In the wake of a major natural disaster that
catapulted her into the media spotlight, Eranthie Mendis, 23, today is
putting her life back together with the help of family, friends and
faith.
Mendis and her mother,
Tamara, 55, were visiting family and friends in Sri Lanka the day after
Christmas, taking a train along the island's southwestern coast when
the great tsunami hit. A 30-foot wall of water — as tall as a
three-story building — toppled and submerged the train. Eranthie
survived. Her mother did not. (February, page 35.)
In the
immediate aftermath of the catastrophe, Eranthie was interviewed for
print, radio and television. Like it or not, she had become a public
figure.
Her father, Eardley Mendis, pastor of Purna Jiwan South
Asian Ministry, part of Norwood Park Lutheran Church, Chicago, and two
brothers, Aranga, 27, and Amal, 21, flew to Sri Lanka for a Dec. 30
funeral service for her mother in Moratuwa.
Shortly thereafter,
the Mendis family returned home to Chicago's Hyde Park community and
began to pick up the threads of their lives.
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