ACT Situation Report

ASRE51/Sri Lanka 0106

Sri Lanka

Geneva, April 10, 2006

Information provided by ACT member National Christian Council of Sri Lanka (NCCSL)

NCCSL activities in January and February

Northern region

Thousands of people lost their lives, and many in fishing communities lost their livelihoods in Mullaitivu, an area that was hit hard by the tsunami. The area is controlled by the Liberation Tigers of the Tamil Eelam (LTTE). NCCSL’s implementing partner, St. Matthias Church Mullaitivu, provided boats and nets to 1,271 fishermen.

There are 56 tsunami-affected families living in temporarily shelters in Maruthankerney, Jaffna District who do not have access to basic sanitation facilities. NCCSL’s implementing partner, Jaffna Christian Union, has completed 18 toilets in the second stage of its program to address this need.

Ten supplementary classes for approximately 150 tsunami-affected children are being held in selected places in Jaffna peninsula.

Education-support programs for tsunami-affected children continue.

NCCSL’s implementing partner, National YMCA, launched a self-employment program providing seed capital covering all affected areas.

Eastern region

Sinna Muhativaram village in the District of Ampara is one of the hardest-hit areas by the tsunami. All families were displaced, and more than 100 residents were killed. The displaced families have moved to a spot by the Methodist Church in Akkaraipattu while their permanent settlement is being prepared. All families were lagoon fishermen who caught prawns in season and fish in the other season. The Methodist minister of the Thirukoil area provided 100 families with nets and other accessories with the help of NCCSL-ACT.

Komari, too, is one of the worst-affected areas where the water problem is acute. The Rev. Sugirtharaj of the Methodist Church has constructed a well for drinking water in the Manatchenai village, where the water will be distributed to surrounding villages using water carriers. Arrangements are being made to construct additional wells in the area. This will provide water for 300 families and ease the present burden of the people. When the second tractor and trailer is purchased, the program can be fully activated.

Malnutrition among children is widespread in the tsunami-affected areas. The nursery school at Thandiadi was given funds to supply milk and food to 75 younger children in the area. Arrangements have been made to monitor the growth of the children. A health worker will make monthly visits to this center.

Sinna Urani village is known as one of the poorest areas in the District of Batticaloa where malnutrition among children has become a pressing issue. The Rev. A. Mahendran, superintendent minister of the Koddamunai Methodist Circuit, approached NCCSL-ACT with a proposal to provide assistance in the form of balanced meals for children. A building the church owns is being used for this purpose. Regular health checks will be made.

Implementing partner National YWCA has continued the psychosocial and counseling programs in Batticaloa, Moratuwa and Panadura, providing services to 1,233 tsunami-affected people.

Rehabilitation of 15 acres of cashew-growing areas the tsunami destroyed is in progress. It takes nearly five years to yield fruit and provide income to the farmers. The families who worked in these areas were selected to take part in an inter-cultivation program which has been initiated. A delay in supplying motors has disrupted the work, but arrangements have been made to provide them. The Sri Lanka Cashew Corporation is providing technical knowledge for this project.

NCCSL’s implementing partner, YMCA, renovated 100 houses in Ampara District.

South and West regions

NCCSL’s implementing partner, Christian Clergy Fellowship, provided four sets of fishing nets for four families in Galle district as part of its livelihood program. It also provided five outboard motors for fishing families.

NCCSL’s implementing partner, the Salvation Army, assisted nine families in Payagala and Kalutara in returning to their livelihoods.

NCCSL implementing partner YWCA organized a full-day workshop on creating awareness on issues pertaining to child rights among those involved in child care. This was to ensure the development and protection of children.

Implementing partner Church of Ceylon Matara provided basic household items (steel cupboards to store belongings safely) for 54 families at two IDP centers in Matara.

NCCSL partners Christ Church Hambantota and the Girl Child Centre of the YWCA introduced a program to promote savings habits among tsunami-affected women and children.

The Commission for Justice and Peace of the NCCSL secretariat began an awareness program for 1,500 men and women on the Southern coast.

The communication unit of NCCSL translated into Tamil and distributed 500 copies of the book Tsunami Made us Weep. It also organized a workshop to improve the communication skills of the children who participated in and showed high competence in a recent essay competition.

Constraints

• Numerous Harthals (strikes) in the Northern and Eastern regions resulted in the loss of working days and set back rehabilitation work in the Northeast region.
• The NCCSL/Jaffna Christian Union convener in Mulative (Church of Ceylon) was injured in an accident and was hospitalized. This affected NCCSL’s Northern program.
• The supply of inferior-quality items and selection of unsuitable families were issues for NCCSL’s implementing partners.
• Movement of IDPs (created by the tsunami and war) from government-controlled areas to LTTE areas (100 families from Point Pedro moved to Vadamarachchi East in January).
• Drug use in IDP centers causes social problems.

Meetings

• NCCSL staff participated in weekly operational meetings organized by the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies (CHA).
• NCCSL coordinated their activities with the Reconstruction and Development Agency, and two NCCSL Temporary Relief Unit staff members participated in an awareness program on engineering, contracting and procurement guidelines funded by the International Labor Organization (ILO).
• NCCSL coordinated with CHA/Oxfam (GB) to conduct a familiarization program on the Sphere project for NCCSL staff.
• The Rev. Dr. Jayasiri Peiris, NCCSL general secretary, and a delegation attended the World Council of Churches assembly in Brazil in February.
• An ACT alliance meeting was held March 2-3, following an evaluation workshop, in which representatives of ACT funding members and implementing members in Sri Lanka came together to reflect upon the recommendations and results from the first phase of the evaluation and look forward to the next phase as well as to discuss issues such as donor-implementer relations, speed of implementation, etc.
• Five NCCSL staff members participated in personal-security training conducted by RedR. NCCSL’s national coordinator and regional coordinator in the north participated in site-management training organized by the Norwegian Refugee Council in Sri Lanka.

Visitors

• Peter Svensson, assistant program officer for the ACT tsunami appeal from the ACT Coordinating Office in Geneva, visited in late January to early February.
• ACT coordinator Michelle Yonetani and her successor, Linda Tiongco, participated as observers in the ACT follow-up workshop on phase 1 of the tsunami appeal evaluation. (Michelle Yonetani completed her assignment as ACT coordinator in Sri Lanka at the end of March.)
• Jenny Borden, former interim director of the ACT Coordinating Office, and Herman Ketel, evaluation team leader, conducted a follow-up workshop on phase 1 of the tsunami appeal evaluation.