Click on the photos and headlines below to see how USAID programs helped people to reach their goals, or read more stories from the different regions in which USAID works.
December 2004 Tsunami - One Year Later
Returning to the Sea Devastated by the December 2004 tsunami, the south Indian coastal village of Tirumallivasal has begun to recover, as its 10,000 residents rebuild and return to their livelihoods. With USAID support, Tirumallivasal was one of the first Indian fishing villages affected by the tsunami to show signs of recovery, and of once again becoming a thriving community.
A Couple Works to Heal and Rebuild Tsunami survivor Suryani, with her husband Samsulmasli, said that she would not have known where to go for help without the USAID-funded emergency team at Zanoel Adidin Hospital. Despite having lived through such trauma and devastation, Suryani and Samsulmasli remain determined to return to their village and rebuild their lives.
Volunteering for the Greater Good Victims of the tsunami in Thailand are staking a claim on decisions that affect their future, with the support of USAID. Five tsunami-struck coastal villages elected gender-balanced volunteer extension teams that are working together to set up long-term plans that promote sound, sustainable development.
Restoring Textile Workers’ Livelihoods Piyawathi De Silva is one of about 3,000 coir spinners in Sri Lanka to lose their livelihoods in the tsunami. Yet she considers herself lucky: more than 75 members of the community of coir workers along the south coast were killed. Just five weeks later, Piyawathi and other spinners were back at work, thanks to help from USAID and its partners.
