Some 150 Sri Lankan lawyers whose businesses were devastated by the tsunami that smashed into the coast of the Indian Ocean on Boxing Day 2004 have managed to rebuild their practices with the help of £23,000 raised by the International Bar Association (IBA).

The money raised, in association with Oxfam, was given to the Bar Association of Sri Lanka and used to equip the offices of 130 lawyers with furniture, fax machines, typewriters and computers. It also helped to rebuild and equip a 20-lawyer strong communal law office in Matara, the heart of Sri Lanka's legal community.


The appeal was launched following the visit of former Bar Council chairman Lord Brennan QC to the country last spring.


IBA president Francis Neate, a solicitor, said: 'I am very pleased. It wasn't a huge amount of money, but it was a good example of targeted giving and shows that a little money can go a long way.'