By Glaieul Mamaghani

Little Dubai , a Muslim neighbourhood in the seashore town of Hambantota , is eerily empty. Where 260 households once flourished with money from migrant workers in the Middle East , only glossy ground-floor tiles remain.

For the women widowed by the tsunami, the community's former vibrancy is now a distant memory. Apart from the tragic loss of loved ones they have faced a dramatic reduction in income and the prospect of having to survive on their own earnings.

But slowly, by working together, they are rebuilding their lives. They formed a 38-strong cooperative and Caritas has assisted them with food and equipment - sowing machines, an oven, string hopper (a type of rice noodle) makers and water tanks. And in October the cooperative began training in cooking and tailoring, supported by Caritas.

S.N. Ramina, a 37-year-old mother of three, is among the lucky ones - her husband, an electrician, survived. But their house, and her means of making a living, was destroyed. She used to bake wedding and birthday cakes and could earn up to 3000 rupees a month. With no kitchen this income ended.

As a member of the new cooperative she is now baking once again – with an oven provided by Caritas. She is making between 20 and 45 buttercakes a day, which she sells for 10 rupees each to groceries, bakers and caterers. Thirty percent of her income is injected back into the cooperative fund.

The oven sits in a spare room in a one-story house owned by R.N. Nazeera. As Ramina explains her plans to bake bigger cakes, Nazeera interupts: “Ramina wants to bake wedding and birthday cakes but who is left to marry or celebrate birthdays? They were all taken away by the wave.”

She then points out the height the water reached in her house, one of the largest in the neighbourhood. It is four metres above ground level. Nazeera is proud the house held on and that it now hosts 10 members of her family – and the oven.

Cooperative members are working on business targets for expansion and diversification, but their biggest challenge remains getting permanent houses. They currently live in temporary shelters funded by Expo Lanka, a private company in the capital, Colombo . The Taiwan Buddhist Association is committed to building them new, permanent, homes.

Sithis Lakamiza (37), who lost her husband and two children explains: “All I want is to get my life back - a house and a living for my brothers and sisters who are still alive.” She plans to go back to Dubai , where she previously worked as a cleaning lady, once her house is delivered.

For Fatimah Sahira a new home will do little to heal the scars of her loss. Originally from Kandy she lost her husband and her three daughters aged 22, 18 and 15, to the tsunami. Her husband, who worked as hotel driver in Dubai , was at home on a month's holiday, when he died. “My home was over there,” says Fatimah pointing across the rubble.

ENDS