Just when things were starting to look up for the people of Sri Lanka, the waves came. The country was settling into an extended period of peaceful relations with the rebel Tamils in the north and the economy was starting to improve. For the first time in years, people started returning to the war-torn city of Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka. There was even talk that some kind of full-blown truce could be accomplished. When the tsunami struck a vast majority of the country’s coastline, the country experienced its first sense of national unity in years.

Over winter break, I had the opportunity to document the rebuilding through photography and help out with a number of relief organizations. The situation on the ground is far different than what the television or the newspapers report. Relief efforts can be described as sporadic at best. The only non-governmental organization with a major presence in Sri Lanka was the Red Cross. By major presence, I mean two of their workers serving 1,500 people in the totally destroyed coastal city of Hambantota. In my 11 days there, I saw a number of Red Cross operations, one Oxfam operation and nothing else.

Quite frankly, the major relief organizations aren’t making the grade. You can donate money to help out tsunami victims and that might actually end up getting there, but if you want to make a real impact, you have to go there by yourself or with a group of friends. One of the greatest faults with organizations like the Red Cross and Oxfam is their unwillingness to take volunteers at times of disaster. There are countless individuals willing to work for food, water and shelter. Lack of association with a particular organization should not be an excuse to deny these people their wish to help others. The basic premise of organizations like the Red Cross and Oxfam are to help others who can’t help themselves.

The Hambantota case is a perfect example. I’m sure the Red Cross doesn’t typically advocate a 750-to-one patient-worker ratio. What matters in the end is that these organizations are there and they are making a difference and that is better than no help at all. However, these organizations can do much better by allowing non-affiliated people to help out when the standard Red Cross staff is overwhelmed.

Above, I mentioned that the best way for individuals to help out is to purchase an airline ticket and make your way to Sri Lanka by yourself or with a group of friends. This is precisely what happened with the village of Paramaliya on the southern coast of Sri Lanka.

Paramaliya holds a special place in the tsunami disaster. It was the location where a train carrying 1,500 passengers was thrown off the tracks by the tsunami killing everyone aboard. It will undoubtedly be one of the enduring stories of the entire disaster. At this particular village, the mortality rate approached 40 percent. The waves struck three times at Paramaliya in 25-minute intervals.

According to the people in the village, the first wave that came ashore topped a two-story building, was 12 feet high one-mile inland and accounted for a majority of the victims. The second wave brushed the top of the 40-foot palm trees and finished off what the first wave did not. For three days after the waves struck, the people of Paramaliya were too frightened to return.

When they did return, they found the village in ruins; a locomotive on the roof of a house and body parts strewn amidst the remains of neighborhoods. For two weeks the people saw little help and no deliveries of food or water.

Around Jan. 3, three Americans and one Australian found themselves together at the international airport in Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital. All three had come to Sri Lanka unaffiliated with any organization and looking to make a difference somewhere. They met outside the airport and decided to travel together into villages. This would be the beginning of something incredible.

Derek Montgomery ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in journalism and political science. He visited Sri Lanka in the beginning of January as a photographer and relief worker.