Page 49 - Hemas_Piyawara_Book

The odour of the dead lingered with us for a long time,” says Shiromi, still shuddering at
the memories of villages laid bare, with only a few name-boards standing as a pathetic To meet the huge challenges that came in
reminder of a life before the tsunami.
the wake of the tsunami, the Hemas Tsunami
They started work at 6 a.m., going on until dawn the next day, accessing the staff of
each Divisional Secretariat and also meeting jobless and sad teachers in the welfare Foundation was established in 2005.
camps in all the districts except the north, ravaged by the tsunami. Sleep was a luxury
Shiromi, Jayantha and his staff could not afford, grabbing only a few minutes’ shut-eye The Trustees were former Assistant Director-
in partly washed off guesthouses.
General of the International Planned
After what seemed like 2 unending weeks since the tsunami crashed onto Sri Lanka’s
coastline, changing not only the lives but also the psyche of all people, the Hemas Parenthood Federation, Dr. Pramilla
Group had a general idea of the devastation. While numerous preschools had suffered Senanayake; former marketing professional at
some damage or been partly washed off, more than 150 had fully succumbed to the
monstrous waves. A.T. Kearney, Sue Evans; the Managing Director
of LTU Touristik, R. Hoffmann; and Directors
Back in Colombo, for Shiromi and Jayantha, the vilapaya (lamentation) of the bereaved
rang in their ears and echoed through their very being! of the Hemas Group, Abbas Esufally, Murtaza

Esufally & Serena Fonseka.

The Hemas Tsunami Foundation smoothened
the pathway for the great volume of work

undertaken in the coastal areas after the
debilitation of the waves.

With the construction of the new model

preschools drawing to a close, the Hemas
Tsunami Foundation which had made a niche

for itself, evolved into the Hemas Outreach
Foundation.

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