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MEAGHAN FORBESA local man joins a team from Habitat for Humanity to build homes for tsunami victims.
When a tsunami devastated southeast Asia in December, Jim Maxwell knew he wanted to help, but didn't know how.
Six months later, the 44-year-old Valrico resident and volunteer for Habitat for Humanity got his chance to lend a helping hand through Habitat for Humanity's Disaster Response Team.
In early June, Maxwell and eight other volunteers from Atlanta and Washington, D.C., made the 20-hour flight to Colombo, Sri Lanka. They spent a week building homes for Sri Lankans in Batticaloa, one of the hardest hit areas on the east coast of the island.
"We were a very skilled team," said Holly Eaton, 46, of the almost 80 years combined volunteer time of the nine members.
Located in the Indian Ocean just off the southern coast of India, Sri Lanka lost more than 38,000 people to the big wave and, like other devastated areas, struggles with rebuilding lives that have been forever changed.
Batticaloa residents were grateful for the help.
"They have very little," Maxwell said, "but they're so appreciative."
The team built homes for five families in seven days with the help of local masons and a nearby block factory.
The 450-square-foot block buildings have a main room, two bedrooms and no closets. Latrines, or bathrooms, are set up outside the house, as well as the kitchen.
Each home cost about $1,000 to build, and each was dedicated in a small ceremony before families moved in.
"It was very emotional," Maxwell said, noting that at the end of the dedications, the families gave the volunteers fruit as a way to thank them.
To date, volunteers with Habitat for Humanity have started to build more than 125 homes in Sri Lanka. The goal is 10,000 in three years.
"We put together small work teams that go out and join in an ongoing activity," said David Minich, director of Habitat's global village work teams. "For us, it's a cross culture experience . . . the most important people are the people in Batticaloa."
Maxwell's team was the last as part of the disaster relief efforts in Batticaloa. They each came up with $2,000 for airfare, transportation, meals and housing. They stayed in a house rented by Habitat for Humanity.
The team, which worked together on previous projects, left feeling accomplished.
"Even if it's on a small scale, you've made a difference in somebody's life," Maxwell said.
Meaghan Forbes can be reached at 661-2439 or mforbes@sptimes.com