Lost lives honoured by two decades of blood donation

For the past 20 years, the New Zealand Sri Lanka Buddhist Trust has marked the anniversary of 2004’s Indonesian Boxing Day tsunami by giving the gift of life. 

Every year since the tragedy, which claimed more than 220,000 lives, the Trust has hosted a blood drive in partnership with New Zealand Blood Service, transforming remembrance into lifesaving action. 

“Donating blood is one of the most selfless acts one can practice when it comes to practicing generosity,” says Ven Walgama Munindawansa Thero, Chief Incumbent of Sri Lankaramaya Temple and Patron Monk of the New Zealand Sri Lanka Buddhist Trust (NZSLBT). 

In the aftermath of the disaster New Zealand donated more than $26 million to the international relief effort - an act of kindness that has never been forgotten by the Sri Lankan community in Aotearoa. 

“We started our blood drive as a way of paying gratitude to the tremendous support the New Zealand Government and its people extended to Sri Lanka in the aftermath of the devastating Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004.” 

Last month, on December 29, the Trust held its 20th annual mobile blood drive at the Sri Lankaramaya Buddhist Temple in Ōtāhuhu.  
 
The event welcomed a mix of first-time and regular donors, all united by a shared purpose: to help save lives. 

Indra Samarakoon, NZSLBT Vice President, says it’s heartening to see people continuing to come together to donate blood and help save lives, two decades on from the tsunami. 

One of those people is donor Indunil Senarath, who gave her 12th donation at the 2025 Boxing Day drive.  

Indunil's desire to donate began as a teenager, but she was unable to do so until years later due to not meeting the minimum weight requirement. The act has taken on a more personal meaning in more recent years as her father received multiple blood transfusions while recovering from an injury.

“When a family member or friend needs blood or plasma, you really understand how important donors are. Donating is my way of helping the community to make sure someone else’s loved one can receive the treatment they need.”

 Pictured: Indunil Senarath donating

Over the past two decades, the Trust’s Boxing Day drive has helped collect around 1,300 donations, contributing to lifesaving treatments for more than 4,000 people across Aotearoa.  

NZBS Donor Relations Team Leader Scott Sinclair says it’s a privilege to be welcomed into the temple each year. 

“It’s incredibly moving that donors choose to remember the occasion by giving the gift of life. 

“It’s a beautiful way to honour the lives lost and remember the outpouring of generosity following one of the world’s most devastating natural disasters. It’s humbling to play just a small part in making the blood drive possible.” 

For the NZSLBT community, donating blood is a meaningful way to mark the tsunami anniversary, but the generosity doesn’t stop there, with many returning to donate during the Trust’s winter blood drive. 

“Donating blood is so fulfilling,” says Indunil. “It doesn’t require special skills or a lot of time—just being in good health, the willingness to give and an altruistic frame of mind.” 
 
 
The 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami 
On Boxing Day in 2004, a massive earthquake struck an area off the west coast of Indonesia, triggering tsunami waves that tore across the Indian Ocean. The waves, travelling at speeds of up to 500 kilometres per hour, devastated coastal communities in at least 11 countries, including Sri Lanka. 

Pictured: Donors giving blood during the Boxing Day blood drive