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TSUNAMI 2004 SURVIVORS
Ms Saranya was only nine when the giant waves hit her family's village in Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, on Boxing Day in 2004.
"The water took away everything," said Ms Saranya, who lost four siblings and her family home in the tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people across the coasts of several Asian countries.
In India, Nagapattinam district was the worst-affected area with more than 6,000 deaths, mostly from fishing families residing just metres from the seashore.
Ms Saranya's fisherman father found it difficut to cope after the disaster.
Money, food and shelter provided by aid organisations and the government helped the family for a few years.
Thereafter Ms Saranya had to find ways to help feed a brother and a sister born after the tsunami.
Her mother died in 2017.
She has to pay the medical bills for her brother Mohan who has physical disabilities.
"After the tsunami, we received a decent amount of money and led a good life. But once that money was finished, our suffering started," said Ms Saranya, who is now married and pregnant with her first child.
She said grief and the challenges to make ends meet can be overwhelming.
"I am always worried about my siblings as my father does not give any money for their education or food," Ms Saranya said, adding that she understands her father was badly affected by the disaster and she accepts his limitations.
"Life is really tough now."
Reuters
"After the tsunami, we received a decent amount of money and led a good life. But once that money was finished, our suffering started."
- Ms Saranya
