A SRI Lankan family has been invited by the country’s High Commission to spearhead the relief appeal in Thanet following the tsunami that devastated their homeland.

Physiotherapist Meththa Methananda and his wife Karuna, from Birchington, are collecting vital emergency aid via the Medical Health Centre practice they run at Canterbury Road, Westbrook.

Their daughter Iranthi is co-ordinating other fund raising locally and among universities in London.

It was the 25-year-old biochemist who contacted High Commission in Hyde Park Gardens, London. Her family is desperate to help in some small way to alleviate the trauma and suffering of those who are picking up the pieces in the wake of the freak killer wave that broke the heart but not the spirit of the country.

Meththa said: “We have lost very dear and close friends in this disaster. We are numb and shocked. Fortunately our immediate families in Sri Lanka are safe but we know so many people who are missing and a number who have died.

“It is the sheer scale and speed of the tragedy that has been so unbelieveable. I first heard the news when I switched on the television to watch a cricket match between England and South Africa on Boxing Day morning. I could not believe what I was seeing. It was horrific.

“I spoke with family and they told me that so many people had been drawn to the coast to look at the sea where the level had dropped initially. It was so dramatic, the sort of thing you only see once.

“Then the Indian Ocean just exploded and the waves smashed across the coast, crushing buildings and carrying cars, a train, masonry, men, women and children with it.

“Estimates say that 30,000 people in our country have died but the sad message is that the death toll is expected to double. The impact is also dire in Indonesia, India, Thailand, Somalia and the Maldives.

“We want to do what we can to help. The Sri Lankan community locally is pulling together and people from all walks of life are already asking how they can help. We will co-ordinate and collect what we can and send it to those in need.”

Karuna, a qualified nurse, is prepared to return to her homeland to help. She said: “I am on standby and am happy to go and help out where needed.”

Sri Lankan High Commissioner Faisz Musthapha confirmed The Medical Health Centre will accept tents, blankets, linen, pre-cooked food or ready meals, water purification tablets, wheat, flour, pluses and rice, medication including paracetamol, and portable generators.

The centre will handle collections for Sri Lanka from across Thanet including those from the Queen Mother Hospital at Margate.

Donations may be left at the centre and cheques should be made payable to: - Sri Lanka High Commission (Disaster Relief).