K.A. Roopika Nandani is married and was living in her husband’s parental house. Her husband is a fisherman. Before the tsunami, there were three families living in this house, located just thirty metres away from the sea.

On 26th December 2004, their house was flooded by the tidal waves. Everyone in the house escaped, including Roopika, who was pregnant at that time. Unfortunately, she lost her baby in the effort to save her life as well as of her baby.

After the tsunami, she and her husband lived in a rented house, while other families who had been living with them, lived in temporary shelters. When the other families received permanent shelters by tsunami rehabilitation organizations, Roopika and her husband were not able to receive any form of shelter because their names had not been included in the register of voters at the office of the Grama Niladari (Village Officer).  “We met all government ministers and explained our plight, they said that as our name were not entered into the list we would not be receiving a house,” says Roopika.  

During this period, Roopika became pregnant again. She still did not give up in finding a permanent shelter for them to live in. She visited many Non-Governmental Organizations to explain her situation but many said that they would consider her request.  She had to undergo many hardships wasting her time and energy dealing with these matters, “I was under severe mental stress and depression and I lost my second child too.” says Roopika

However, in March 2006 amidst a lot of bad news, some good news lifted her spirits. She heard about a housing project that was implemented by an organization named Caritas SED-Galle. She submitted a letter of request and explained her situation. After investigating her documentation, SED-Galle informed her that she was eligible for a house under SED-Galle’s housing project.