Peralyia - a village almost totally destroyed by the Tsunami, read this first!

One Year Later, Dec 26th 2005

Maps, the trail of destruction

Tsunami Explained

Anatomy of a disaster

All Great Things Come to An End - and I've had an amazing experience!

Watch this space for the next project!

Would you like to help?

Your money can make a huge difference, I know I've seen what it can do. If you would like to make a difference you can contact me at malpitcher@ntlworld.com or donate directly to TAB relief....thank you..............should I?

How Did I Spend the Money?

This is an overview of where the money went. More information can be found throughout the website and some pictures are available of the items purchased etc. Thanks to every single person who donated.

TAB Relief - Some amazing people making things happen!

I spent several days visiting the camps set up and managed by TAB Relief. I was very fortunate to meet such a caring and compasionate group of people. Thanks to you all. Click on the picture to go to the website and then hit the "Tsunami relief" button to read all about whats happening now and where we spent some of our money.

Breaking News - Its happening now! -........Alison, at the front line in Peralyia

Alison’s diary September 5th Fire!!!!!!! Last night the monsoon rains and winds surged through the village and cut all the power in the area. A can of petrol exploded in one of the temporary shelter homes (which were built for the tsunami affected 100 meter people.) The fire raged out of control through the village destroying 30 homes. Hit the link to read her diary, as it happened. Click here to see what Alison found when she arrived in Peraliya several days after the Tsunami.

Life can be so incredibly unfair

Latest News from Peraliya. A tragic fire burns down 30 Tsunami temporary wooden shelters, 84 people are without homes again. They lost everything and are devastated. September 4th. Hit the link above to take you to the website

Tsunami Family in Galle

I visited this family in Galle. They virtually lost the whole of their house. They have just two rooms that they can live in. Most of the time they are still living in tents, 8 months after the Tsunami. We were able to help a great deal as this family are very poor. We provided them with a cooker, 2 gas bottles, 6 childrens chairs and two childrens tables, 4 adult chairs and a table. We also gave them some cooking utencils etc. Click on the link above to see the rest of the photos.

Whats it like - to feel humble

Whats it like ...?.... to be able to tell the poorest family in the hardest hit Tsunami village that we want to help them. Whats it like to tell a young Mother & Father with 5 kids living in a space no bigger than your garden shed who have nothing but 1 mattress for 7 of them to sleep on that we are going to help & buy them some mattresses, a cooker, a table & chairs, some cooking utencils & help pay some money towards their eldest daughters education. Whats it like when these people look at you in disbelief, then realise that its real & its happening. And whats it like when the Mother bursts in to tears, throws her arms around you and the Father shakes and then kisses the back of your hand and says" god bless you & your friends back in England" - Whats it like... I'll let you think about that one... there were times when I struggled.

My Story of Peralyia

I visited a place called Peralyia, I had seen some of the devistation previously when I had travelled down to Galle on the train. Its difficult to describe this place and the photos really do not do it justice. So much brickwork and rubble is apparent, a testimony to the force of the Tsunami.......I have spent three days in this place going from temporary house to wooden hut, being invited in to sit and listen to the stories of the Tsunami. At first it sounds unreal, maybe its just a village story, but you soon realise that these poor people have suffered more than we can ever begin to comprehend, it is real and they are still living it today. Every house / hut its the same story. The first wave, the second bigger wave - devistation, destruction & death. Without exception I was shown photo's usually water marked of members of their family who were lost in the Tsunami. Middle aged Men and Women who lost Mothers, Fathers, Brothers and Sisters - but the hardest stories to swallow were always the same. It was when they told you of loosing their children. So matter of fact, no emotion, they told it like a story, somehow detached.Then suddenly they stopped speaking & looked away, a sudden realisation that it wasnt a story, it was real and these children were never coming back..... They would look back at me and I could see this deep sense of loss in their eyes and a pain etched into their faces & despite their occasional smiles I was well aware that these poor people were in a state of trauma. I found it very hard to listen as this black cloud of sadness swept over me, but this was a very tiny price to pay in comparison to what they had to endure for the rest of their lives.

The Tsunami Children

Click here to see the rest of the pictures

Go on! click on the link above to see loads more pictures

Sigiriya - The Lion Rock

Nothing in Sri Lanka captures the imagination more than a 200 meter lump of granite that rises starkly above the flat central plains about three and a half hours' drive from Colombo. Click the title above to see my photo's

The Elephant Orphanage

What a great day out at the Elephant Orphanage at Pinnewala near Kandy in the Hill Country. The day started with the feeding of the baby elephants with milk and ended up with a walk to the river & and a good splash. Highly recommended if you get the chance!

The History of Sigiriya

Click this link to see all the pictures

Thanks for your emails & support

I received many emails from many people. Thank you to all of you. I have to admit it was quite a comfort to receive these notes of support as these made me even more determined to keep going. Have to admit though it did get really tough on a couple of occasions. I found it hard not talking to any English speaking people for over 2 weeks, going home after spending one or two days listening to desperatley sad stories & not forgetting my Deli Belly episode, boy was I ill.

Peraliya Village

Peraliya Village in Sri Lanka was almost totally destroyed by the Tsunami wave of December 26, 2004. Villagers and a group of independent volunteers quickly began the very slow rebuilding project. More than 3,000 people died in Peraliya, 90 per cent of the village was destroyed and 450 families are homeless The village lies 4km north of Hikkaduwa on Sri Lanka's west coast. It is also where the Queen of the Sea engine no.59 and it's eight carriages on the Colombo - Galle express route was derailed killing some 1,500 people in the world's worst ever train disaster.

Alison - An Angel without wings

A truely remarkable & most compasionate person.
Alison Thompson was nursing under the Twin Towers after the first Tower had collapsed and fled from the 2nd collapse. She volunteered at Ground Zero for a year and was joined by two Sri Lankan nurses who inspired her to return to Sri Lanka. She was born in Sydney, Australia and lives in New York City where she considers home. She arrived in Sri Lanka 9 days after the Tsunami hit.......hit the link above to see her photo's

What Alison found,a few days after the devistation & destruction of the Tsunami.

Alison has seen & and experienced a living nightmare. This is an exert from her diary..............I cry into my keyboard as I try to explain what is happening here. Today we fed more than 1000 people, built toilet holes for dignity, opened a first aid station out of the rented van, tiled and cleaned out the damaged school library for shelter. Thousands of people are sleeping in what is left of the school. Life is misery and I have found myself once again through the gates of hell. Although this time, unlike 911, there are people alive and I can help them. I am running this fly infested dirty hospital with only the medical supplies we brought. I am being asked to do things way past my capabilities, but there is no-one else here to do it and if I don't they will die of infection. Today we set broken arms, sewed one guy's head together, tended to over 100 infected legs and arms, cared for five babies with 103 temperatues, chest infectons, dog bites/rabies etc etc How many times can I say I am sorry when I look into their black haunting eyes as they tell me they lost their husband and 6 children who were stolen by the great wave that conquered their land. Children cling to my arms in search of milk and love. I can give them the second. They call me mother. My heart cries out for them, I am so tired and I hide my tears in my sunglasses. When we help someone they say "I will be your slave forever!!" They get on their knees and kiss our feet and then I start to cry because I am not a God who should be worshipped. I am just like them without the tsunami. I am also poor but I have a strong heart and we will go through this together, they won't have to wait alone anymore. Today I have seen an island eaten by the sea, children eating rocks and hungry dogs chewing on human remains. I wear my sunglasses to hide the tears that flow like a river salty tears that remind me of the ocean that swallowed you. - hit the link above to go to "Alisons diaries"

That fateful train.

An express train on the Colombo-Galle route was passing through the village at the time of the Tsunami. The force of the water swept the train from its tracks, killing 1468 passengers. The village itself lost 500 people, while 200 are still missing. The train has – much like Ground Zero in New York – become a focal point for commemorating the tragedy.

3 carriages of the train remain as a memorial

3 carriages of the train remain on the original tracks as a memorial to those who died. The new train track was laid in front. Bits of clothes and some small personnal belongings still lay beside the wreckage. Inside the train is a mangled wreck, roof has collapsed, seats ripped up etc. Everything is coated in mud and the ceiling and walls have many water marks

A photo just doesn't do it!

I wish there was a way that I could show you what this was like so you could experience it for real. To stand in a place with so many completely flattened homes and to understand how far away the ocean actually is - its awesome. I stood here for a long time with many thoughts rushing around in my head and a tear in my eye.

Many homes were flattened only the most robust survived. Despite loosing the roof and windows doors etc the main structure remains in place , just!

Children play on the remains of a boat snapped in half by the Tsunami wave

Tsunami damage

& more damage

& still even more damage - everywhere you look

This house was not so lucky and was completely flattened.

The DIY Superstore

Negotiating the best price for some power tools.

All loaded up & ready to go!

Having hired a trailer we loaded up the provisions and headed back to camp. I was concerned on the way back that there may be a free for all and that things may get out of hand, after all these are a desperate people. I need not have worried.

The food store - every little helps!

Ok, so its not Tesco's-! I negotiated a price for 1 lot of aid & managed to get them down to 500 rupees. Right, I'll take 30 of those then please. You should have seen his face!

Two great Guys

These two guys invited me to there shack to show me photo's. The man on the left lost his Brother, Sister & Father. The Man on the right lost his Wife and two baby Daughters. What can you say when they tell you these things. You can see in their eyes that these people are still very traumatised and will be for a very long time.

Distributing some aid

When we arrived with the parcels I was quite happy for the locals to help themselves - Oh no, these are a very proud people and it was important to them that this was done properly. Everything was unloaded from the trailer and put into neat lines. I was then required to present each family with their parcel.

Feeding 30 Families

I visited a place on the South Coast called Peraliya, near to Hikkadua. This is the worst affected area. The only other area in Sri Lanka to have been hit harder was the East Coast. I visited many families living in wooden shacks and after speaking with them it was clear that there was a need for food. We went to town, hired a trailer and delivered food parcels to 30 families all with children. The parcels contained rice, sugar, tea, dried fish, dried milk, vegetables and soap.

thank you

It was strange....I'd known these people for three days but it felt like very much longer. They were all really pleased to recieve and I was honoured and humbled to be able to do it.

The difference between him & me?

He's been through a living hell. Lost many family members, lost his house, his business & it very nearly broke his spirit. Me? I haven't...I realise that had I been here when the Tsunami hit - there would be very little difference between us at all.

7 people live in this "house" - well, its just one room now. The whole of the side of the house and most of the roof was taken out by the Tsunami. They eat, sleep, & cook in the one room.

Thanks for the Equipment

The children were really excited and really grateful for the pens / pencils, books etc that you all donated. They said a special thank you to all the children back in the UK.