Fishermen and traders in the coastal village of Peukan Tuha were today doing something they've never done before: selling fish from a purpose built market.

The village was left devastated after the tsunami and many fishermen were terrified of venturing back into the waters.

Prior to the tsunami they sold fish from an old wooden market which disintegrated before the disaster.

Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) built the fish market and adjoining harbour for local fish traders and fisherman whose livelihoods had been affected by the tsunami.

After the disaster, many of the fish sellers in the village had no choice but to trade from the side of the road or any other available space they could find after their trading facilities had been destroyed.

One such seller was Iswar,32. After losing his brother and his home to the tsunami, it was almost a year before he dared go back to the sea. He is now the proud owner of a stall in the newly constructed market.

"Now that we have a permanent market more traders will come from the city to buy our fish and the income of our community will increase, God willing," said Iswar.

IRW has been providing livelihood assistance to tsunami affected communities since 2005 allowing thousands of people to earn a living once more and work their way out of poverty.

IRW has built twelve markets allowing trading activities to resume in tsunami affected areas.

For more information contact:

Jamsheed Din, Media Reporter 0044 121 622 0663 044 77204 513 10 Helen Mould, Media Officer 0121 622 0719

January 22 2007

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