Helping children in Sri Lanka

Thirteen-year-old Harriet visited a tsunami affected area of Sri Lanka on the first anniversary of this devastating event.

She visited the tsunami camps and orphanages, handed out supplies, and went to a school that is twinned with her school in Surrey.

In her report Harriet describes what it was like meeting children who had been left with nothing and how she felt when she returned to the UK.

"I was quite nervous before I set off for Sri Lanka.

I was worried about how I would react to seeing badly affected children.

I don't know if I expected to see lots of damage or a completely restored country.

But I was excited to make new friends, meeting new people and going to new schools.

Orphaned children

When I got there the thing I found most upsetting and scary was being in a place like a market, then realizing that a giant wave had come through, exactly where I was standing.

Some people may have lost their lives in this exact spot where I was.

It was quite upsetting to see the conditions the orphaned children were living in.

I looked at my little brother Max aged five and I imagined him in these poor children's situation without a home or family.

I wondered how he could cope if he was one of them.

Upsetting

It was interesting to see that what upset lots of the children the most was how they lost lots of items such as school books, equipment and even the building to the tsunami.

It was strange because lots of children back at home would not find something that trivial so upsetting!

Wiping out

I went to visit my pen pal and she showed me around her school.

It was so similar to my school. It was a convent, similar rules and an all girl's school.

I saw how close the water was to the school practically on the beach.

I imagined the tsunami rising up and covering the school and wiping out everything in its path.

How scary that would have been for somebody standing where I was looking out of the window then a big wave would come and sweep them away.

In the school on one of the walls there was a water mark, which showed how much water came into the building and how powerful the wave was to create such a mark.

Big tents

Some of the areas we visited were completely restored to how it looked before.

In others you could see remains of buildings, bent palm trees, some tipped over, wrecked boats among the beach.

It was amazing to see people still living in tsunami camps, which consisted of wooden huts (which are very hot to be in).

Some shelters were like big tents, but lots of people's homes were being rebuilt and the finished ones are small concrete houses.

Making a difference

I felt a variety of emotions during my time in Sri Lanka including sad and upset when seeing the conditions and children without families.

I also felt happy and satisfied when I helped these children and making a difference to their lives just by spending time with them or giving them a pencil and exercise book.

I think that is the main lesson I learnt and I think that after this experience I have a better understanding of the true meaning of charity."

Harriet, 13, Surrey

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