Tsunami 12 months after

Immediately after the tsunami in December 2004, Plan started emergency relief efforts in Sri Lanka, India and Indonesia. As Plan was already operational in these countries, it was able to act quickly, utilising its extensive experience and well established contacts. In Sri Lanka, Plan focused on the devastated district of Hambantota, where it has worked since 1995. In India, Plan chose to work in Tamil Nadu, one of the hardest-hit areas and an area where Plan had operated in the past. Plan had no history of working in Aceh, Indonesia, but after assessing the situation, activities began in four districts surrounding Banda Aceh. In Thailand, Plan did not get involved in emergency relief because the response from the government and the international community was ample. Instead, Plan took a long-term approach that focused on education and children’s psychosocial support in six districts around Phuket.