SRI LANKA: A Sri Lankan priest, who has been attached to Loughrea parish in Co Galway since last September, is flying home to help his family and neighbours who have lost everything following the undersea earthquake.
Fr Jude Fernandes (33) spent hours trying to contact his family in the coastal area of Colombo. While all are safe, they had to flee their homes which were swamped by the ensuing waves.
"Eventually, I made contact with my brother-in-law on Monday evening and he told me that they had to flee about five miles inland. Even though their homes are destroyed, they were lucky because people on the west coast [ of Sri Lanka] got a warning and had some time to flee," said Fr Jude, who is also studying in NUI Galway.
He hopes to help his family and friends rebuild their homes and then return to Loughrea and to complete an MA in development studies at NUIG.
"I have got financial help from Bishop John Kirby and the priests at St Brendan's Cathedral plus medical supplies from the Western Health Board to take back to help my people in this moment of disaster," he added.
"At present I am arranging the flight tickets as I want to be with my people. I know that my sister's house was completely destroyed and she was lucky to have fled inland with the others from my home area. Colombo is on the west coast and the waves hit the south and east coasts first so those in my home area had time to flee inland," Fr Jude explained.
He is appealing to anyone who can help to send donations to St Brendan's Cathedral, Loughrea, and they will be forwarded to aid agencies in Colombo.
"The people around Loughrea and other parts of Co Galway are already giving me financial and medical aid to take back home and I am very thankful for that."
He added that, besides the loss of their homes, some of his immediate family have also lost their fishing boats. "Most of the 40 fishing trawlers in my home area are either destroyed or badly damaged."
Fr Jude added that there are over 20 Sri Lankan people living in the Loughrea area and a larger number in Galway city. "I met all the Sri Lankans living in Loughrea and they are very upset. I also know that many other people from Sri Lanka who are living in Galway are very upset too and trying to contact their families back home."
A number of aid workers from Galway are planning to fly to Sri Lanka on January 7th to help rebuild the country.
They include Mr Vincent Commins, a carpenter, and a counselling psychologist, Mr Noel Coughlan, who said: "I have been going out there every year for the past 10 years, and during the past four years we have taken students of psychology from NUIG with us to do voluntary work in areas affected by war."
Accompanied by a Sri Lankan living in Galway, Ary Adasa, who works in the Fair Trade Shop, they will travel on January 7th.
Mr Coughlan continued: "We are going to Ary's area which has been devastated. Ary's father and family are cooking for 60 or 70 displaced families in the local village and there are thousands more in the nearby village who urgently need basic food, shelter and medicine."
Donations can be sent to the Lanka Dhama Fair Trade Shop, 6 Upper Dominic Street, Galway.