What could be more romantic than tying the knot in paradise itself ? This couple, like hundreds of others from Europe, selected sunny Sri Lanka for their wedding and honeymoon. The Mount Lavinia Hotel (background), with its world famous beach, is a favourite wedding location for foreigners.

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British boy donates £ 4500 for orphaned tsunami children

A nine year old British boy who miraculously survived the Boxing Day tsunami which struck Sri Lanka, yesterday reached out to the tsunami orphaned children in the country with a gift of 4,500 Sterling Pounds collected from his friends in a London Primary School.

Toby Carroll of Devonshire High School presenting the cheque for 4500 pounds collected by his classmates for tsunami relief funds to Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar. Picture by Nimal Navaratne

In a moving scene which left not a single dry eye among those present, Toby Caroll presented the cheque to Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar who is on a visit to Britain to say "thank you" to the British public for their magnificent response during Sri Lanka's hour of peril.

The event took place at Arunde House. The money was raised through what is termed a Bob a Job campaign engaged in by the 400 co-eds (aged three to 13) of the Devonshire House School in North-West London.

For Toby's mother Jackie, though the Caroll family could not do enough for the survivors knowing how lucky she had been to be counted among the parents to see their children alive following that cataclysmic moment.

Jackie Caroll nee Roche incidentally is a descendant of the well known Maurice Roche business family in Sri Lanka.

Recounting the events of that fateful day at the Paradise Beach Resort in Mirissa, Jackie said things happened so fast that she could not picture the happening.

One moment she and her husband were on the top floor cabana and the next thing she knew was they were being swept away by giant waves.

"The cabana suddenly gave way where my husband and I stood and we all fell in a heap. I suddenly saw Toby being held by a Dutch couple and I yelled 'run'."

Later, she saw the Dutch couple running towards a nearby hill holding Toby. Although the memory of that scene keeps haunting her everyday, she still loves Sri Lanka and is planning to make the trip with her family in a couple of months.

Netherlands Govt assists tsunami victims

THE Netherlands Government assisted by Netherlands Alumni Association Lanka (NAAL) donated millions of rupees worth of medical and general equipment to the Galle Municipal Council to be distributed among the people who were affected following the tsunami tragedy in the Galle District.

The Royal Netherlands Embassy Second Secretary Ms. A. A. Ramnathsingh was present at the ceremony held in Colombo yesterday morning.

At the discussion had with Galle Municipal Council Commissioner B. M. Chandrasiri the NAAL representatives had planned to donate equipment needed for the tsunami affected people in the Galle District.

Fifteen Examining beds with mattresses, five bathroom scales, twenty five scales were among the medical equipment donated yesterday.

The other items are five computers, five UPS, five printers, one fax machine, one photocopier, two double door fridges, one freezer, fifteen ladies bicycles, an air-conditioner and fifteen pedestal fans.

These donations were made to the Galle Municipal Council on a request made by Dr. Ms. Sriyani Jayasuriya and Dr. Ms. Lasanthi Colombage, NAAL President S. P. C. Kumarasinghe said.

The other members who participated in the ceremony yesterday were NAAL President S.P.C. Kumarasinghe, NAAL Vice President J. Paranamana, NAAL Treasurer Sumana Liyanage, NAAL Assistant Treasurer S.B. Niyangoda, NAAL Committee Member Ms. Indira Samarasinghe and NAAL Project Coordinator S. Hettiarachchi.

NAAL President Kumarasinghe said that they decided to do necessary repairs and replacements of properties in the past projects carried out by Velsen.

In this context it was decided to request Galle Municipal Council to provide estimates to repair the two houses partially damaged following the tsunami at Mahamodera Watte, Magalla sewing centre and also the play houses at Dharmapala Park.

Khalid