December 23, 2011
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia -- A 14-year-old girl separated from her family during the 2004 tsunami that devastated Indonesia was reunited after seven years as a homeless child, her parents said Friday (December 23rd).
Mary Yuranda was taken in by a woman and forced to work as a street beggar after the tsunami. A taxi driver helped her back to the village of Meulaboh on Wednesday (December 21st) after the woman finally let her go.
"I cannot tell you how grateful I am," her mother, Yusnidar, told AFP.
The mother was separated from two of her three children during the tsunami. Her eldest daughter is still missing.