Amid the tsunami-wrought death and destruction that has affected so much of South Asia, we chronicle some of the 'stories of hope' which have shone out of this dark time. We invite you to contribute links to stories you may have come across as well...

29th December, 2004: The Washington Post

Two hundred yards from the beach, in the orphanage he had built, Dayalan Sanders lounged in his bed early Sunday morning. He was thinking, he said, about the sermon he was due to deliver in the chapel in half an hour. A few yards away, most of the 28 children under his care were still in their rooms, grooming themselves for services.  

      Then he heard the pounding of feet in the corridor outside his room, and his wife burst through the door, a frantic look on her face.

     "The sea is coming!" she said. "Come! Come! Look at the sea!"

      But the children did not die. Thanks to quick thinking, blind luck and an outboard motor that somehow started on the first pull, the orphans and their caretakers joined the ranks of countless survivors of the epic earthquake and coastal disaster that so far has claimed over 100,000 lives in Sri Lanka and 11 other countries. This is their story...

To read this story by John Lancaster published in The Washington Post, click here (you will need to register to read it here) or you can read the same article at the Concord Monitor Online here...

31st December 2004: ABC Television Network, United States

We are hearing miraculous tsunami survival stories from the island of Penang. A Malaysian family says their 20-day old baby girl survived by floating on a mattress after the tsunami swept them out of their restaurant.

      Read it here...

2nd January, 2005: The Washington Times

As she fled the killer waves swallowing her island, Namita Roy gave birth to a boy in a forest.
    On another island, 8-month-old Michael Jeremiah slipped out of his mother's arms and sank into the sea until his father saw his toe poke up from the waves and brought him back to life.

      Amazing stories of survival of babies in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Read it here...

4th January, 2005: iafrica.com

A woman rescued after five days adrift at sea, children miraculously emerging from the wreckage intact, and some ingenious tales of escape: Asia's tsunami disaster has spawned remarkable stories of survival.

     Read them here...

Tell us your story or add links to stories you may have found on the web below...

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