Christmas Day, 2004, Napa preschool owner Chandini Perera and family were done opening presents and decided to call relatives in Sri Lanka.

Across the ocean, Perera's call reached her family at approximately 10 a.m. Dec. 26. Only minutes before, one of the world's most terrible natural disasters had just hit this small island country south of India.

While talking to her family, news reports began to come in. Perera turned on her TV, shocked. "Watching the devastation on television was heartbreaking. I just wanted to be there to help people," said Perera.

Unfortunately, Perera's sister Savitri De Alwis was already there. De Alwis lives in England but was visiting her homeland for the holidays. She and her family were staying in Colombo, Sri Lanka, about seven miles inland. Listening to the radio, word of the devastation began to spread. "People were saying Galle was inundated," said De Alwis. "We could not even imagine what had happened." Later the family drove to the seaside city. "It was like a battlefield, you could not comprehend the devastation," said De Alwis. The world's eyes turned to this small country and its neighbors as the scope of the tragedy became clear. Reportedly, more than 30,000 Sri Lankan's lost their lives in the tsunami and 3,000 children were orphaned by the tragedy.

Imagining those parentless victims, Perera and her sister knew they wanted to do something for the children. Their vision called for a "village" that would be both a home for orphaned children and a community resource providing day programs and educational opportunities. And they knew exactly where it would be built.

A little help

Safely located one mile inland from Galle, the De Alwis family owned two acres of land. Land that would be perfect for their village. Named in memory of their only brother who died in 1989, the sisters christened their complex the De Alwis Memorial Children's Center.

"Although we were brimming with enthusiasm and excitement, we lacked the expertise to take on a humanitarian venture of this nature. That is how ICRI (International Child Resource Institute) was introduced to us," said De Alwis.

Ken Jaffe is the executive director of the ICRI in Berkeley. The non-profit organization works to provide a raft of child-centered services in the U.S. and around the world; from education to prevention, to assisting orphans and creating "model children's centers." After meeting with the sisters, ICRI signed on to create the center.

Designed by a Sri Lankan architect and planner, the complex is structured to make a home for up to 50 children residents and 30 to 40 visiting children during the day. The village will consist of several components. Family-centered homes will house groups of 10 orphans and caregivers, living as a family unit. A children's day and education program center will allow both residents and the community to share resources with local children by participating in the center's activities and opportunities. Incorporating both housing and education into the village concept, will help reduce the "orphanage" stigma of the facility, explained ICRI's Jaffe.

"If we can provide services that are needed by the community as well as the orphaned children living on site, we are able to show that the children are part of the community and not isolated by their own loss," said Jaffe. The center will also include a teaching facility where ICRI can train local residents in educational programs and practices.

Napan Celine Haugen has joined forces with the group, raising both awareness and assistance for the center. "We're at the beginning of this journey," said Haugen. "The need is great. We have more buildings to build, education to provide and (business) operations to fund," she said. Haugen recently co-hosted an informational meeting at Perera's Montessori preschool where plans were shared on the center's progress and goals.

Napa support

Support for the children's center has spread. In Napa, Perera's preschool raised money for the project. One preschool parent is Blue Oak School co-founder Tracy Schuler. The family's Ruth Epstein Schuler Foundation has pledged ongoing support to the Children's Center. "Projects maintained by locally born people have a great record of success," said Schuler. "This project will affect (the children's) lives in a positive way for a very long time," she said.

Other help has come from Napa's St. John's Catholic School, where Perera's daughter attends. Hearing of Perera's plans, Celine Ford, the school's second grade teacher, helped begin a "Children Helping Children" campaign. From a change drive and pizza fundraiser, the school donated $1,400 to Perera's efforts. Back in England, De Alwis' church and other organizations have collected another $10,000 for the project.

Perera and De Alwis have raised a total of $25,000 so far, enough to build one "family" home and an educational building. They plan a groundbreaking for the first two buildings in February. Taking advantage of Sri Lanka's inexpensive labor and building costs, the sisters estimate that for another $75,000 they can build the entire children's village.

Perera's sister thanked Napans who have contributed to tsunami relief. "The people of Napa have definitely touched the lives of the tsunami survivors in Sri Lanka," said De Alwis.

For more information or to make a donation to the Children's Center, contact Chandini Perera at 252-2562.