In the Sri Lankan village of Nintavur, Aliyar Khalida ran a small timber business that supported him, his wife and his daughters. On the 26th of December last year his village was destroyed by the tsunami and Aliyar's family became one of the 3,200 Nintavur families in need of aid.

When Aliyar recounts what happened he says, "I was sitting down trimming my nails when I heard my wife and daughter running towards me, screaming that water was coming.

"I looked round and only 100 metres away from me, a wall of water about five feet high came crashing towards my house. I ran with my family towards the large mosque, without even stopping to pick up a shirt.

"We took up shelter in the mosque for three days and after the flooding subsided I went out to survey the damage. Everything we had was ruined – including my business that I spent years building – it was all swept away by the sea in a matter of minutes. Carcasses of goats and cows were strewn everywhere, the scene was horrific.

"Our family compound was full of rubble, the walls had collapsed and the sea had washed in fallen trees and debris from other houses. I did not know where to begin, or even how to begin, but I estimated that it would cost me at least 10,000 Rupees to clear the mess. We moved into my sister's house about half a kilometer away." IR brings hope

Aliyar heard that Islamic Relief was working in his village, clearing roads and houses. "I was very happy. I couldn't bear to think how I would clear up the debris, but Islamic Relief made this achievable."

Islamic Relief staff agreed to help Aliyar clear his compound and within two days the debris was gone and the walls rebuilt.

Aliyar and his family have since moved back into their old home, but they remain traumatised by the disaster. "We live in constant fear of another tsunami," says Aliyar, "I can’t let my family go anywhere for more than a day, I'm scared that I may never see them again."

IR in Sri Lanka

IR staff have cleared rubble from more than 800 houses and 4,401 compounds, and repaired 1,200 houses in Sri Lanka's Ampara region.
Islamic Relief is also providing temporary homes for 1000 families while permanent housing is constructed. IR is planning to build permanent homes for 500 of the neediest families.