Tsunami Orphans Inspired By 'Desperate Need'

When Rob and Paul Forkan were orphaned in the Boxing Day tsunami their story was never told.

But now, 10 years later, they want everyone to know what happened to them - and why they started their flip flop business, Gandy's - in order to raise money for fellow-orphans around the world.

"Over the years we haven't told anyone our story, it never came out in the media initially," Rob, who is now in his 20s, said.

"It's the brand in terms of what it represents - overcoming adversity - lots of young people find the brand inspiring."

Before 2004, Rob and Paul had spent the three years travelling round India with their younger siblings.

"When we were 13 and 11 we got pulled out of our school in Croydon," Rob said.

"We had been on holiday to India but when we got back the house was on the market and our parents asked if we enjoyed the holiday and if we wanted to move to India and we just jumped at the opportunity to get out of our classroom.

"So we ended up setting off on this crazy adventure - we thought originally it was going to be for a couple of months and it ended up being for a good few years and we had this crazy upbringing, seeing lots of different things and lots of different cultures and learning new things every day."

They went to Sri Lanka for a Christmas break, surfing at the resort of Weligama on the southern coast. When the wave hit on Boxing Day morning, the two boys were in their bedroom together.

"We were staying at a guest house on the beach and just got woken up by some people screaming," Paul said.

"Then before we knew it there was a brick wall at 200 miles an hour or whatever it was coming at us, and it was just a case of fighting for our lives, getting to the roof."

When the water receded the boys started searching for the rest of their family. They found their younger brother - but it wasn't until the evening that they found their little sister. Their parents had pushed the little ones up into coconut trees before being washed away.

Rob said: "Our parents sacrificed themselves to get our youngest brother and sister out of their room and then they went their separate ways and were gone."

It was then that their upbringing saved them. Through the chaos of the devastated country, the boys managed to hitchhike with their younger siblings almost 100 miles back to the airport at Colombo.

Paul said: "We were probably lucky that we were brought up like that because if the tsunami had happened to us when we were just on two weeks holiday, we wouldn't have been as tough. But because we were always travelling around and we always saw people who were a lot worse off than we were, it made it easier to deal with it."

Once they got back to the UK, the boys were cared for by their older siblings but the desire to do something to thank the people who helped them in Sri Lanka stayed with them.

"I was living in Australia for a couple of years, when Rob flew out for my 21st birthday," Paul said.

"He told me about this flip flop business idea and I was kind of - yeah this is crazy - I couldn't see Rob doing it on his own, so I thought I'd better pop back to the UK and help him out. It started from there."

Gandy's flip-flops are now an increasingly successful brand, worn by celebrities like Richard Branson and sold in countries across the world.

Rob said: "Flip flops are the most worn shoes on the planet - it doesn't matter if you are in Thailand, India, China, Sri Lanka - wherever it is, everyone wears flip flops, it's just a universal product that anyone can wear anywhere."

10% of the profits go to the Gandy Foundation , to help orphans, especially in India and Sri Lanka.

"There were young Sri Lankan children we met that helped us get home - people in horrible situations who had lost everything, but they helped us," Rob said.

"You're grateful that those people showed the greatest side of human nature on a day of desperate need."

After a difficult start, Gandy's flip flops are now selling well.

"The tsunami basically has given us no fear - so when we started Gandy's out of our bedroom in Brixton we came up against some massive barriers and brick walls and legal cases and stuff being thrown at us, sleeping on our sofas, not being able to afford our rent - literally we had it all but because of being in the tsunami - nothing worse can happen to us if that makes sense," Paul said.

And this Christmas they are seeing the concrete results as their first orphanage rises from its foundations in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

:: A special documentary Tsunami: Ten Years After The Wave is available on Sky Catch Up.

:: If you have been affected by any of the issues in Tsunami: 10 Years After The Wave, the following helplines can offer help and support:

Samaritans - anyone struggling to cope can talk to Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90

Mind - for mental health issues, including post-traumatic stress call the confidential information and support line on 0300 123 3393 (charged as a local rate call) open from 9am - 6pm Monday - Friday

Cruse Bereavement Care - promotes the well-being of bereaved people and enables people to understand grief and cope with their loss - national helpline on 08444 779 400