Galle Road: The Volunteer Diaries

This documentary was never planned. Sam Klebanov and Alexander Kamionsky both came to Sri Lanka on vacation, landing in Colombo in the morning of December 26, 2004, just an hour before the tsunami hit the island's coastline. The devastation was enormous. Over 35,000 people were killed and around half a million lost their homes. In the aftermath of this catastrophe, thousands of people, who happened to be in this region, became instant volunteers. They were not professional relief workers but ordinary people from around the globe. Most of them were just tourists, while the others were Sri Lankans who wanted to help their fellow countrymen, permanent foreign residents of the island, or people who rushed there from all over the world to help the victims. These spontaneously organized groups became the major relief force in the affected areas. And long before the internationally established organisations took their first steps in the region, they had commenced operations without delay.