i was convinced i could live life like i was 13 years old...like the lost boys in J M Barrie's Peter Pan...but then once i figured i had to grow up at some point i ditched that and took the name of morquendi... - Sanjaya Senanayake

I've been inundated with requests for more information on Sanjaya, aka Morquendi in the online world of blogs - the 23 year old television producer who is speeding around Sri Lanka and sending me text messages from his cell phone. We've been posting them regularly on ChiensSansFrontier. For two days we lost contact, but he's back and safe, which is a big relief for me. Morquendi is a hero for all of us here, trying to make sense of what's going on in the tsunami-affected areas.

Last night Mitch Wagner interviewed Morquendi, and wrote a beautiful story about him. Here is an excerpt:

Senanayake said his phone is a very old and basic Nokia model.

"I think I have sent over 4,000 messages in the past four days. My keypad has just about stopped working—it's been giving me trouble this afternoon," he said. He also quips that his thumbs are nearly numb from all the activity.

Last night Sanjaya messaged me saying that our reports have been crucial in bringing about official inquiries. He talks about that with Mitch:

"As word got out, people started putting pressure on the government to stop lying and get things done," Senanayake said.

Spontaneous relief efforts proved to be more important in getting aid out than the government or relief agencies, and SMS proved vital in getting word back to the neighborhoods providing relief.

Read the whole story.