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Charith, a tsunami survivor, releases newly hatched sea turtles on the beach at sundown in Sri Lanka, August 2017. When the devastating Boxing Day earthquake and tsunami struck in 2004 it killed some 35,000 people in Sri Lanka and caused widespread devastation. Charith Dilshan was one of the lucky ones. When the waves struck he, his mother, two sisters and brother, along with other villagers, survived by fleeing to a temple on a nearby hill. Though they survived with their lives Charith's family home was destroyed and they, like many, resettled further away from the coast. However, after his brush with death Charith developed a deepened appreciation for nature and a feeling of responsibility to protect it. As a Buddhist, he believes, “If you respect nature, nature will respect you”. As such he decided to transform his family's beachfront land into a sea turtle hatchery and sanctuary, where he protects endangered sea turtle eggs until they can be safely released, and rehabilitates injured or disabled turtles that cannot survive on their own. (Photo by Aya Okawa/Rex Features/Shutterstock)
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