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Rebuilding their lives after the tsunami

December 26th 2004 would undoubtedly be an unforgettable day for the entire world and especially for those in South East Asia. The Tsunami hit with little warning upon daybreak of Boxing Day and swallowed many lives, property and the hopes of millions of people. Sri Lanka took the brunt of the Tsunami, and the devastation was appalling for a country already battered by war and poverty.

According to statistics released by WHO (World Health Organization) by 5th February 2005, 12 coastal districts in Sri Lanka and 103,789 families were affected. In total 500,668 people were displaced. 5,644 people were missing and 30,959 people lost their lives.

The fishing community in Sri Lanka

Amongst those affected by the tsunami, the fishing community unquestionably were one of the worst. They are also one of the poorest communities in Sri Lanka.

From point Pedro in Northern Jaffna Peninsula down to Galle in the Southern province there were 17,000 active fishermen engaged in fishing industry. The tsunami took the lives of an estimated at 5,006 fishermen, around 32,989 houses of fishermen were affected and 24,572 were completely destroyed. In addition approximately estimated 17,157 marine fishing crafts destroyed and another 4,241 were damaged.

The Tsunami impacted the entire fishing industry, which contributes to 2.5% to the country's national income.

As expressed by experts: "The total loss of fish production in 2005 would be around 86,000 tons. The country's foreign exchange earnings from fish export which was recorded at Rs.9.5 billion (£53,000) in 2003, would be lowered by 1/3 as a result of the non-availability of fish for export " – Tinil Fernando, National Aqatic Resources Research & Development Agency

Another official commented that "the fishing industry in Sri Lanka has been pushed back to its 1950 status".

Practical Action

While the magnitude of the tragedy left many without hope, the enormous acts of empathy gave hope in the immediate and long-term plans of rebuilding the nation. The response of Practical Action's supporters was overwhelming. With almost a year past, we would like to highlight a few ways in which your donations have helped to rebuild the lives of the fishing communities in Sri Lanka.

During the months that followed we've been working with the fishing community to replace and repair small fibreglass boats, as well as traditional orus and katturamas. Work was also undertaken to rebuild houses. The reconstruction work is been carried out in Jaffna, Ampara, Hambanthota and Matara districts.

Practical solutions

Fishing boats

With your assistance Practical Action has set up four community based canoe building yards in Jaffna, Ampara, Hambantota and Matara. 

So far 107 canoes have been produced with community participation and 23 small scale fisher community members have gained skills on fibre glass and wooden boat building.  They have already built 50 high quality boats, appropriate to local conditions, which contributes to a speedier recovery of the small scale fishing industry. 

An indicator of this is that fishing has begun again with canoes of the fishermen's specification, produced at the community building yard.

Early months in Ampara, in the district of Panama
The fishing community in Panama, which is a small rural village in Ampara was devastated by the tsunami. All 40 canoes were damaged and they had no livelihood.

In the early months following the tsunami, many organisations responded to the disaster by providing boats and fishing gear.  The fishing boats provided however were not suitable – the side of the canoes were too high to throw their nets over the side and their fishing lagoon is now home to scores of crocodiles, and the canoes given were not safe.

They were all in despair and they thought they had no hope of going out to fish, the only livelihood they knew.

It was at this point that Practical Action identified this community and open discussions were held with them. The fishermen mentioned that the canoes they were using before the tsunami were suitable for the lagoon. They brought the damaged canoes and the most preferred damage canoe was chosen together with the villages. Practical Action also developed the canoe to suit the new conditions in the lagoon.

Through working with the community Practical Action has provided forty lagoon canoes. Throughout the process four fishermen were trained on fibreglass canoe building and repairing. The support from the entire community contributed towards the success of the project. Those who were not involved in building the boats brought meals and supported them.   

The community was happy and is back to their known livelihood, in new canoes that are safe and suitable.

By the end of September 2005, a total of 107 canoes had been built with the community participation in all the districts. Twenty-three members of the community were trained on fibreglass and wooden boat building and 50 quality boats were built. These boats were built to suit the new condition in the sea bed.

A new livelihood

Providing fishing boats was not always the answer in the reconstruction process. Gurupokuna at Kalamatiya village is located near Hambanthota 200km south to Colombo. This is a beautiful lagoon area, which is surrounded by a bird century. The century attracts thousands of tourists each year. The people in the village earn a living through fishing and have done so for many years. The tsunami destroyed their livelihood as most of the fishing boats were washed away or destroyed by the massive wave.
 
Geetha and her family managed to save their lives when the wave hit the village but they lost their fishing boats. Geetha;s family survived on fishing and she  was doing a small business of selling lunch packets  for additional income. After the tsunami they lost both means of income.

While the family members were thinking of going back to the sea, Geetha was keen to venture into a business. But she soon realised no organization was willing to help. 

It was at this time that Practical Action, within their tsunami reconstruction program, was trying to recognize potential entrepreneurs with the need and willingness to re-start businesses.   Geetha was selected based on her need and her willingness to take up a new challenge. A workshop was organized on how to develop a business idea. Geetha attended the workshop with much enthusiasm.

Upon completion she realized that there is the potential for her to start a business within the beautiful natural environment of Kalamatiya.

With the guidance of Practical Action she realized that the local tourists that visited the area had no method of going around the century and a small canoe was the only way a tourist could get a proper view of the century. Geetha together with a few other villagers thought of starting a small canoe service for local tourists. Few more villagers eagerly accepted the idea. Local tourists did not visit the area immediately after the tsunami. But over the months people began to visit the area to see the bird century and to view the area affected by the tsunami. Currently she is preparing a business plan and Practical Action is guiding her through the process. Geetha is grateful for the guidance given by Practical Action and the support given by you in making her desire a reality.

Housing
In addition to the fishing boats many houses were also destroyed in the coastal belt. Practical Action has worked along side the communities in Hambanthota, Matara and Ampara districts to reconstruct houses. A total of 250 houses have been completed.

Seven organizations also requested Practical Action to assist with the housing reconstruction model with the participation of the community.

Assistance was given to five organizations by providing masons' training, site supervision and construction. Fifteen masons have been trained on house construction in Ampara and three in Matara District.

Within the process the communities have also been shown how to make affordable house-bricks and roofing tiles. This has helped people who have lost everything to earn a living and also help poor families to rebuild their own homes.

Thank you

Your contributions have assisted in making these projects a success and have helped to give hope to hundreds of families that lost everything and had little hope of seeing a future.

Through your support, the possibility of people rebuilding their lives and returning to their livelihoods after the tragic impact of the Tsunami is now becoming a reality.

Thank you.

Further reading

Note: some photos are for illustrative purposes only, and may not directly correspond to people mentioned in the text.

Information on this page was last updated January 2006.

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