The tsunami killed more than 35,000 people in Sri Lanka, and many survivors lost their houses and livelihoods. While World Vision staff members responded immediately to the needs of thousands of people, one of their first priorities was to locate sponsored children and their families living in five World Vision project areas.

Child Sponsorship Funds at Work
World Vision redesigned its child sponsorship-funded programs to incorporate relief and reconstruction work in tsunami-affected areas. Regular projects, funded through child sponsorship, will resume after the reconstruction phase, explains Selwyndas Rajkumar, World Vision’s operations director in Sri Lanka.

The Search for Sponsored Children
In some areas, damaged roads and bridges made travel difficult. Sadly, World Vision staff discovered that 48 sponsored children lost their lives in the tragedy. Relief staff provided emergency assistance to surviving children. Staff also set up a database to maintain updated information about sponsored children affected by the tsunami, enabling them to relay crucial information to Canadians who sponsor children in the area. 

Kumar’s Story
Two days after the tsunami, staff members found 11-year-old Kumar and his 18-year-old sister, Gowri, along with their grandparents and aunt and uncle living in a church. They invited the family to relocate to a temporary centre, where World Vision provided shelter, basic necessities, and medical assistance to displaced families. Nearby, staff also set up two child-friendly spaces, where children could play in a safe environment.

“World Vision staff visit us every day to ask if we need anything. I didn’t know they cared this much about us,” Gowri says. Since arriving at the centre, the siblings have received food, water, clothes, shelter, and schoolbooks from World Vision.