The heavy damage caused by the recent South Asian Tsunami calls for major reconstruction in the southern and eastern coasts of Sri Lanka. At the moment construction of houses for the affected families is identified as the primary need. Towards this effort, the Houston Buddhist Vihara (HBV) with the patronage of Houston Sri Lankan community and our generous friends in Texas has launched several projects to help the disaster-stricken communities of Sri Lanka.

HBV is a nonprofit organization registered in the United States. Two volunteer steering committees actively working in the US and in Sri Lanka to implement housing construction and other community projects. The task of the US committee is to campaign for charitable donations and to ensure that the funds are directed in accordance to the wishes of the donors. The task of the committee in Sri Lanka is to utilize these funds in the most efficient manner and make sure that projects are completed for the tsunami-affected families. Our first housing construction project is already in progress.

Objectives
• Revive the quality of life and the pride of the tsunami affected communities primarily by providing adequate housing
• Promote house allocation without any preference to race, religion, or ethnicity
• Raise sufficient funds to continue our goals
• Ensure that donations are channeled through reliable means and benefits are reached directly to the tsunami affected families
• Encourage the use of appropriate technologies and local expertise to reduce building costs
• Manage projects within the construction schedule and budget