Nevada students plans visit to Sri Lanka to help rebuild after disaster

RENO - Eight Nevada students plan to leave today for Sri Lanka to help rebuild the far-off country ravaged by the Indian Ocean tsunami.

The teens say they are aware some dangers may await. A weekend grenade attack killed three and wounded 34 last weekend in the rebel-controlled eastern part of the country.

"It's worth the risk to help someone," said Sara Turner, 19, a Reno McQueen High School graduate and sophomore at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

"Even if the situation gets hard, we'll be the best help we can," Turner said.

Although some of the group's members come from Las Vegas churches and there have been contacts made with churches in Sri Lanka, the trip's leader, UNLV student Vegas Thornton, said the project is to provide aid, not religious teaching.

"It could be everything from ditch digging to chopping down trees," Thornton said.

A 20-year civil war has left the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tami Eelam in control of the northeastern part of the country. The Sri Lanka government has said the rebels are cooperating in the relief effort despite the weekend incident that took place during a funeral.

"We know there are some risks," Thornton said. "It's just what we're signing up for. We are going to help."

The government claims it's sending aid to rebel-controlled areas. The Tigers say they are getting less than the rest of the country.

Turner and Thornton plan to be in Sri Lanka for several months, possibly working in rebel areas.

"We have been contacted by churches on the eastern side," Thornton said. "It's part of the rebel-controlled side, but there are Christian churches there. They are welcoming us there and we are staying in peoples homes."

Turner's mother, Jacci Turner of Reno, supports the trip, despite the trouble in Sri Lanka.

"I understand her desire to go. That's what she wants to do. I wouldn't stop her if I could," Jacci Turner said.