Surviving the Tsunami
By Cassie Serianni

In the face of a 30 foot wave Dayalan Sanders had no fear. With twenty eight orphaned children, his wife, Kohila, and a three-year-old daughter to protect, Sanders did not hesitate. He knew that if he did not move quickly he and his orphans would be completely submerged in a watery grave. It was the day after Christmas and it was to follow a typical Sunday routine at Sanders’ orphanage in Navalady, Sri Lanka. He had arisen at 4 a.m. to walk the grounds of his orphanage that is snuggled on a peninsula between the Indian Ocean and a lagoon that empties into it, gone back to sleep and woke up again at 7:30 a.m. to begin his day. Sanders, who is a Sri Lankan born man with U.S. citizenship, returned to his birthplace as a missionary to start the orphanage that on December 26, 2004 was to be destroyed.

Sanders’ wife was standing in the kitchen preparing a bottle for their little girl when one of the female orphans ran into the kitchen and announced that there was something different about the ocean. Kohila went outside to investigate herself and saw the large waves and discolored ocean water. She hurried to tell Sanders who rushed outside in time to see the “30-foot wall of water” mounting towards the beach. “Never for a moment did I doubt God, that he would allow us to be swept away,” said Sanders.

He quickly hurried toward the orphanage’s boat launch. Many of the children were standing outside, half ready for the morning’s church services. He shouted for them to get into the boat as quickly as possible and yelled for the children that were still inside to come out as well. The outboard motor that runs the small boat was surprisingly in place and ready to go. It was general practice for Sander’s to remove the motor nightly and store it away, but the night before he had not, as he was tired due to the late night with Christmas activities.

This was the first time he had ever left the outboard motor out overnight. One of Sander’s employees jerked the engine’s ignition cord and it came to a roaring start, which was also unusual. Sanders said that “usually you have to pull it four or five times.” The boat was crowded with all 28 orphans plus the orphanage workers. It is meant to hold a maximum of approximately fifteen passengers, but Sanders was not concerned. He pulled out into the lagoon at about the same time that the wall of water hit the orphanage. Sander’s watched as the buildings he had built brick by brick were overtaken with water. The waters flooded up to the rafters of the single story buildings and overtook cars that were parked outside. Sander’s watched his Toyota pickup truck be thrown from his garage, slam into a palm tree, then drown in the lagoon.

As Sanders surveyed the lagoon’s water levels he realized that it was just a matter of time before the currents from the ocean would come towards them and flood the small boat that he and the children were on. It was the book of Isaiah that had come to Sanders mind then. “When the enemy comes in like a flood, the spirit of the Lord shall raise up standard against it.” Sanders lifted his hand towards the mouth of the lagoon where the ocean water was pouring in and said, “I command you, in the name of Jesus, stop!” It was as if that water “stalled momentarily,” said Sanders.

He could not believe his eyes. He said “I am not a man given to exaggeration, but it was the hand of God that stopped the wave. I even had villagers tell me in the aftermath they saw the wave stop”. Then suddenly he realized that if he did not act quickly the waters that were pouring into the lagoon behind them would overtake them. Sander’s ordered the man operating the boat to head towards the ocean, as he figured that the boat would be better off hitting the oncoming waves head-on. The boat roared towards the mouth of the lagoon and was smashed by the waters on every side of the boat, almost capsizing it. The children were very frightened, some of them crying, but most praying, “God help us. God help us.”

As the tsunami waters began to roll back to sea Sanders and his wife realized the amount of people that were floating in the water pleading for help. They rescued one man who was screaming that he needed to find his wife and daughters. Unfortunately, there was no room in the already overcrowded sea vessel and Sanders was forced to leave the other floating victims behind despite their desperate cries for help.
About an hour and a half after their excursion began, Sanders and his children drifted onto the opposite shore in the city of Batticaloa. Sanders, his wife, daughter, and some of the other children found shelter in a tiny church there, while the others were dispersed. However, this city had its problems as well. Lacking food and water, the city also had no more room for its dead and began burning bodies to protect the surviving citizens from disease.

God had been faithful, and just like David and Goliath; Sanders had beaten all odds and overcome the giant. He did not loose a single child or orphanage worker to the water. He knew that he was to “be calm, because God is with us.” Sanders knew that his God is bigger than the tsunami and any of the damage the he could personally incur. He also knew that God had big plans for his future in Sri Lanka. Sanders latter returned to the orphanage to assess the damage and found it completely destroyed. The four-acre property that the orphanage was situated on was once a very beautiful place. Lined with palm trees and flowers were the cottage homes of 28 orphan children.

The property is no longer inhabitable. Three feet of sand covered the land, some buildings were severely damaged, and some were no longer even standing. Sanders began to sob saying, “Twenty years of my life put in here, and I saw it all disappear in 20 seconds.” Despite the devastation of the former orphanage, Sanders has dreams for the future. “God did not tell us that we would not suffer loss,” said Sanders. The old buildings would house up to 46 children, but Sander’s new vision includes facilities that will be able to house up to 200. The number of orphans in his city of Sri Lanka has quadrupled since the tsunami. In order to receive admittance to live in the orphanage a child must have a written letter of recommendation from the village headmaster certifying that the child is indeed an orphan. Even children with one parent can be considered orphans needing full care.

Children are dropped off at the orphanage by their current guardians or are referred to them by other people in the village. Due to the loss of life after the tsunamis, many children are left parentless and in need of provisions. Sanders believes that it will take six to eight months to rebuild the orphanage. The buildings are going to have concrete reinforced steal foundations that will hopefully be able to withstand floods of water. The orphanage has been trying to raise funds that will cover the costs of the buildings that need repair and replacement, and the vehicles that were swept away. They will also need to replace things such as the children’s furniture, cooking utensils, kitchen supplies, office equipment, printers, copy machines, church equipment such as amps, microphones, and mixers, and computers.

If you or anyone you know would like to contribute to the rebuilding of the orphanage, checks can be sent to Samaritan Home Relief, #3 Treworthy Road, Gaithersburg, MD 20878 or call 301-279-2947 for more information. Cornerstone Connection would like to support the helpless and homeless in this tragic event and we hope our readers will find it in their hearts to do the same not only with financial support but also prayer.