Expats who came in search of profits help to stem human loss
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Your support makes all the difference.At 5.30am yesterday Mark Shandur and Tom Armstrong were loading the last bags of rice and blankets on to a truck heading out on an 11-hour journey from the capital Colombo to the Amapara district - where more than 10,000 are thought to have been killed by the tsunami.
Two weeks ago the pair ran a travel company north of Colombo along with a south Londoner, Sam Clark.
For those seeking a better quality of life, Sri Lanka seemed obvious. It offered stunning coastlines, a wonderful climate and the chance to piggyback on India's economic boom.
But now many who came to build a business under the sun are shelving those plans to launch disaster relief efforts.
"When I first saw the pictures on television I felt numb," said Mr Armstrong. "But it was only after I drove down to look for our friends the following day that I really understood. It was not just seeing the devastation, it was smelling and hearing it."
Their friends were lucky. The three businessmen delivered to them a van loaded with water, medicine and food and saw the thousands of others who also needed help.
It was the moment their business metamorphosed into the Experience Sri Lanka Aid Foundation. "We know the language, the country and the people, so we were in an immediate position to do something" said Mr Clark.
Within three days they had raised £10,500 simply through donations from friends and family. The money they raise is spent entirely on aid as their network of Singhalese friends are providing transport and manpower free of charge.
And there are security risks. Jayantha Rathnayake, Chief Police Inspector of the Ampara district, told The Independent that aid vehicles were been looted when travelling at night.
Meanwhile, Jerry and Pamela Podoro, originally from Canada, have had trucks of aid going out since early last week. They moved here six years ago and set up property and film production companies. Those ventures too are now on hold as the Podoros lead an aid operation moving from provision of basics to hygiene requirements over coming months.
They have designed and built a lavatory that will allow human waste to be expelled from camps, reducing the risk to health.
"We'll get these out to the camps within the next few weeks," said Mr Podoro.
Gavin Major, from Yorkshire, married a Sri Lankan and lives on the island. He plans to use money donated from people in the UK to convert the fibreglass canoes he manufactured for the European market into fishing catamarans for those around these coastlines who have lost the equipment with which they made a living.
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