The most powerful earthquake in 40 years erupted under the Indian Ocean near Sumatra on Dec. 26, 2004.
It caused giant, deadly waves to crash ashore in nearly a dozen countries, killing tens of thousands.
A long stretch of Sri Lanka's coast was devastated by these killer waves, with more than 40,000 dead
and staggering 2.5 million people displaced.
Although 1,600km from the epicentre, the waves struck with
huge force and swept inland as far as 5 kilometers. Waves as high as six meters had crashed into coastal
villages, sweeping away people, cars and even a train with 1700 passengers.
It was the worst human
disaster in Sri Lanka history.
In the words of U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, this was an ''unprecedented global catastrophe'' that required an ''unprecedented global response''.
Whilst international aid was being made available to meet the immediate needs of the victims of the tsunami disaster,
the Irish-Sri Lanka Fund's members believed that there were long-term issues that needed to be addressed.
To this end the
objectives of the Irish-Sri Lanka Trust Fund included continued fund-raising in order to aid in the building and refurbishment of
homes, schools and orphanages, and the purchasing of boats to return fishermen to their livelihoods.
Thanks to the efforts of all involved and the goodwill of the Irish people, the Fund has managed to help hundreds of families
return to homes and to their lives as fishermen.
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