Restoring lives and livelihoods
| Thousands of families have been helped to restore their lives through cash grants from the British Red Cross in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
These grants have been used to invest in small businesses including growing cash crops such as cashew nuts, chillies and cucumbers. Other investments include setting up shops, fish farming and buying goats and chickens.
The British Red Cross has distributed grants to:
- More than 11,300 people in Indonesia
- More than 22,900 people in Sri Lanka
- More than 1,100 people in the Maldives
Read about the real impact your support has helped us make on people's lives.
Collateral for loans
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 | | | Robby Darwis from the Teunom area of Aceh Jaya district, one of the coastal regions worst hit by the tsunami, has opened a colourful boutique crammed with neat racks of jeans and T-shirts.
Robby's story | |
 | | | Mawardi and Jaflinar have slowly rebuilt their lives after the tsunami, moving into a house built by the British Red Cross and starting a fuel business.
Mawardi and Jaflinar's story | |
 | | | When the people of Panton village, in Aceh Jaya district, need documents printing or typed up on a computer, they head for Irvandi’s shop on the main road.
Irvandi's story | |
 | | | Ben Khari got a group of friends together and has used a cash grant from the British Red Cross to create a large fishpond from a field that was ruined by the tsunami.
Ben's story
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 | | | One month after the tsunami hit, fourteen-year-old Wulan was reunited with her family, thanks to the work of Red Cross tracing staff and volunteers.
Wulan's story | |
 | | | Teenager Sirif Siddick was tragically orphaned by the tsunami but he has been given hope for the future through a British Red Cross grant to fund his education.
Syrif's story | |
 | | | Grandmother Ahlimah has been given a lifeline with the help of the British Red Cross after losing eight of her grandchildren in the tsunami.
Ahlimah's story | |
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Help for small businesses
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 | | | Hadi Marhento used a cash grant to buy chicks, his business has developed and he now offers a butchery service.
Hadi's story | |
 | | | After losing her sewing maching in the tsunami, Norliza's new handicrafts business is expanding with the support of a cash grant.
Norliza's story | |
 | | | Pak Yunus (60) is thriving today on his small farm with support from British Red Cross cash grants.
Yunus' story | |
 | | | Pak Alimuddin is building a coffee shop with a Red Cross grant. “We were confused about what to do next, but the Red Cross gave us hope by giving us capital to restart our businesses again,” he explained.
Alimuddin's story | |
 | | | Teenage brother and sister, Desi and Randy Yustina, lost their parents in the tsunami. As well as help from their neighbours, they are receiving cash grants to support their futures.
Desi's story | |
 | | | Widow Zainabah Ibrahim feels lucky to be alive after the tsunami dragged her along on a current. With help from the British Red Cross, she has bought goats and chickens to secure her livelihood.
Zainabah's story | |
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Supporting widows and the elderly
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 | | | Joha, a young widow, from Batticaloa in Sri Lanka has been helped to earn a living again from keeping goats, with cash grants and advice from the Red Cross.
Joha's story | |
 | | | The British Red Cross is helping get afloat Sri Lanka’s fishing communities. K. Parameswaran is one of a number of beach seine boatowners whose vessels provided vital employment to multiple fishermen - until the tsunami hit.
K. Parameswaran's story | |
 | | | Charlet Jayasundera has benefited from a British Red Cross cash for work scheme in Matara, southern Sri Lanka that has helped her restart her business.
Charlet's story | |
 | | | Danawathi, aged 33, has been able to return to growing vegetables to feed her family, thanks to the British Red Cross cash for work programme in Sri Lanka.
Danawathi's story. | |
 | | | Sunil Shantha, 44, is a Sri Lankan fisherman. Find out how the Red Cross is helping him to rebuild his livelihood.
Sunil's story | |
 | | | Mohamed Saeed is one of many people who are rebuilding their lives thanks to the help of the British Red Cross livelihoods programme.
Read Mohamed's story | |
 | | | Mother-of-five Nahida Mohammed (39) has been helped to farm again thanks to a cash grant from the British Red Cross.
Nahida's story
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| From cash grants to crops
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 | | | The tsunami washed away a lot of farmland in the Maldives, but with the help of a cash grant from the British Red Cross one collective of farmers has made the land productive again.
Saudiyya's story
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 | | | Community participation is an essential part of the British Red Cross' work in the Maldives, with women playing an active role in decision-making.
Mumthaz's story | |
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