How Peraliya evolves on a daily basis. Latest pictures are entered from the top. First time viewers please scroll to bottom of page and proceed upwards. New pics now added

and views of the end of the world

powdered orange sunsets

fields of green

Silver lakes

sands of gold
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cheeky monkeys

Ceremonial Elephants

and quieter reflections


"A moment of silence for the stolen lives and Peraliya temple restored."

Volunteers reunited

The one year anniversary brings us the new Sri Lankan President and his soldiers.
A photo of the 100 meter shacks and how they live today. The houses behind the 100 meter zone in this village have been rebuilt. The 100 meter people need help now.

"and not forgotten"
Any one who lives 100 meters fom the sea cannot rebuild, so they live in temporary shacks awaiting a reversal decision and for somewhere else to go. They don't want to leave the sea where they have lived for generations. There are 167 families in Peraliya who are in the100 meter zone and tens of thousands all along the coast. They are stuck! October 3rd
A photo of the 100 meter shacks and how they live today. The houses behind the 100 meter zone in this village have been rebuilt. The 100 meter people need help now.
The 100 meter refugees receive their new association membership cards. An organisation they formed themsleves.
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Secret appreciation rings given to Bruce, Donny, Oscar and Alison and ? a mystery person on behalf of Peraliya by the chief of the village.

Thankyou Kevin Fenwick and Rotary Cronulla, Australia for your kind donation of a generator to CTEC. The electricty is cut here about 5 times a day in this region. Thankyou!!!!

Swimming lessons continues on Saturdays. They are really fun days.


New mask shop
New Businesses opening up. A ceremony for the building of the Chiefs sons mask shop. October 1st
The Seenegama full moon 'Perahara' festival is on this weekend and it is a great one!
CTEC were asked to provide protection for the 'Perahara' full moon festival. There were fears that a false tsunami rumor would cause a stampede of the thousands of festival visitors. 19th September
Vivien and her friends from Mito, Japan held a 3 Day charity event to raise money for the school children of Peraliya, thankyou!
A tragic fire burns down 30 Tsunami temporary wooden shelters, 84 people are without homes again. They lost everything and are devastated. September 4th.
Dr Stein and his wonderful Aussie Architect Justin creating the new Medical center at Peraliya which will hopefully open in October.
Oscar versus the bus. The bus won!
TAMILS WIN 3-0... (PHEW!!). A great game.. well played!!
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Tamil Tigers team.( Huge!!)
Tsunami affected Galle team. August 20th
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A special thanks to Sean Hardy, kit manager at Leeds Utd for donating the Galle team's shorts and jerseys
" Football without Boundaries" soccer match in Jaffna.
Tamils against Sinhalese. 20th August. 5pm.. Thankyou to Doug Kennedy and the other Hawaiians who helped sponsor the event.
Tamils against Sinhalese. 20th August. 5pm.. Thankyou to Doug Kennedy and the other Hawaiians who helped sponsor the event.
Father Roberts brought along his Brighton College students who have been building houses in Galle to paint the temporary Peraliya school.
Speakers are set up throughout the village to warn of a possible tsunami.
CTEC, Tsunami center officers
Officers from the Community Tsunami Early-warning Center educate the 5 surrounding villages with lectures on tsunami and evacuation and warning procedures. The Center is now protecting over 10,000 villagers along the coast.
Reuters volunteers (on loan from Habitat for Humanity, Great Britain) painting the tsunami warning center. Thankyou Alan Wellington.
New homes at Peraliya donated by foreign donors to the honorable Jeyarj Fernandoupoulle (the minister of Commerce and Trade) for the peraliya refugees. ..He has been very kind to us and Peraliya.
The First Sri Lankan Tsunami Warning Center run by the villagers themselves. It is called 'CTEC' Community Tsunami Early-warning Center"
Mil who runs 'The Information Center in Hikkaduwa ' helps educate and update the workers.
The Tsunami Center workers man the computers and phones 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Plans are being made to spread centers like this prototype along the coast to other villagers.
Dr Novil giving lectures to the new workers at the Tsunami center on 'Earthquakes and Tsunamis.'

Dr Thomas Stein. A welcome addition to Peraliya viilage has been working all over the coast and is building the new medical center at Peraliya with the help of Deutche bank and many others. We salute you!!
The Team with the Chief.
The Village organizers.
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Alison with the village dogs. Her beloved tsunami dog is on the left. May 25th
This is what it is all about!"
This band's instruments were washed away. Here they receive new ones from Bruce kindly donated by the Canadian band "Rush."

Oscar takes the kids to the beach as part of a regular ongoing weekend activity to help them with their fears of the sea. May 15


On the other side of destruction, Peraliya shoreline from the sea.
Appreciation and Humanitarian awards were given to Bruce, Donny, Oscar, Alison and Sebastian by the Sri Lankan Govt from Mr Fernandopulle, Minister of Trade and Commerce.
500 new coconut trees ready to be planted.

A big thank you to Kym Athony and his daughter Callen. Kym is CEO of National Financial Bank which is helping raise money in Canada to build a new school in Peraliya. We honor you. April 30

And a big thank you to Todd Shea who not only brought Kym to us but also came with healing music, April 30
Donny surveys the village and entertains the kids


Bonding in new friendships


Juliet and James teach the kids photography, An important part of the healing process. April 26

English cricket legend Ian Botham pays a visit to Peraliya, April 20

The return of Donny sees a commemerative photo of the Rebuild Peraliya Society , April 18
From tents to tempoary shacks to permanent houses.

The Hawaiians have landed. A big thanks to the team from the New Hope Church who came to help, you rock Doug Kennedy! April 16

Wal and Carmen, two of our favourite volunteers get remarried in the fishing village of Dodanduwa, April 15

A bakery in nearby Kahawa is rebuilt and reopened thanks to the hard work of Peter Nossiter and the team from Gleason, April 13
Jeff " The Good Father of Peraliya" our number 5

Buddika, the 14-year-old artist presents Oscar with a painting, April 9
Alison and Alison
Still collecting bodies way into April.

The third month anniversary of Tsunami brings in over 200 monks who have walked here to pay homage to all who have died here. A wonderful feast was provided by a Detroit/Sinhalese man returning to his village.


...But we are building temporary classrooms as quickly as we can. A special thank you to Global Crossroads for sending volunteers to help us build four new rooms, March 25


Children are still being schooled outside..., March 24

People gather to protest at the government's rule that rebuilding can not take place within 100m of the beach, March 21

We have had to move tents to higher ground to escape the flooding, March 20

We need engineers to help with problems. The first monsoons have flooded some of the temporary homes, March 19

Villagers hold a meeting and express their frustration at the slow progress of rebuilding, March 17

This family, one of the poorest of the village, move into a house sponsored by Carol and Bob Christensen. This individual sponsoring will form the basis of our One to One giving system, March 12

Paramedic Detlev A. Tute has some fun with the kids
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Donny and Scottish doctor Shouren treat a patient, March 10

The medical centre is still treating some 300 people a day, March 8

In some cases, tides have come right over Galle Road and into Peraliya village, March 6

Heavy monsoons have started. The reef which once protected the beach was damaged in the tsunami and with higher tides we are finding flooding being a problem, March 4

Alison stands with a family who have just received shelter in the form of a tent, a full ten weeks after the tsunami, March 1
A proud moment. The chief Aiyypyge Darmadasa celebrates the new sign, Feb 19
Peraliya has replaced it's 'relief camp' sign with one that shows it is still a village, despite the destruction. It is to give respect back to the village. The sign was erected and kept covered for a Saturday morning Buddhist blessing, Feb 18

Stefan helps out in the phototherapy class, Feb 14

The Lighthouse Hotel in Galle has kindly agreed to provide school lunches for Valentines day Feb 14

A month after arriving, Bruce has to get back on the roof for running repairs, Feb 13

While work is progressing it is a slow process. This view would once have been full of houses, Feb 13

Alison takes some of the children still afraid of the water down to the beach, Feb 13

The children learn how to make rukuda or traditional Sri Lankan puppets, Feb 11

The Paramedics from Hamlyn Germany

On a busy day for the medical center, Kris has to take to nursing outside

Progress is slow moving and we are still finding bodies, Feb 11

The store room has been completed allowing us to free up the remaining classes in Peraliya school, Feb 11

Villagers woke up to find the train, which has become a symbol of Peraliya had been moved overnight by Sri Lankan Railways. Oscar and the villagers appealed to the government for the return of what is considered in the village to be a cemetary and the final resting place of many loved ones. They received it back the next day. Feb 10

Sri Lankan cricket stars Muttia Muralitharan and Mahela Jayawardena talk to the villagers, Feb 9

Australian cricket leged Shane Warne visits and catches up with fellow Aussie Don Paterson, Feb 9
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Volunteers waterfight with kids to combat the heat, Feb 8

Out of the tents and into temporary shelter.
New Storeroom, Peraliya in tents, things are moving

Ops officer Don Paterson (left) directs construction, Feb 8

Construction begins on a new storeroom and school office, Feb 8

New chairs arrive for the school, Feb 8
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Classes start and the kids get cheeky!

The newly refurbished school re-opens and children pay respects to lost friends, Feb 7, 2005

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksha gets his own Peraliya volunteer ID, Feb 6, 2005

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksha lays the first stone of the first new permenant house in Peraliya Feb 6, 2005
The chief thanks us on behalf of the village in front of the Prime Minister

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksha visits Peraliya Feb 6, 2005

Alison and the kids dress up on Independence Day, Feb 4, 2005

Red noses all round for Independence Day, Feb 4, 2005

A puppet show takes place on Independence Day, Feb 4, 2005
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Village chief Aiyypyge Darmadasa hands out clothes on Sri Lankan Independence Day, Feb 4, 2005

The old school is being prepared for children to move back into their old classrooms

A volleyball net is erected and a huge awning placed over the top to create Peraliya stadium, Feb 2

One of the girls shows off her drawings

Smiles all round as school starts

Alison joins in on the first day of school.

Temporary classrooms are a tight fit!

Classes begin
The one month Tsunami anniversary, candles were lit along the tracks and inside the train. A memorial to all those who died.

Pre-school tents are erected
Reinhold Klostermann and his team from Hameln, Germany left us a bag of medicine in the early days and returned to supply the hospital with medicines and paramedics. They also ended up building 75 homes and replacing 15 fishing ships with nets and motors and built a new Montessouri school in Telwatta. We salute you!!!

British and German Interpol came through and dug up the thousands of bodies buried at Peraliya looking for Europeans. They found two. The other bodies were then thrown back into the hole.

An Israeli anti-trauma team, headed by Dr Libon Dan do a programme for the kids, Jan 24
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Heavy monsoons don't stop the kids from smiling. They have been an inspiration to everyone at the camp, Jan 23
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Thich shows off his camerawork

Volunteer Lisa conducts impromptu English classes, Jan 23
The team grows with volunteers

Girls get their new uniforms ready to start school

All the kids are being catalogued and given IDs to combat possible abductions, Jan20

Bruce shoots the children's school ID's.
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Getting the kids involved by painting their desks, Jan 19
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Driftwood and canvas have been used to make a temporary shelter for kids to return to school, Jan 18
"waiting for hours for aid distribution"
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Kids at the camp have been drawing pictures in an effort to get over the tragedy
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A tuktuk is turned into an ambulance
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From day one the library became a working medical centre, here it is on Jan 16

Spirits are kept high with the odd joke, Jan 16

And this is all that remains of this family's home, Jan 12

This is all that remains of their house, Jan 12

A list of requirements is drawn up

Feeding a village

Long hospital lines

Emergency operations take place

The first donated medical supplies arrive. These are all donated by independent volunteers

The railway track and the village are destoyed.

The long clean up process begins. This mangled wreck is what used to be school desks, Jan 12

Bruce leads a team of volunteers to get the roof of the library re-tiled so it can be used as a medical center, Jan 9, 2005
The villagers are mostly Buddhist but there are also Muslims, Hindu and Christians"

Peraliya was a fishing village. This is the remains of most of its boats, Jan 9, 2005

One of the many injuries that needed treating
We now have over 2500 people to care for. They have nothing but the clothes they are wearing.

Oscar begins to clear the inside debris
Cleaning out the library for shelter and a hospital.

This is what remains of the school library. It is one of only a dozen buildings to survive the tsunami, Jan 9, 2005

Our first mobile hospital at Peraliya
Donny and Luke help feed the hungry villagers. Thankyou Luke and Steve, Paramedics from Emirates! Jan, 7, 2005

No home to go and cry in. 450 houses destroyed!
Bruce, Alison, Oscar and Donny

The first Independent volunteers arrive in Peraliya and begin emergency field operations, Jan 7, Prior to this they had been slowly driving down along the coast treating people for minor injuries. 2005

Hikkaduwa main street.

Villages and villagers totally destroyed



Peraliya village just after the tsunami.