Aid worker Nick Cooper reports from Sri LankaAID worker Nick Cooper reports from Sri Lanka where he is helping the relief effort following the tsuanmi.

Nick, 39, from Old Town, is working with fellow members of Goal an international humanitarian organisation. The ex-soldier, gives a first-hand account of the scenes in the Ampara district

It is always a surprise to come across the out of the ordinary.

It is more of a true shock to come across that which is manifestly out of place a boat stuck at an obtuse angle from a shop front 500 yards from the sea the shell of a hospital devoid of all fixtures and fittings, beds pulled from wards and strewn into the street outside.

Yet these are the scenes which met my eyes as I first arrived in the area effected by the tsunami.

The devastation is absolute. It is that of a great hand, which has pushed all before it, leaving only occasional buildings and piles of rubble, yet just as suddenly as the destruction begins it ceases, leaving undamaged property next to the flattened.

The people, now living in refugee camps or with other families in the most desperate and cramped conditions, have lost all personal possessions and are left with just the clothing they stand up in.

The effort of daily living is being made as bearable as possible by the distribution of aid by agencies and government, and the assistance of friends in the community.

Ampara district is not the most or least effected place here in Sri Lanka, but it is typical of the situation generally, along the length of the coast.

Families find themselves having to deal not just with the death of many relatives and friends, but also the destruction of homes and loss of income, all of which make life difficult and the future uncertain.

Now the initial emergency is over, the slow process of re-housing is beginning to take shape.

Organisations, both national and international, are working to construct temporary structures for those displaced by the tsunami.

The local government departments in charge of essential services, although under extreme pressure, are coping well, although some of them lost offices and accommodation during the disaster, losing many records in the process.

The group I work for is called GOAL, an Irish humanitarian organisation with many years experience all over the world.

Our work includes the distribution of clothing, linen, household items and footwear, the construction of temporary shelter for those made homeless by the disaster, the clearance of rubble and rubbish, and the recovery of bodies where necessary.

My own efforts are concentrating on the recovery and repair of fishing craft and the supply of fishing nets and equipment to re-start the industry.