Cyclone Ditwah: Sri Lankans answered with courage

WHEN Cyclone Ditwah swept across Sri Lanka at the end of November, it brought devastation to communities across this beautiful country.

In the hill country of Gampola, Kandy district, a resident recounted hearing a roar in the darkness before a wall of muddy water tore through their homes. She grabbed her two children and they ran out before their house collapsed.

Rescue teams later found families swept away and several had died. In the low-lying areas of the Gampaha, Kelaniya, and Kaduwela in the western province, floodwaters turned roads into rivers, familiar landmarks vanished, communication networks and electricity were lost. There was the frightening uncertainty of not knowing whether help would arrive in time.

By the first week of December, it emerged that numerous people were reported dead or missing, many were displaced, and entire communities were cut off by landslides and broken bridges. Families were left grieving, livelihoods were lost and homes reduced to rubble.

Social workers on the frontlines

During this time, social workers – who are trained to deal with crises – became a vital glue holding fragmented communities together. They established a first response system, and working with students and other volunteers, organised food distribution, created social media campaigns, supported destitute children, and offered listening support for those too shocked to process what had happened. They also trained others to assist them in responding to distress calls.

In makeshift shelters, classrooms, temples and church halls, social workers walked from family to family, gently asking the same questions: “Are you safe? What do you need? Do you have someone to contact?” Some social workers waded through waist-deep water to deliver dry rations to households where family members refused to abandon elderly relatives.

In Colombo, the president and members of the Sri Lanka Association of Professional Social Workers (SLAPSW) distributed clothing and baby items to survivors of the floods in Kaduwela District. The recipients were sheltered in temporary homes, and reaching them was challenging, as flood waters in the area had not yet receded.

Acts of fortitude in the face of adversity

Sri Lankans responded with an outpouring of solidarity. Youth groups cooked meals for strangers. Doctors set up mobile clinics in school halls. Universities mobilised volunteers to handle information hotlines. Social media was filled with requests for help and with offers from ordinary people ready to drive, donate and give shelter.

For many, the most powerful stories were the quiet ones: a neighbour checking on an elderly woman in the rain; a schoolteacher opening her home to three displaced families; a group of social work undergraduates running a children’s corner inside a crowded camp so parents could queue for rations in peace. These were acts of kindness in the chaos. Their generosity, courage and humanity are priceless.

The international reach of social work support and solidarity

In the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah and its devastation, there is an urgency to develop reconstructive work to ensure essential infrastructure is in place to provide basic health, welfare, safety and family support in local communities. Some cannot be traced still, children are orphaned, families displaced and food and medical supplies are running low.

If you’d like to help, details are below.

Financial donations for emergency relief and recovery efforts:

Care packages will go to local shelters and other relief organisations distributing toiletries, food, clean water, hygiene kits, bedding and medical supplies, which will be distributed to affected individuals in relief centres.