The tsunami which struck many countries in Asia devastated vast areas of Indonesia and Sri Lanka. The peoples of these nations have been left to pick up the pieces and move on. It has not been easy as the trauma lingers on -particularly in the eyes of the little children who have lost their parents and their homes. Many now live in trauma centres and camps for the displaced.
A 17 year author, Sri Lankan student, Thrishana Pothupitiya, was one of the first teenagers to put pen to paper to write about the tsunami. Described as a 'powerful piece of writing', Thrishana Pothupitiya details the depth of human compassion from people all over the world - countries are helping Sri Lankans to re-build their shattered lives in the wake of the tsunami. 'We will not forget' says Thrishana Pothupitiya in her essay published in the Daily News in Colombo on the 19th of January 2005.
Her tsunami essay 'The Power of Humanity' has moved people to tears - the essay has been disseminated around the world and has even been sent to former US President Bill Clinton and Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales. Both have visited Sri Lanka and seen the devastation caused by the tsunami to the coastal areas of the island. Sri Lanka lost over 30,000 people to the tsunami which struck the island without warning on 26th December 2004.
Thrishana is a student of a leading Sri Lankan school, Bishop's College Colombo. Bishop's College is one of the oldest educational institutions for girls established in 1875 in Ceylon - the school was first known as Bishopsgate and founded in 1857 by Mrs Frances Chapman wife of the Bishop of Colombo.
References:
'The Power of Humanity' by Thrishana Pothupitiya
www.dailynews.lk/2005/01/19/fea04.html
Thrishana Pothupitiya
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrishana_Pothupitiya
