A NURSE is campaigning to raise £3,000 for victims of a terrorist attack in her home country.

Kaushali Kittle, who was born and raised in Sri Lanka, has established a foundation called Crisis Counselling for Sri Lanka, following the devastating bombings which took place there on Easter Sunday.

The atrocities killed more than 250 people and injured 500 more when three churches and three hotels in Colombo were targeted by seven Islamist militant suicide bombers.

The money raised will be given to the Sumithrayo charity, headquartered in Colombo and which will be able to send counsellors to Negombo, where one of the worst atrocities took place.

Mrs Kittle, who came to Colchester to be a nurse 19 years ago, had only visited her family in Colombo three days before the tragedy.

She visits as often as twice a year to see her parents and two sisters who live there.

Mrs Kittle, who lives in Wivenhoe, said: “I was there in April and got back and three days later the attack happened.

“I wanted to do something positive with that feeling I was having.”

Mrs Kittle, who nurses people in the community with learning difficulties, contacted the director of the Sumithrayo charity, to ask how she could help.

She established £3,000 would cover the travel costs for three volunteer counsellors to travel 20km from Colombo to Negombo.

The money would cover daily counselling sessions for a month, followed by decreasing levels of support.

They will also be able to support others in and around the capital of Colombo.

Mrs Kittle wants to raise the money by September and plans to return to Sri Lanka in January when she can hopefully see the counselling in action.

Mrs Kittle has kick started fundraising by organising a Seventies and Eighties-themed disco at the William Loveless Hall in High Street, Wivenhoe, on August 31, from 7.30pm.

Tickets are £12 and can be bought from crisiscounsellingforsrilanka.com, where donations can also be made.