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In the space of minutes, the terrifying 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami destroyed or damaged 98,000 homes in across coastal Sri Lanka, devastating countless families and leaving some of the poorest, most vulnerable households exposed to an uncertain future.
Kalantheruma is a widow from the tsunami who now cares for her two grand children. She now relies on drying rice for her meagre income. Her house was completely pulverized when the tsunami raced ashore in Ampara on Sri Lanka's east coast. Without a family breadwinner, Kalantheruma would struggle to find the money to rebuild her house and life. But help is at hand.
Over the next couple of years, Red Cross houses across tsunami-affected Sri Lanka, will number a staggering 20,000. As part of this process, Australian Red Cross is funding 300 families to rebuild their homes in Ampara.
Tsunami-affected families are provided with funds on top of the government grants to finish building their own homes. Kalantheruma's family will receive funding as part of this 'owner-driven' process, which empowers those building their houses by enabling them to design, manage and construct their own houses with local labour.
Working together to rebuild the community
Getting the houses built requires a big collaborative effort by all of the people involved. Technical assistance is provided by the United Nations' UN Habitat teams, who have skilled engineers and technical officers on all of the construction sites around Ampara.
The Sri Lankan Red Cross Society helps by working with families to identify livlihoods programs to rebuld the economy and facilities and training to rebuild the community's damaged infrastructutre.
Construction on the 300 houses is well underway. The sites are a hive of activity, as home owners receive Australian Red Cross funds and work with the masons and carpenters to complete their houses. Ameer Kahn is a mason and who owns a small hardware store that is doing roaring trade with all the construction activity going on. 'My sister-in-law lives next door and we are living in her house. Once we finish constructing my family's house, we will move there and build another house'.
A nearby neighbour Abdul Cader owns a tea shop on the beach frequented by fisherman, and has completed two rooms of his house. 'I am building the house in stages, room by room. I buy the gravel in Ampara and the bricks come from Saintamaruthu', he says proudly demonstrating that he saves money this way which he intends to use for an extra bedroom. |
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Around Ampara, on Sri Lanka's tsunami-devastated east coast, new homes are taking shape
Kalantheruma and her two grand children stand on the site where the family's house was destroyed by the tsunami. Their new house will be built here with funding and support from the Australian Red Cross.
Ameer Kahn is delighted to show off his masonry work on his new home - one of 300 being built with support from Australian Red Cross and technical assistance from UN Habitat.
Abdul Cader has constructed two rooms of his new house, and is hoping to build a second storey with the money he saves from purchasing materials locally. |
