21st December 2014 Colombo, Sri Lanka
The fifth blog in our series tells of the inspiration for Indian Ocean Disaster Relief (IODR), a charity which supports especially children to survive a natural disaster, and then rebuild their lives. Chairman and founder, Tony Matharu, tells the story. Nearly 10 years ago on Boxing Day 2004, having overindulged during the Christmas period, I […]
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20th December 2014 Colombo, Sri Lanka
For our fourth blog in the series, we look in house. Gary Leslie, currently Head of UK Trade and Industry at the High Commission, but in 2004 based in London, was in the first team of Foreign and Commonwealth Office volunteers to be deployed to Sri Lanka. Here is his story. On the morning of 26 […]
19th December 2014 Colombo, Sri Lanka
Our third blog in the series tells the story of the Harrow School First XI; how their cricket tour was caught up in the tsunami, their subsequent partnership with Vidyaloka School, and the experience of their return last year. Former Master-in-Charge of Cricket, Mr Simon Halliday, reflects on the experience. Back in 2004, two-thirds of the […]
18th December 2014 Colombo, Sri Lanka
The second blog in our series describes the work of Christina Fonfé, a British qualified swimming instructor, and her mission to teach the women of Sri Lanka water survival skills. The Asian Tsunami of 2004 silently drowned a quarter of a million people. In Sri Lanka, over 35,000 people lost their lives. OXFAM reported that […]
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17th December 2014 Colombo, Sri Lanka
The 26th of December 2004 is not a day the world will easily forget. An earthquake measuring 9.3 on the Richter scale off the coast of Indonesia triggered one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history: a monstrous tidal wave that struck the coasts of at least thirteen countries, killing nearly 300,000, of whom […]
11th November 2014 Colombo, Sri Lanka
Over the course of this summer, 888,246 ceramic poppies have progressively filled the Tower of London’s moat. Each poppy represents a British military fatality during the Great War of 1914-1918. In total, over nine million died, over 20 million were wounded and over seven million were reported mission in action during those four years – […]
14th October 2014 Colombo, Sri Lanka
Last Friday was World Mental Health Day. The World Health Organisation estimates that 450 million people worldwide have a mental health problem. In the UK, 90% of prisoners have some kind of mental health issue, as do 10% of children. Sri Lanka has the fourth highest per capita suicide rate in the world. Globally, one […]