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Tsunami stories – rebuilding lives and bringing hope
Sri LankaLugumi's story
Lugumi, 29, is relieved to be in a permanent house in Mandanai, a 196-house Habitat for Humanity community on the east coast of Sri Lanka. After the tsunami, she and her husband, Ravichandran, 31, and their two children lived in a temporary house on land owned by a relative - although grateful for the temporary accommodation, they looked forward to moving their two children into a home of their own.
Like many other homeowners, Ravichandran and Lugumi were unable to rebuild on the land they occupied before the tsunami because it fell within the government-defined coastal buffer zone.
A farmer and no longer able to work his previous plot of land, Ravichandran got a loan to finance growing tomatoes and other vegetables in partnership with the relatives they had lived with. Transportation is a problem and while Ravichandran can't help with the crop every day, he has been able to take on part-time work as a construction worker, enabling the family to at least enjoy a basic quality of life.
Ravichandran and his family consider themselves fortunate - Sri Lanka was the second worst affected country by the tsunami. The family have not only survived the tsunami but, thanks to Habitat for Humanity, have been given the means to start a new life - away from the coast and their fear of the sea.
Sri Lanka Tsunami Update |
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IndiaMuthulakshmi's story
"We couldn't stay with our relatives any longer, but we were all afraid to return to our homes by the sea. My granddaughter used to scream with fear in the night" says Muthulakshmi.
Before moving into their new Habitat for Humanity home, the six family members lived in a windowless, one-room mud hut with a thatch roof - dank and dark, there was barely room to stand up in the mud hut. They stayed with relatives for months after the tsunami, but Seniyappan, Muthulakshmi's 37-year-old son and the family breadwinner, needed to get back to fishing.
"We lost fishing nets and all the household things, and have only just been able to replace them," said his wife, Selvi, as she cooks on a gas ring in a corner of the porch.
Seniyappan fishes and Selvi carries fish to the market to sell. She walks about three kilometers to the crossroads at Kaddapakkam Kuppam with other fishermen's wives and spreads her wares on the ground, both fresh fish and the ones her mother in law dries in the sun.
Muthulakshmi was desperate to move out of the family's mud hut and to get further from the sea. "I would not have been able to carry the children if the water had come again. In our new home, I am not frightened anymore."
With support from the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India (UELCI), Habitat for Humanity has built 182 houses to relocate the villagers of Alambarai Kuppam, including Seniyappan's family, further from the ocean. They can live their lives without fear in a safe, decent home.
India Tsunami Update |
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IndonesiaDedek's story
"When the village chief told us we would get a Habitat for Humanity home, we were so glad," says Dedek Faisal. "The building started in September by the end of October our house was finished and we moved in. Thank God for that! I could not afford to build this house by myself."
Dedek Faisal, 30, and his wife, Rizky Utami Sari, 26, live in Emperom, a neighborhood of Banda Aceh where Habitat for Humanity built 117 houses in September and October of 2005. Dedek and Rizky are the parents of two children - daughter Dresiska, 8 and son Muhamad, 5.
Dedek was a bank security guard before the tsunami, but he was laid off because of the economic downturn. Then he got a job as a minibus driver working six days a week from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. for 40,000 rupiah a day - about £2.10 in British money.
"After the tsunami, we lived in a tent for two months. The tents were very hot and it was too crowded. We had to queue for food and the toilet. I hated to have to stand in line after dark to take a shower, but if I didn't I was sweaty. The mosquitoes were bad too. It was a miserable way to live, so I built a temporary house on our land."
Dedek and Rizky are very proud of their new Habitat for Humanity home. They've chosen new colours and painted the house, put rugs on the floor and added a storage room and kitchen. At last, they have a safe and decent place to live and raise their children.
Indonesia Tsunami Update |
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ThailandJood's story
"There's just no comparison between the old house and the new one," says 57-year-old fisherman Jood Janthima.
Before the tsunami, Jood and his wife lived in a bamboo house on stilts with walls made of woven palm fronds. A shed made of scrap metal served as a kitchen. Now they have a very solid wooden house on concrete pillars.
Jood and his wife Tiw Chiawchan, 49, lived with their son after the tsunami damaged the main structure of his old home and completely destroyed the kitchen. Worse still, the tsunami robbed him of his means of making a living as his boat was smashed against a wall and smashed beyond repair. Jood's son was able to help buy a new fishing boat and now the two of them share the vessel - placing and tending their traps at different times of the day.
"Now we have a better house and I can work again," says Jood. "It is good to be back in a place of our own with my fishing boat and traps. Most of the year I can catch enough squid and fish to make 600 baht (about £9.86) a day."
"The best thing about the new house is the floor - and the roof," says Jood. "The floor of the old house was rough, uneven planks and the roof was poor. Everything about the new house is smooth and well built."
Thailand Tsunami Update |
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