Tsunami Housing Project - Galle
(Joint venture with Hampton Village, England)

The Tsunami of 2004 caused widespread destruction across several Indian Ocean nations and Sri Lanka was no exception. In the coastal town of Galle, 140 Kms south of Colombo, 99,862 people were affected of which 34,868 lost their livelihood, while 23,278 families were displaced and 2121 families were housed in Welfare Centers. 14,712 homes were destroyed or damaged. The people of Galle are friendly, warm and simple and the city abounds in happiness and sunshine. But what happened on 26th December 2004 swept away all that happiness. When the tidal wave ebbed it left behind pools of tears in the lives of those affected.

Galle being the birth place and hometown of Dr. Upali Wickrama- Sekara, who is now a Kiwanian, the concept of a project that would bring back normality and dignity to the lives of some of the people affected by the disaster was conceived by him and his like minded friends.

A private fund named "Relief Fund Hampton" after Hampton in England where Dr. Upali was resident was set up and a project comprising 50 houses, a monument, a community center, a place of worship, a shop and a common playground crystallized.