Tsunami 2004

Annie in the death-filled streets

David and Karen Armstrong, and their three children were in Madras (Chennai) in South India over the 2004 Christmas holidays. On Boxing day morning, Karen felt the house move and a few hours later, on the coast just 20 miles away the Tsunami struck, killing thousands.

Loading bodies onto a cart

When the true enormity of the disaster became apparent, it was decided that Dave and two locals would buy 150 sets of clothes, blankets and bed mats, and drive 300km south to visit remote coastal villages near Nagalpattinam that would be much less  able to help themselves than the nearby coastal areas of Madras.  It was 3 days after the disaster when they arrived and the air was filled with the smell of death.  They distributed their aid through local churches and invited people to tell their stories.  They filmed these interviews to help fund raising back home in the UK.

Grief

They spoke to a lady who was caught in the branches of a tree as she clung to her two children but fainted, and lost the children to the floods. A 17 year old girl left with seven brothers and sisters, asked “What should I do?” One of many fishermen had lost his boat and source of income. All had lost their homes.

Despair

Dave realised that with so many children orphaned, perhaps their best contribution would be to use their knowledge of orphanages, and to rent some houses further from the coast. Each one could house, feed, school and care for 20 children with two staff, for the cost of about £100 per week.   Annie, Pastor Martin and Omega, the Trustees of the ‘Love and Care Charitable Trust’ (the Indian Christian partner charity to India Direct) and other Pastors in the local area would supervise them.

This would provide permanent homes for orphans, and could give parents temporary respite to re-establish their livelihoods without the burden of feeding their children. Another advantage would be that by feeding money in via their local contacts they could ensure that it went directly to the most needy without fear of it being delayed by any bureaucracy.

The Armstrong family returned to the UK on New Year’s Eve determined to set up a new Tsunami fund to complement the existing orphanage. Within a few months our second children’s home was established in an affected fishing village near Poriyar.  The locals  named it ‘Joy Children’s Home’.

The first Joy children's home

In a house the size of a small three-bedroomed semi-detached house, we looked after 80 children for 2 years until we had raised enough money to buy land, build a home and Joy was underway with temporary housing on the site for the children.  It was a tough time but our children were patient, well-behaved and understanding; being grateful for a roof over their heads, good food and an assured education.