Tsunami Affected Diving Students Rebuild Coral Reefs

In a major turnaround that is having massive benefit for the local environment; rural youth are helping to rebuild coral reefs that were destroyed by generations before them.


In just 5 years, livelihoods have moved from destruction to regeneration, showing how rapidly the world can change and giving us all hope that there are answers to the environmental problems we see all around us.


In 2008 the Seenigama Diving & Training Centre was opened by US Ambassador Mr. Robert Blake, thanks to sponsorship from the International Youth Foundation and Nokia. Designed to provide the skills and experience for young men from the southern Sri Lankan coastal villages to gain employment as professional divers, the project is proving an overwhelming success.

Before the tsunami hit in 2004, many families in the Seenigama region earned a living by breaking, collecting and burning coral from the extensive reefs along the coast. The coral was burnt in furnaces that polluted the air with heavy clouds of smoke. The remaining ash was sold to make quicklime or ‘chullum’ for the building industry.

After the tsunami, research showed that the destruction of the natural barrier provided by the reef resulted in a much more devastating impact- with waves destroying Seenigama and travelling 2km inland. The government acted quickly to ban the coral mining industry, though this meant many families were left with no source of income.

The Seenigama Diving & Training Centre provides Professional Diving Class II training and Underwater welding & cutting qualifications to local young men, led by ex-Navy diver and local instructor Mr. Sahabandu.

To date, 48 of the 62 graduates have gained employment. 13 are working in the Middle East and Maldives as divers and lifeguards, and 35 are working in harbours across Sri Lanka including Colombo, Trincomalee and Batticaloa.

But diving skills and employment are not the only benefits this project is bringing. With an average monthly wage of US$500 (compared to a typical village wage of US$100 a month), the young men are able to support their families, send their younger brothers and sisters to university and reinvest in the local rural economy. Students learn about their physical health, develop good mental attitude and also gain English speaking skills, First Aid and PADI training.

And most of all, they are learning to rebuild the environment they once made a living from destroying. Students collect fish remnants from the nearby fish markets and harbour to feed local fish populations along the reef. They carry out deep seabed cleaning work and have plans to carry out further delicate cleaning work of the coral itself if the necessary equipment becomes available.

Students carry out monthly community work programmes on shore also, including beach and temple cleaning work, helping in local hospitals and clearing the grounds of a local girls’ orphanage. Thus they learn to give to others, to work positively for their whole community and to recognise their own ability to make a difference.

The project is surely a unique attempt to bring economic, environmental and personal development to the coastal regions, and is proving so successful that waiting lists of students are keen to join the course and complete the training that will change their lives forever.

Kushil, Founder and Trustee of the Foundation of Goodness, was the catalyst for this project, recognising the potential to harness the innate talents of local youth. He comments that “empowering rural children and youth is about giving opportunities for them to channel their talents into productive activities. This is a one off facility for a rural community and key to our efforts to bridge the gap between rural and urban sectors for a brighter future for this country and across the world.”

2010.05.24