Contactdetails TSUNAMI PHOTO MUSEUM TELWATTAMuseum Sri Lanka:
Mrs. Kamani de Silva
00 94 (0)91 - 3900884

Tsunami Photo Museum, Templeroad, Telwatta, Sri Lanka

The Netherlands :Mrs. Jacky van Oostveen
00 31 (0)6 - 30266520

Irisstraat 106, 1214 EX Hilversum, The Netherlands

info@kunstkoffer.nl	
Website museum:
http://tsunami-photo-museum-srilanka.blogspot.com/