A RETIRED Darlington council director has launched a charity appeal to help rebuild communities devastated by the Tsunami in 2004.

John Buxton, who stepped down as Darlington Borough Council's director of development and environment last month, has been spending his new-found spare time raising funds for areas in Sri Lanka destroyed by the Boxing Day tidal wave.

This Christmas, the 57-year-old hopes to raise £5,000 to buy enough bricks and materials to build houses for families from the village of Welikonda who were made homeless during the disaster.

"Boxing Day 2004 brought the most horrific scenes to our TV screens and the world was stunned by the devastation," he said.

"Those images have now faded from many people's minds and it is widely believed that life has returned to some sort of normality for those who survived.

"But the work continues and problems remain."

Mr Buxton started work with the charity organisation International Humanity in March 2005 with Rasti Madar, a Slovakian doctor, in a bid to help the village of Welikonda get back on its feet.

While Dr Madar oversees the work on the ground in Sri Lanka, Mr Buxton is in the UK raising the money needed to keep the project going.

Mr Buxton said: "Dr Madar is from a family who have been friends of ours for more than 14 years and he set up the charity after he witnessed at first hand the effect of the Tsunami in southern Sri Lanka.

"He told us what he had seen and I knew we could do something to help him.

"We could fundraise to provide the money that would be used for specific aid that would help people get back to a better way of life.

"We are very lucky to have some very good friends who have given a great deal of time to help with our fundraising."

The charity's first achievement was to raise £15,000 to provide medical aid to the village and refurbish the local school with new desks, chairs, blackboards and books.

Now Mr Buxton hopes to raise enough money to build five homes for five families, to replace the temporary shelters built in the immediate aftermath of the Tsunami.

"The hastily-built rickety terraced wooden sheds need to be replaced urgently," he said.

"Five families have been living in a 10ft square space.

"Can you imagine living in a shed with lots of other people for nearly three years and with little hope of life getting better?"

To make a donation, write to Mrs K Golightly, International Humanity UK, 1 Roundhill Close, Hurworth, Darlington.

For more information, visit www.internationalhumanity.net CHARITY QUEST: John Buxton, left, who has launched a charity appeal to help rebuild the village of Welikonda, in Sri Lanka, and provide better living conditions for families, including the children, above