My mom and dad agreed to take me for a month in Feb-March 2005 to South Asia to provide comfort and love to children and families impacted by the tsunami. We visited camps, schools, damaged homes and orphanages to witness the calamity and help them with their short-and long-term needs.

News Headline: The Tsunami of the Century. The whole world awakened to the cry of desperation and despair from the people in Asia, especially India, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Everyday, I would read that more people, more family members, more daughters, more mothers have been found dead along the shores. My eleven-year-old eyes couldn’t bear to see all the destruction, and watching the news every night would sadden my heart, making me walk away from the television. I couldn’t just sit comfortably in my home and not do anything. I mean, our family could have easily donated money, but how much would reach the people in need? Would the donation actually help directly? We didn’t know, so I came up with this crazy idea of traveling to the South of India and Sri Lanka and doing whatever was needed for the people who lives were destroyed by this horrible natural disaster. We could see the children with our own eyes; we could hand over materials to the families with our own hands. To my surprise, my parents said yes and soon we were packing to head halfway around the world, but first there were a lot of preparations required.

There was still one question–whether to go to Washington, D.C., or to go to India. I was invited by the People to People Organization to travel to Washington, D.C. for a leadership forum. The organization selects gifted students from all around the U.S.A. to attend this important forum. I would meet new friends, learn new things and see a place I have never seen before. I was so excited to go, but now I had to choose. I finally came to the conclusion that if I went to India, I would be able to help so many people. I could go to Washington anytime. I would surely get another invitation from People to People. In the end, I sacrificed my trip to the forum and we found ourselves on the plane to India.

When our Congresswoman, Louise Slaughter, found out about my sacrifice, she was very surprised and impressed. She knew that I really wanted to go to Washington, D.C. She personally called me and invited me to visit her office in Washington. My heart skipped a beat. I was being invited by a very powerful and strong woman to her office at the Head of the State. She was paying for three airline tickets, hotel accommodations, and most importantly, she was willing to spend some time with us during her busy days. I was so excited! We met Louise Slaughter and she told us how impressed she was with my desire to travel half-way around the world to help the children affected by the tsunami. I went back home with a new spirit of thankfulness and encouragement filled my soul.

Next on my agenda was the fact that if we were going to help the people in Asia, we needed money. There was so much support from our community. I appeared in newspapers, on the news and on talk shows. Once news spread that we were traveling there to help, we received at least five checks in the mail every day, ranging from one dollar to five hundred dollars. It was amazing. All my teachers and friends supported me in every way they could. They helped me in fund raising, and my parents’ friends were extremely generous in their donations.

The destruction caused by the giant tsunami waves that hit the coast of the Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004 was sudden, causing death and devastation all along the coast. It killed more than 200,000 people around the Indian Ocean; nearly 31,000 in Sri Lanka, where children are believed to make up about 40 per cent of the dead. I have seen hundreds of families homeless and met hundreds of children who became orphans.

Immediately after the disaster, I spent a month traveling in south Asia providing comfort and love to their children and their families. In every area we visited, we never gave money, since we never know what will happen to this donation if given to the wrong person. We only asked what was needed and supplied items such as hurricane lamps, books, educational materials and toys for children. My parents and I immediately ordered or bought the items ourselves and the next day we delivered everything. Again, the smiles were unforgettable. We didn’t just give the items and leave; we talked to the children and heard their stories about their families and how the tsunami affected them. We heard terrifying and heart-breaking stories of how these children went out to play in the morning and came back to their homes to find rubble and their family washed away by the evil, black wave that swallowed everything in its path. Tears were shed and hugs were given. We expressed our love as deeply as we could. Sometimes it was all that we could do!

This woman was standing outside her house, looking at the ocean that destroyed everything. She lost her whole family while she was buying vegetables at the Sunday market (east coast - Sri Lanka)

A woman who lost her husband with her child in one of the refugee camps in Sri Lanka

My mom, Debbie Yogachandra is seen comforting a boy who lost both his parents

Several hundred school children who were affected by the tsunami received school bags from the Foundation. Our goal was help them resume the life they had before the tsunami and encourage them to stay in school. The entire school building was destroyed and many of the children in the school became orphans as a result of the tsunami.

The women in this Islamic refugee camp have the strength to keep going. They are happy and holding onto their hope to start a normal life

I brought several letters from students in a school in Fairport, New York written to the children in the tsunami affected areas. I read all the letters one by one to the students, telling them children in others parts of the world do care for them

I visited each class room in a school affected by tsunami, showing that we cared for them

When the Principal of a school in a village called Kalladi in the eastern part of Sri Lanka asked for a motor water pump for pumping drinking water for the students, our Foundation obtained the pump and gave to the school within twenty-four hours.

I brought along my entire beanie babies collection with me to south Asia. I gave one to each of the children I met in the refugee camp. I wanted to provide them what little comfort I could. The things that they can hold, hug and play with….

I met nearly 500 families inside a temporary shelter in a school in south Asia. Ten families lived in one classroom. All families had horror stories to narrate of the calamity caused by the giant tsunami waves. We provided them with one hurricane lamp per family and sporting equipment.

We donated textbooks in the local language to more than 1,000 students in grade 1 through 5 to three schools in the eastern part of Sri Lanka.

The headmaster and the teachers appreciated our small token of help for the needy students and gave me a warm welcome.

The children loved that we came all the way from America to visit them. They all wanted to shake our hands.

Pictured with me are a few girls who were living in a refugee camp in the eastern part of Sri Lanka. They lost their homes and text books and some became orphans as a result of tsunami

We hugged them and told them we cared for them. We did not give money or any materials, but we were there to show our love and told them we came all the way from the other side of the world to be with them. The children and their parents appreciated our visit.

I met with 4-month-old Abilass Jeyarajah — known to the world as “Baby 81″ — born Oct. 19, who was pulled from his mother’s arms when the Dec. 26 tsunami ravaged his country. Three days later, he was found under a pile of garbage, caked in mud and was taken to a hospital, where he was the 81st person admitted that day. The boy, also known as the “Miracle Baby,” remained hospitalized as his parents and eight other couples — desperate to find their children alive — claimed him as their own. After a long legal battle, the miracle baby was reunited with his parents. I met the baby in Kalmunai, district of Sri Lanka

Children in a refugee camp in Sri Lanka

(story by Natascha Yogachandra)