24th December – 5th January: Your Support in Action

Total people served since start of appeal: 54,026 people

People reached between 24th Dec – 5th Jan: 24,756 people

Over the Christmas to New Year period, the districts we covered were many. By this point, preferred supplies had been identified, no small task in an emergency response where quality, availability, and appropriateness matter just as much as speed. With partners who had built real momentum on the ground, we were able to carry out significant work during what is usually a period of pause.

There was no Christmas break for many of the team. We are deeply grateful to those who gave their time, energy, and care through this period, ensuring that families who are so often left out were not missed.

Despite the intensity of the work, we were still able to hold space for small moments of humanity. Santa showed up (with a big thank you to my husband), and while it may seem like a small gesture, it mattered. In the middle of loss and uncertainty, these moments remind people, especially children, that they are seen.

For this update, there are too many districts to move through one by one. Over this period, we worked across Badulla, Kandy, Puttalam, and Nuwara Eliya, with a strong focus on estate communities.

In many of the estates we visited, we were still the first support people had received. With estates closed and no access to income, the support provided during this time was critical. Families had been cut off, not only from food, but from wages, mobility, and any sense of certainty about what came next.

In Badulla, we spent time with representatives of over 900 women, listening as they shared story after story of loss. We heard about markets that had shut down overnight. About a woman who had carefully saved and invested her working capital in food items, now completely destroyed. We heard about the ripple effects: women who had been providing food to schools that were now closed; local shops unable to stay open as income dried up; auto drivers whose livelihoods stalled as movement stopped.

Many families had gone weeks without income. For households already living day to day, this period pushed life into an even more fragile place.

And yet, threaded through these stories was something else.

We heard about women coming together, sharing what little they had, cooking for others even when there was not enough for themselves, opening their homes to ensure each other’s safety. In shelters with scarce food and limited resources, community held where systems had paused.

This is what your support made possible during these days. Not just assistance, but presence. Not just relief, but dignity.

As we move forward, we carry these stories with us. They remind us why depth matters.

Thank you for standing with families through this time.

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21st – 23rd December: Your Support in Action

Total people served since start of appeal: 29,270 people

Families served between 21st – 23rd: 281 | People reached between 21st – 23rd: 1,124

In these past three days, we have been busy identifying items for procurement, from 1,000 water cans to specific items for persons with a disability, with our commitment to quality, it is critical that we spend the time to ensure we have the right items and that it meets the needs of the communities.

Over the past three days, our teams have been working intensively to identify and procure the right items for communities, ranging from 1,000 water cans to specialised supplies for people with disabilities. With a strong commitment to quality and dignity, we are taking the time needed to ensure that every item is appropriate, durable, and responsive to the real needs on the ground. In emergency response, speed matters, but so does getting it right.

We are not slowing down but it is getting increasingly difficult to access regions which means work is getting harder, but that’s the work!

Supporting Nuwara Eliya, Nanoya & Westado (1,124 people reached)

We are visiting tea estate communities where families have still not received any aid. These are some of the hardest areas to reach, and limited access has meant assessments could not be carried out early, communication has been poor, and immediate needs have gone unmet. With tea estates closed, families who already live hand-to-mouth have lost their only source of income. When income stops for extended periods, food and basic necessities quickly become scarce.

For these communities, support is not just important, it is critical. Yet for a range of structural barriers, they remain among those most often left out. This is where Palmera’s depth-based approach matters: reaching beyond the first wave of response, staying present after attention has moved on, and working alongside communities that are too often overlooked.

Photos below are from Nuwara Eliya, Nanoya & Westado

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18th – 20th December: Your Support in Action

Total people served since start of appeal: 28,146 people

Families served between 18th – 20th: 1,548 | People reached between 18th – 20th: 5,717

It was a busy two days with work being conducted across 3 districts in Puttalam, Mullaitivu and Kandy.

Supporting Wanathavillu, Puttalam (1,055 people reached)

In Puttalam, many homes here were significantly destroyed. When we visited, mosquito-infested water still surrounded families’ shelters, and we saw untreated wounds on legs that had remained submerged for days. These were not abstract needs. They were immediate, practical realities, ones that required the right kind of support, not just any support.

This is why quality matters in our emergency work. At Palmera, we spend time checking the quality of what we distribute. We visit multiple suppliers, reject goods that are not durable or appropriate, and choose items we believe will last. It takes more time, but it makes all the difference. In situations like Puttalam, poorly made goods don’t just fail, they create another burden for families already carrying too much.

This approach is reflected clearly in the words of a community member we met, shared below. Their experience reminds us that response is not about numbers or optics, but about whether what is given genuinely meets the need in front of you.

We also visited a principal who requested uniforms for 35 children who had lost everything. We purchased the materials and they will do the stitching locally to ensure the children have what they need. My kids joined me in Puttalam today which was also a wonderful experience, to see them get involved in this whole process of giving.

Supporting Oddusuddan, Mullaitivu (872 people reached)

In Oddusuddan, Mullaitivu, we reached 872 people where food remained a critical need. Many families here rely on seasonal labour, earning day to day, and eating with what they earn. With weeks of continuous rain halting work, households were left without income and with little food. As requests came through from local government officials and community leaders, and with limited support reaching these families, we stepped in to help meet this urgent gap.

Supporting Deltota & Doluwa, Kandy (3,614 people reached)

In Kandy, our response reached 3,614 people with essential support ranging from maternal packs and safety items to food and clothing. These were not add-ons, but critical supplies that helped families navigate the immediate aftermath of loss while preserving dignity. In moments like this, what is provided, and how it is provided, matters deeply. Ensuring that people have what they need to care for themselves, their children, and their homes is about more than relief; it is about respect in the midst of disruption.

Photos below are from Wanathavillu, Puttalam

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Materials purchased for school uniforms and handed over to the Principal

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Photos from Oddusuddan, Mullaitivu

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Photos below are from Deltota & Doluwa, Kandy

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16th – 17th December: Your Support in Action

Total people served since start of appeal: 22,429 people

Families served between 18th – 20th: 300 | People reached between 18th – 20th: 1,200

Supporting Nuwara Eliya, Estate Areas (1,200 people)

In the estate areas of Nuwara Eliya, we reached 1,200 people who had been deeply impacted by landslides following the cyclone. Many families shared that while visitors had come to take photos and videos, weeks later they were still waiting for any meaningful support. Homes were damaged or destroyed, and even those still standing were difficult to live in under ongoing wet and unstable conditions. With livelihoods disrupted and food increasingly scarce, meeting immediate food needs became critical. While these communities face much larger and longer-term challenges, responding to this urgent gap helped families navigate the present moment with dignity.

Photos below are from Nuwara Eliya, Estate Areas

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11th – 15th December: Your Support in Action

Total people served since start of appeal: 21,229 people

Families served between 11th – 15th: 250 | People reached between 11th – 15th: 1,000

Supporting Estate Communities in Deltota, Kandy (1,000 people reached)

Estate communities are often the hardest hit during emergencies, living in fragile housing, with limited access to services and little buffer to absorb shocks. When heavy rains affected parts of Deltota in Kandy, these vulnerabilities meant families faced prolonged displacement and growing daily challenges. Our response focused on these estate areas to ensure support reached those most at risk.

In the immediate aftermath of the rains, our team supported 560 people across estate communities in Deltota with essential relief. Early assistance helped families meet basic needs and stabilise during the most uncertain days following the flooding.

As families remained in camps longer due to ongoing rains, a critical gap emerged, there were no adequate cooking facilities. This made it increasingly difficult for families to prepare food and meet daily needs. We provided camp kitchens and essential cooking utensils, supporting 440 people to cook safely and with dignity while displaced.

Photos below are from Deltota, Kandy – Estate Areas

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10th December: Your Support in Action

Total people served since start of appeal: 20,229 people

Families served today: 324 | People reached today: 1,296

Kurunegala – Estate Areas (364 people reached)

These estate communities have been some of the hardest hit. Cut off for days, with limited access to services even in the best of times, the cyclone has pushed an already fragile situation into crisis. Reaching them has been challenging, but today it was possible—and we are deeply grateful. Every distribution here has felt significant, because for many families, this is the first support they have received since the cyclone.

Vavuniya – Kanthasamynagar (932 people reached)

This is a community that Palmera worked in a few years following the war, when we saw footage of these families carrying the goats from our livelihood programme all those years ago, we did what we could to ensure they were supported.

Photos below are from Kurunegala – Estate Areas

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Photos below are from Vavuniya – Kanthasamynagar

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This was the village during the cyclone time

9th December: Your Support in Action

Total people served since start of appeal: 18,933 people

Families served today: 318 | People reached today: 1,272

Mullaitivu – Oddusuddan (872 people reached)

In Oddusuddan, with the monsoon rains still looming, families already affected by the cyclone were facing mounting challenges. Many outside the district were unaware of how severe the situation had become. With your support, our teams were able to reach these communities and ensure that critical items were distributed to families who needed them most.

Colombo – sex workers (400 people reached)

This is a group we already work closely with, and one that is so often left out of emergency responses. See project here – palmera.org/from-sex-workers-to-dignified-work

These families live in slum areas that were heavily impacted by the cyclone. When it hit, many lost the little stability they had: income stopped overnight, food became scarce, and there was almost no safety net to fall back on.

Because of your support, we were able to act quickly and ensure they received essential relief. For a community that rarely sees itself reflected in official systems, today’s distribution carried a different weight. It was a moment of recognition, dignity, and inclusion at a time they needed it most.

For privacy and security reasons, we could not take any footage of this community—but below are images showing the impact on their homes.

Photos below are from Mullaitivu – Oddusuddan

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8th December: Your Support in Action

Total people served since start of appeal: 17,661 people

Families served today: 527 | People reached today: 1,973

Badulla – Passara (1,928 people reached)

With the rains continuing in Badulla, it has been especially challenging in Passara. The roads were slippery, access points kept shifting, and our teams had to find small windows of clear weather to move safely. Because these were non-food items, each needed to be sourced carefully, packed, and transported in stages before we could begin distribution.

Despite the conditions, we were able to reach all identified families and provide the essential items they needed to stabilise over the coming days. For households with persons who were not able to travel to the distribution point, our team conducted home visits to ensure no one was left out. These quieter acts matter just as much as the larger ones, reaching each home, knocking on each door, making sure every family is seen and supported.

Trincomalee – Seuvila (45 children reached)

In Seuvila, a home that supports children with physical and mental challenges had been completely cut off from food supplies. Their needs were greater than what a short-term ration could cover, so we provided a full one-month distribution to ensure stability and continuity of care for the children.

While on site, our team also identified that their existing water source is inadequate. Although this need is not directly linked to the flooding, it is a critical gap. We have made a commitment to replace the water system, supported through our wider donor base (and therefore not included in the cyclone emergency funds listed above).

This is one of several additional needs that have surfaced through our response work, essential interventions we are able to say yes to because of the strength and generosity of our broader community.

Photos below are from Badulla – Passara

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Photos below are from Trincomalee – Seuvila

7th December: Your Support in Action

Total people served since start of appeal: 15,688 people

Families served today: 577 | People reached today: 2,041

Kegalle – Rambukkana (1,276 people reached)

In Rambukkana, the teams worked through intermittent showers and shifting access points to complete the distribution to 319 families. Many households here had been coping with damp homes and limited mobility, so receiving supplies in a timely manner was essential. The Grama Niladhari supported crowd management, allowing the team to complete the distribution safely and with care. Families shared that this was the first organised assistance to reach their division, and our team spent additional time speaking with several elderly residents to ensure their specific needs were not overlooked.

Kandy – Gampola and Doluwa (333 people reached)

Across Gampola and Doluwa, our focus today was on completing the distribution to 300 families who faced a mix of landslide risks and unstable ground conditions. Because these are hillside communities, our team moved in smaller groups to reach pockets that were difficult for vehicles to access. Local volunteers helped guide us through safer footpaths. Several families had lost basic household items to the rains, so receiving dry rations and essential supplies was a stabilising moment. The team will return later in the week for follow-up assessments where further gaps were identified.

Anuradhapura – Pagalla (108 families reached)

Pagalla is one of the pockets where early assistance has made a significant difference. The village had limited market access for several days, leaving families unsure of how they would manage the week ahead. Today, the team provided support to 108 households, prioritising those with young children and chronic illnesses. Because the terrain had dried slightly overnight, distribution could be done centrally, followed by home visits to three families who could not walk to the site. Conversations with community leaders highlighted potential needs that may emerge over the coming days, which we are monitoring closely.

Anuradhapura – Rambewa (150 families reached)

In Rambewa, 150 families received support today. This area was heavily affected by wind damage, with several households reporting partial roof losses and significant crop destruction. While immediate relief was provided through dry rations and essential supplies, our team also spent time documenting these impacts for the next phase of response. Many families shared that they had been relying on neighbours while waiting for assistance, and today’s distribution offered a moment of certainty in what has been a difficult week.

Videos from Kegalle – Rambukkana

Videos from Kandy – Gampola and Doluwa

Videos from Anuradhapura – Pagalla and Rambewa

5th – 6th December: Your Support in Action

Total people served since start of appeal: 12,120 people

Families served today: 711 | People reached today: 2,844

Kurunegala – Riddigama

In Riddigama, today’s response was shaped by strong community mobilisation. Local leaders, youth groups, and long-standing community partners worked alongside our teams and the local government to map out the pockets where families were still struggling in silence.

As information flowed in, community members helped verify households, guide our staff through smaller interior roads, and coordinate safe gathering points. This collaboration meant that instead of delivering aid blindly, we were able to reach families who were genuinely cut off or missed in initial assessments.

Batticaloa – Vavuntheevu

Vavuntheevu is a community we know well. For several years, Palmera has worked here through our women’s groups and livelihood programs, building deep relationships rooted in trust and shared responsibility. When the cyclone hit, these groups immediately mobilised.

Women leaders helped map affected households, organised community volunteers, and guided our teams to families whose situations might otherwise go unnoticed. This kind of mobilisation, led by the community itself, meant we could identify needs faster, reach people more efficiently, and ensure no one slipped through the cracks.

It is the strength of this long-term work that allowed today’s response to be both swift and deeply targeted.

Photos from Kurunegala – Riddigama

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Photos from Batticaloa – Vavuntheevu

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4th December: Your Support in Action

Total people served since start of appeal: 9,276 people

Families served today: 400 | People reached today: 1,600

Anuradhapura – Nachchathuwa

In Nachchathuwa, our teams focused on reaching families who are often the last to receive help: people with disabilities and those who are unable to leave their homes. Instead of large distribution points, the team created smaller access locations and then went door to door to ensure every non-able-bodied person on our list was reached.

This is what depth looks like. And it is what your support made possible. For these families, receiving assistance at their doorstep meant safety, dignity, and the reassurance that they had not been forgotten.

Mullaitivu – Puthukudiyiruppu

We had originally planned to serve 300 families. But during distribution on the 3rd, a nearby village that had been left out of government lists was identified by local officials. Today, we reached those 123 additional families, ensuring their needs were not overlooked.

Photos from Anuradhapura – Nachchathuwa

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Photos from Mullaitivu – Puthukudiyiruppu

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3rd December: Your Support in Action

Total people served since start of appeal: 7,676 people

Families served today: 833 | People reached today: 3,532

Today was a mix of packing, distribution, and preparation for what’s coming next. Teams coordinated purchases, validated needs with local authorities, and secured approvals so that tomorrow’s relief can move without delay. In Badulla, for example, the team procured non-food relief items this morning based on rapid assessments; these will be delivered tomorrow to families whose homes and belongings were damaged by the cyclone. Getting non food items that were requested took much effort by the teams who had to move to multiple cities and districts to find the items needed that at a quality that is appropriate.

Anuradhapura – Galnewa

In Galnewa, where several pockets are still struggling with shortages, we provided 320 dry food rations. Local officers shared that external aid had not yet reached these divisions, so our team stepped in early to fill that immediate gap.

Mullaitivu – Puthukudiyiruppu

In Puthukudiyiruppu, Mullaitivu, one of the hardest-hit pockets in the North, our team supported 300 families with dry food rations. Many had been relying on neighbours and whatever limited supplies they still had at home, so today’s distributions were vital.

Batticaloa – Vellaveli

In Vellaveli, our Batticaloa team reached 285 families with dry food rations. Many of these households had been cut off for days, and although roads are slowly clearing, access is still uneven. The team worked late into the evening to make sure every family in the cluster received support.

Photos below are from Anuradhapura – Galnewa

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Photos below are from Mullaitivu – Puthukudiyiruppu

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Photos below are from Batticaloa – Vellaveli

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1st – 2nd December: Your Support in Action

Total people served since start of appeal: 4,080 people

Families served on 1st – 2nd December: 919 families

People served on 1st – 2nd December: 3,667 people

Anuradhapura

Across the weekend of 29 and 30 November, while the floodwaters were still rising, our teams and community volunteers were already at work. We moved quickly to secure government approvals, align with the Disaster Management Units, and identify the families most in need. At the same time, food was purchased locally and packing began: rice, lentils, soya, and essentials gathered from nearby suppliers and farmers.

Wherever possible, we source from within the communities themselves. Buying paddy from local farms and milling it nearby takes more coordination, but it keeps income circulating in the hands of the very families who are trying to rebuild. Different organisations respond in different ways during emergencies; for us, supporting the local economy at the same time as we meet immediate needs is an important part of our approach.

Badulla

In Badulla, the steep terrain and landslides made access challenging. Our teams relied heavily on local networks, village leaders, women’s groups, and community volunteers, to identify families cut off from main roads and unable to reach central distribution points. Working alongside local authorities, we targeted welfare centres that required food to provide to those who had sought safe shelter.

Kilinochchi – Poonagery / Karachi / Kandawalia

These are communities where Palmera has long-standing relationships through the village women’s banks we have established and supported over the years. Because of these deep networks, we were able to mobilise quickly and effectively. To deliver essential food support, we worked closely with government authorities from start to finish. Approved lists were checked, verified, and cross-referenced with feedback from local women and community groups to ensure families traditionally overlooked were finally identified. Local officials joined our teams at distribution points, strengthening transparency and accountability throughout the process.

Batticaloa – Pattipalai

Pattipalai is an area where we launched work earlier in 2025, and those emerging but meaningful relationships meant the community mobilised quickly as soon as the cyclone hit. Women’s groups and local partners helped map affected households, identify urgent needs, and support our team with on-the-ground coordination. This allowed us to reach families faster and with greater accuracy than would have been possible without those trusted connections.

Photos below are from Batticaloa – Pattipalai

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Photos below are from Badulla – Badulla

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Photos below are from Kilinochchi – Poonagery / Karachi / Kandawalia

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29th – 30th November: Your Support in Action

Families served on 29th and 30th November: 123 families

People served on 29th and 30th November: 413 people

Anuradhapura

Within hours of Cyclone Ditwah making landfall, our teams and community volunteers were already on the move. Despite difficult conditions, families in Anuradhapura and Mihintale came together to cook and provide meals for those unable to reach safety centres, 248 people in total.

This community is one we have been working closely with. You can read more about that project and the housing project here – palmera.org/telugu-housing-toilet-and-water-project

Many were unaware of the cyclone’s impact and became trapped without access to support. Because our teams were already on the ground, deeply connected with local families, and because your funding arrived immediately, we were able to respond fast.

These are families who often survive day to day: some beg for a living, some sell incense on the streets, most have no buffer to weather a crisis like this. That’s why your support, in this moment, was not just helpful, it was critical.

Batticaloa

At the same time in Batticaloa, our teams worked with local government officers to distribute tarpaulins to homes identified as most at risk. Forty tarpaulins were delivered on foot, with each distribution verified house by house to ensure families vulnerable to further rain damage were prioritised.

During these first intense hours, we also worked closely with local authorities to confirm where support was most needed and began coordinating the purchase of supplies. Mobility challenges made movement hard, but our local staff ensured the elderly were relocated to safer homes, and through our extensive women’s networks we shared critical government updates so families knew when and where to move to safety centres.

The photographs below capture these first days of action, work made possible entirely because of you.

Photos below are from Anuradhapura

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Photos below are from Batticaloa

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28th November: When the Appeal First Went Live

As the news and the first images of Cyclone Ditwah’s destruction began to emerge, we knew we had to act quickly. That evening, we shared a simple appeal on Instagram, just a heartfelt message about what communities were facing and how we planned to respond.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRl8VRqk_vD/

What happened next was extraordinary.

Within hours, the post began to spread. It has now been viewed over 250,000 times and shared nearly 2,000 times. People from all over the world stepped in, reposted, commented, lifted the message, and gave what they could.

Because of this groundswell of support, our initial goal of $15,000 AUD was reached in just a few hours. And with that momentum, we were able to raise the goal again and again so we could meet the real needs emerging on the ground.

What touched us most was not just the numbers, but the heart behind it—the way people saw the suffering of families in Sri Lanka and responded immediately, generously, and without hesitation. It reminded us once again that when we stand together, even in these moments of fear and loss, something profoundly hopeful becomes possible.