Deliverance

Jason Thomas works closely with doctors in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka and delivers aid personally. He talks about his work.

Jason Thomas is a Melbourne man with a young family who works as a communications manager in a private health firm. An ordinary man but he is on an extraordinary mission. He has found his calling in personally delivering badly needed medical aid to one of the most war-ravaged areas of the world – Sri Lanka after the Boxing Day tsunami hit.
Most NGOs or non-governmental organisations fear to tread where Jason has continued to rush back to in following his mission. He works in and around Batticaloa, a town in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka.
His work is deceptively straightforward but incredibly difficult to execute on the ground. “Rather than imposing our generosity on them, we ask them what they need, how we can help, where the supplies are lacking, and then we'll come back and deliver the goods and work with them.” This is the key difference between Mr Thomas’ team and those of similar NGOs. They don’t collect the money, they ask people who are interested to buy the equipment from the suppliers directly and Jason then delivers this to the doctors directly.
Mr Thomas says personally delivering aid is not something that everyone can do. But he says that everyone can make a difference. “I think that the power of the individual is amazing. But it's not just the individual, it's about bringing on board the wealth of skills, energy and help that exists in our own community. There are so many people who have the sort of skills and the compassion to help out. It's a matter of bringing those people together and then executing a plan and delivering on it.”
Mr Thomas admits that working in a war-torn country is not easy but has found that the trick lies in understanding what makes the people of that particular country work the way they do. “One of the best ways to negotiate and work with any group of people is to understand their needs, understand where they're coming from and understand why they operate the way they do. You can't change it and it's no use trying to force them to change.” Mr Thomas’ determination has opened many doors and removed many obstacles. People discovered that he was not going to go away and things started to fall into place – although it did take some time. While large charities like the Red Cross complain about the red tape they have to deal with, this medical team has managed to negotiate an agreement with the authorities where their goods enter the area tariff-free. This is no mean feat in an area that has been suffering under the double whammy of the civil war as well as the tsunami.
Mr Thomas is aware that more work needs to be done. “Even after coordinating the delivery of substantial amounts of medical equipment, I feel like we have barely made an impact and there is much more we can do. That is why I am committed to assisting the Government of Sri Lanka in the Eastern Province to long term sustainable health infrastructure. For example, I am excited about establishing a teaching and exchange programme for medical students from Eastern University and the University of Melbourne. Australia also has skills in the area of agriculture, solar technology and mineral extraction that could be shared with people in the East.”