IN bricks and mortar Jersey’s ongoing commitment to the victims of the tsunami was proven yesterday.

On a piece of scrubland outside the southern city of Matara in Sri Lanka, a vocational training centre was officially opened.

It has been funded by Jersey Side by Side, the charity that sprung out of the decision by 5,000 people to stand on St Ouen’s beach last January to pledge their support for the future.

An estimated 25,000 families were affected by the disaster in Matara and the centre will provide training in a wide variety of trades for the poorest people in the region.

The centre, which will cost about £50,000, will also have an emphasis on training women, a sector of the community often overlooked.

More than 100 people gathered for the ceremony, which took place just a week before the first anniversary of the tsunami hitting south-east Asia on Boxing Day last year.

It has been built on land donated by the neighbouring Buddhist temple of Kotikagoda and was constructed in conjunction with the Sarana Community Development Foundation.