A BUILDER turned pastor from Sandford, near Wareham, is on a mission to Sri Lanka in the wake of the tsunami.

Pastor Paul Shepherd from the Purbeck Gateway Church is spending a fortnight building homes in Hikkaduwa, a community left devastated by the disaster.

Churchgoers raised an amazing £11,000 in a fortnight to fund his trip and help tsunami victims.

He said: "There is quite a tense political situation there as the Sri Lankan government is probably thinking long-term whereas local people are thinking short-term and want houses where they were.

"We might not get permission to build on a particular piece of land and if we don't I'm sure we will be able to help somewhere else."

The 46-year-old father-of-eight is one of 11 builders from the South West helping out as part of an independent charitable response called Christ Life Ministries.

Mr Shepherd trained as a builder before becoming a pastor 25 years ago and has continued to build as a way of supplementing his income.

"This is the first time I have used my building skills to serve a need. The people of Hikkaduwa suffered really badly," he said.

"The organisation's brief is to got out there and serve practically as well as encourage. There is a lot of despondency with people sitting around looking at each other, not sure they should bother to get up and do anything.

"You have to move on and start to focus again as hard as that is. That must be a way forward. So as well as building homes we will offer encouragement and present a large gift to stimulate progress when we leave.

"We are each taking £500 for accommodation but because accommodation is quite cheap whatever is left over we will leave behind.

"I also hope to build a relationship with the pastor of a village and keep up a connection."

Anyone who would like to make a donation can contact Purbeck Gateway Church on 01929 551415.

First published: September 7