COLOMBO – COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — The tourists came to see the magical waterfalls and mountain views of the lowland jungle and rainforest.
But then the pandemic hit, and they were stranded in Sri Lanka. When flights were canceled and the airports shut down, Darshana Ratnayake came to the rescue.
Ratnayake, a cafe owner in Ella, a former colonial hill station in Sri Lankan tea country, organized free food and shelter for dozens of stranded tourists. “We were totally blown away,” said Alex Degmetich, a 31-year-old American cruise line entertainment director. “It’s pretty remarkable,” he said. “Coming from Western society, where nothing is really given to us and we have to pay for everything which is fine.