'DOCTOR Max' has brought a ray of hope to the people of Galle.

Struggling to rebuild villages amid terrible destruction wreaked by the Boxing Day tsunami, the Sri Lankans are grateful to the foreigner bringing overseas aid.

The 53-year-old GP flew back to the island after escaping the deadly tidal waves with his wife and two sons on a family holiday cut short by the disaster.

Accompanied by charity volunteers and Weymouth nurse Michele Soden, he rented rooms, hired Jaya the interpreter and set off on what he calls his 'Healing Journey'.

He described the endless destruction to Dorset Echo readers in regular dispatches e-mailed from the island.

Linking up with a grassroots charity, Project Galle 2005, he visited some of the small camps in a 15-kilometre radius.

In partnership with this group and another charity, Wherever The Need, Doctor Mackay-James now hopes to raise £21,000 for vital community projects to help tsunami survivors come to terms with the disaster.

The bulk of the cash will be spent on a scheme led by a local consultant psychiatrist, Dr Haris Chandra.

Dr Mackay-James said: "He is probably the most eminent psychiatrist in Sri Lanka and extremely skilled in group work. He will go to villages and, through traditional Sri Lankan story-telling, deal with aspects of the tsunami.

"This will help people with post-traumatic stress disorder recover more quickly and identify the people who are particularly frozen by their experiences."

The doctor told how he was made welcome in Sri Lanka and said: "I loved it out there, it was so special because they are such great people.

"I always had such a warm welcome - they were very respectful and decent, with a lot of wisdom that I think will help see them through this.

"The people were incredibly buoyant, immensely grateful for the help, and very patient.

"In a way, it was uplifting to see how they were moving on.

"I noticed physical changes in terms of land being cleared schools reopening, people moving back to houses and going back to work.

"A sense of purpose was developing."

The doctor said: "Generally, it is a healthy population but there are not enough doctors or nurses with only seven trained psychotherapists in the whole country.

"Wounds from the tsunami like infected cuts and sores are healing well, but the Matara District General Hospital was grateful to receive 60 kilos of supplies from Dorset health agencies who donated drugs, bandages, disposable gloves, face masks, aprons, needles and syringes.

"Sometimes I did not feel like I was halfway round the world, because I treated the same conditions I see here at home - asthma, aches and pains and elderly people with stiff joints."

Asking readers to donate money to his Healing Journey, Dr Mackay-James said: "This sponsorship will help an awful lot of people.

"I am so grateful for what I have received so far but I urge Dorset Echo readers to give what they can. Sri Lanka is in desperate need.

"All the Project Galle 2005 volunteers work unpaid, so there are no administrative costs and the money raised will go where it is most needed."

If successful, the Healing Journey schemes will be shared with The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Cheques should be made payable to Wherever The Need and sent care of the Poundbury Clinic in Middlemarsh Street, Poundbury, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 3FD.