Story number 1 for 13 Dec 1999

We begin today in Sri Lanka where a 16-year civil war has left thousands dead and many families grieving. Sri Lankans now want an end to the fighting and peace has become a major issue in the December presidential elections. Shelter Now’s Jeff Hollenbeck says the situation is still a bit unstable. “There has been quite a bit of ethnic unrest within the country. There’s a group of people trying to pull away from the government-it’s a revolutionary kind of force that’s trying to gain independence from India and create a society for themselves. Sri Lanka is a country where people are doing Christian work, but you do have to be a little bit careful about where you do that sort of thing.” Hollenbeck says in the lull between battles: “One of the projects that we’re working on is to build some homes for the war widows in six of the villages up there in the north. It involves housing, and some water and some sanitation. In the name of Jesus, demonstrating the love of God, just doing what we do for these people and just hope that the seeds that we plant will grow inside these people.”