Selvavani, a 22-year-old technical college student, was woken up by her mother with a kiss on her forehead. It was the 18th of December 2004, Selvavani's birthday, and she hugged her mother promising, "When I get a job I will buy you a sari with my first paycheque".
The following week as she sat at home with her parents, she heard people outside crying, "The sea is coming, people are dead", and she ran for her life. A great earthquake 1,500 km away underneath the Indian Ocean had caused tidal waves that engulfed her town on the eastern coast of Sri Lanka.
Selvavani survived the waves, but she was separated from the rest of her family. As the waters subsided she walked in search of her family. She eventually found her brother, but she would never see her mother again. He had already found their mother's dead body and buried her.
Homeless
The home in which she had grown up now destroyed, Selvavani and her family settled in the Nehru refugee camp where Islamic Relief was providing shelter for survivors.
She watched Islamic Relief staff build a shelter for her family, and although she would never be able to buy her mother that sari, she was determined to find a job to help her family and the other survivors.
IR's new Technical Assistant
She asked Islamic Relief staff to consider employing her and was asked to come for an interview. Islamic Relief staff in Sri Lanka decided to employ her as a technical assistant and she began work on the home repair project.
Selvavani now spends her days assessing damaged houses to determine which are repairable, then she prepares estimates for the work.
She received her first paycheque in June this year, but working for Islamic Relief has helped her in other ways. Selvavani has been able to cope better with the trauma of the disaster and the loss of her mother, "The environment in the office helps me forget the tragedy", says Selvavani.
Home Repair Project
IR's engineers have so far surveyed 894 houses, and the team now is now beginning restoration work on 112 houses in Karaitivu where Selvavani grew up. IR also employs 600 local labourers to clear the debris that the sea washed into people's homes. So far more than 2,300 houses have been cleared.
