Sri Lanka: Rebuilding Lives After Cyclonic Storm Ditwah
A Call to Help Flood-Affected Sri Lankan Families Find Safety and Stability
For thousands of Sri Lankan families affected by Cyclonic Storm Ditwah, home has never truly meant safety.
Across low-lying coastal and riverine areas, families live with the constant fear that even moderate rainfall can turn their homes into danger zones. During floods, houses are quickly submerged, forcing families to evacuate repeatedly, often with little warning. This cycle of displacement, loss, and rebuilding has become an annual reality for many—leaving them exhausted, traumatized, and increasingly vulnerable.
Anthony Kumar: One Family’s Story, Many Lives Reflected:
Anthony Kumar’s experience reflects the struggle of countless Sri Lankans.
Anthony lives in a flood-prone area of Negombo. He is disabled due to polio, and his wife is also partially disabled. Each year, when floods strike, Anthony must flee with his wife and children, struggling to move belongings and ensure everyone’s safety. This is not an occasional hardship—it happens almost every year. Rebuilding, cleaning, and starting over has become a painful cycle that the family can no longer endure.
Anthony’s life, however, is also a story of resilience and what long-term support can achieve.
In 1996, he was a neglected and hopeless young fisherman living by Negombo beach when he met Dr. Peter, founder of the Peter Bachmann Foundation (PBF). Through donor support, Anthony received a three-wheeled vehicle (Tuk Tuk), enabling him to earn a living with dignity despite social neglect and physical limitations. After many obstacles, he obtained a special driving license for disabled persons and supported himself through honest work.
In 2000, Anthony married. The couple endured deep emotional pain, losing three infants over the years. Yet they remained hopeful. Their perseverance was rewarded with the birth of their son, Shane Peter, followed by their daughter Danila. With continued donor support, PBF helped protect the family from losing their property to bank foreclosure and supported Anthony in operating a small guest house from his home, which he named “Grace’s Homestay.”
“I was a neglected, hopeless youngster. God sent Dr. Peter and picked me up from the street. God gave me such blessings and grace.”
Why So Many Homes Are No Longer Safe:
Despite personal progress, location remains the greatest threat for families like Anthony’s—and thousands of others across Sri Lanka.
Houses built at ground level, without flood protection, are easily inundated. Families keep belongings packed and close together, ready to flee at any moment. When floods arrive, water destroys furniture, appliances, and income-generating resources. For households with elderly members, persons with disabilities, or children, evacuation can be life-threatening.
The devastation caused by Cyclonic Storm Ditwah in November 2025, which affected more than 1.4 million people across Sri Lanka, once again exposed the deadly risks faced by families living in unsafe locations. For many, this disaster was not an exception—but another chapter in a long history of repeated loss.
A Permanent Solution: Building Back Safer:
Emergency assistance and temporary repairs are no longer enough.
What flood-affected Sri Lankan families urgently need is the opportunity to relocate or rebuild on safe, higher ground, breaking the cycle of repeated displacement.
Building modest, resilient homes in safer locations will:
- Protect vulnerable families from life-threatening floods
- End the yearly cycle of evacuation and destruction
- Preserve livelihoods and dignity
- Provide long-term stability, safety, and peace of mind
This is not just about constructing walls and roofs.
It is about restoring security, dignity, and hope to families who have lived too long in fear.
A Call to Donors: Rebuild Lives, Not Just Houses
Thanks to compassionate donors, lives like Anthony Kumar’s have already been transformed. His story shows what is possible when support goes beyond short-term relief and focuses on lasting solutions.
Today, thousands of Sri Lankan families affected by Cyclonic Storm Ditwah need that same opportunity—to move from survival to stability.
By supporting efforts to rebuild homes on safe land, donors can help ensure that families across Sri Lanka will no longer have to run for their lives when the rains come.
Together, we can turn disaster into recovery, and vulnerability into resilience—so that home can finally mean safety, dignity, and hope for all.
Sanath Liyanage
PBF coordinator for Sri Lanka