Engineering apprentices who have spent two weeks in India working with people still recovering from the 2004 tsunami said it was a life-changing experience.Members of the team from Siemens in Lincoln spent time exchanging engineering knowledge and training with their Indian counterparts at the Rural Unit for Health and Social Affairs in Vellore.
They then moved on to help villagers in remote disaster-struck villages - working in temperatures of 40 degrees.
Apprentices Andy Ritchie, Chris Wildgust, Martin Evans, Dan Carlile, Nick Bevan, Gareth Webber and Craig Jackson - accompanied by Siemens' group leader for installation and commissioning Jim Ellis - also presented new tools to the villagers as part of the Starfish Project.
The Lincoln engineers, who undergo three-year apprenticeships - in stark contrast to the six-month training periods in India - said it was hard to find similarities in their working methods.
Apprentice Martin Evans said: "The personal protective equipment and health and safety standards that we take for granted didn't exist for the Indian apprentices.
"They didn't seem to have a history of many injuries but it was a very high risk environment that they are working in. It was very different to what we are used to."
The Lincoln apprentices were also shocked at the condition of the equipment used and spent a good deal of time taking an inventory of tools and repairing machinery for the college before moving on to the villages.
The first thing that struck the group, after a seven-hour journey to get to the tsunami-hit villages, was the amount of debris and broken boat parts lying around on the beaches, four years after the disaster.
And meeting the villagers, who are reliant on fishing for their income, and hearing their stories, was an emotional experience.
Chris Wildgust said: "It was very upsetting hearing first hand the horrific stories about the disaster. We spoke to adults who had seen their children washed away and children who were orphaned when the wave struck.
"The villagers are now quite 'matter of fact' about it; they were incredibly brave."
The city apprentices used their engineering expertise to repair boat engines for the fishermen, who lacked the knowledge and tools to do their own repairs.
With fishing being their livelihood, the difference the apprentices made by doing the repairs was significant.
Now Andy, Chris and Craig are keen to save up some money to return to India and continue the work they started. Mr Ellis said: "I fell very humbled to have been included in the project. The most moving experience for me was hearing the villagers' stories about the disaster and seeing our team's reaction to them."
Source: Lincolnshire Echo
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