OCHA Situation Report
Sri Lanka
24 - 30 June 2005


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Overall Situation

Oxfam Great Britain helped organize with community residents an 
exhibition in Vaharai, Batticaloa district as a part of the six-month 
commemorations of the tsunami. The exhibition displayed items retrieved 
after the tsunami, as well as elaborate pieces of art that portrayed the 
disaster and the subsequent relief efforts. Moreover, the community 
developed visions of how they imagine their future and expressed them 
with models displayed throughout the exhibition.

Main challenges and response

UNDP has announced that a 'tsunami-affected peoples' consultations will 
begin in July after pre-consultation workshops with government agents, 
divisional secretaries, Taskforce for Rebuilding the Nation (TAFREN) and 
other officials concluded this week. Government agents and divisional 
secretaries of all the tsunami-affected districts in the north, south 
and east participated in a series of initial workshops this week of the 
peoples' consultation process where they raised concerns about the 
government's rebuilding plans after the tsunami. The workshops informed 
them of the upcoming peoples' consultation in 1,100 tsunami-affected 
villages (750 GN divisions) and clarified issues and queries on tsunami 
recovery activities, decisions and policies. The government agents and 
divisional secretaries queried on shelter and livelihood needs of the 
affected communities and other issues surrounding the rebuilding 
process. Officials from the ministry of housing and the ministry of 
fisheries participated along with senior officials from TAFREN and the 
Tsunami Housing Reconstruction Unit (THRU) who presented their 
rebuilding and rehabilitation plans and activities, their status in the 
tsunami-affected north, east and southern coasts as well as details of 
the upcoming consultations initiated by UNDP.

The peoples' consultation is being carried out by the Human Rights 
Commission of Sri Lanka in collaboration with the University of Colombo, 
Sri Lanka which will in turn collaborate with regional universities in 
the south, north, east and the south-east. The peoples' consultation 
which is scheduled to begin in July will include focus group discussions 
with affected communities, host communities and recovery agents 
(government donor and civil society) in order to both better ascertain 
the needs and interests of the people, to share relevant information on 
tsunami recovery as well as involve communities in the reconstruction 
activities. The findings from these consultations will be shared with 
relevant stakeholders in tandem to the consultations. The project 
partners are working closely with TAFREN and government and local agents 
as well as the national line ministries in order to collect up-to-date 
information dissemination and to share findings prior to the 
consultations. The government agents and divisional secretaries will 
play a key role in the consultations. They will coordinate and 
facilitate the meetings at district level. Two training-of-trainers 
programmes for persons carrying-out the public consultations have 
already been completed.

Coordination and common services

Debris clearing of the Batticaloa lagoon commenced on 27 June. The 
USAID-sponsored project is expected to continue until September. The 
Fisheries Department and the Coastal Conservation Authority are closely 
involved in this project to ensure that the work is carried out 
delicately without damage to the lagoon bed or aqua life. Until now, 
resumption of fishing in the lagoon was hampered by the debris. Those 
fishermen who have gone out anyway had their nets ripped and new 
equipment damaged. It is anticipated that the clearing will restore the 
livelihoods of more than 3,500 people in the local fishing community of 
Batticaloa.

Food security

China has donated canned fish worth a million dollars for Sri Lankan 
tsunami survivors enrolled under a food-for-work programme organised by 
the World Food Programme. The gift is part of China's US$20 million 
support to United Nations agencies conducting tsunami relief work. The 
shipment of 16 containers of tinned mackerel valued at US$ 320,000 left 
the Chinese port of Qingdao yesterday. It is the first of two 
consignments donated by China. The WFP food-for-work schemes are 
estimated to help 180,000 Sri Lankans rebuild roads and other 
infrastructure damaged by the tsunami.

Health

A two-day workshop was conducted recently for volunteers from all 
agencies doing psycho-social activities in welfare centers/transitional 
shelters and communities affected by the tsunami in Trincomalee. The 
workshop was funded by UNICEF and was open to all UNICEF and non-UNICEF 
partners. Thirty participants from five NGOs attended the training. 
Participants were trained in community mobilization, facilitating 
activities with children, working with women and networking with service 
providers. At the end of the workshop participants felt more confident 
in working in the camps. The workshop was facilitated by the 
psych-osocial training team in Trincomalee which comprises staffs from 
UNICEF, MHU, CCF, CPA and other NGOs.

Numerous cases of skin rashes have been experienced in IDP camps in 
Batticaloa district. Many women with such skin conditions have been 
reluctant to see male doctors working in the camps about this. In 
response, the Foundation for Co-Existence (FCE) has arranged for female 
private-sector doctors to visit the camps. These skin rashes have been 
occurred among both men and women and their cause is still unknown.

Four ambulances were donated by UNICEF for use in Killinochchi, 
Mullaitivu, Jaffna and Trincomalee to improve the Emergency Obstetric 
care and new born care facilities in those districts.

Water and sanitation

Fifty-nine water quality assessment kits and 54 water bladders (1,500 
litre collapsible water tanks) were supplied to the National Water 
Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) in Colombo last week by UNICEF. These 
will be distributed by the NWSDB to the field offices based on community 
needs. In addition, two gully suckers were deployed to NWSDB Jaffna to 
improve the sanitary conditions in the area. In Galle district, UNICEF 
provided ECHO funded water tanks to IDH Watte displaced camp to meet the 
urgent need for drinking water in this transition camp. A dumping yard 
was identified in Hikkaduwa to dispose of the waste. Availability of 
suitable land was a major problem for a long time and with the 
intervention of UNICEF and World Vision land was identified for this 
purpose.

The Watsan Working Group in Galle District, which consists of 
government, UN agency and NGO representatives has reported a significant 
number of empty water tanks in the Galle. For instance, in Hikkaduwa out 
of 47 water tanks in the area only 15 provide water to a total of 590 
families. Furthermore drainage and waterway clearing is considered to be 
a major problem that comes under the purview of the government. The 
location of the train wreckage in Peraliya is currently blocking a major 
portion of the water channels. The Drainage/Waterways Working Group is 
to look into the matter. Solid Waste Management is also proving to be a 
problem in Hikkaduwa where there is a lot of rubbish clogging up the 
drains. Identifying land for solid waste disposal is an issue that is 
yet to be tackled. However the Arthacharya Foundation has established a 
recycling programme to address the concern.

Three-hundred service connections, supported by UNICEF, were completed 
in Ampara district this week, bringing the total to 3,000 service 
connections (providing piped water directly to homes) benefiting close 
to 15,000 people living in the areas of Kalmunai, Saithamaruthu and 
Karaitivu.

Non-food items and shelter

According to the Transitional Accommodation Project (TAP), as of 29 
June, 76 per cent of transitional shelters had been completed. This 
constitutes 8,166 shelters out of a total requirement of 10,762. The DAT 
Progress report of 29 June indicates that out of a total of 15,309 
totally or partially damaged houses outside the buffer zone, 13,964 have 
been inspected to date. No statistics are currently available on the 
number of cases that are contested and that have been submitted to the 
Grievance Committees. Statistics of 22 June indicate that 856 families 
continue to be accommodated in public welfare centers while 350 families 
remain in tents. With regard to tents, UNHCR has pointed out that most 
of these tents are in fact not used as accommodation anymore but that 
they now serve as additional storage space or as a signal to 
international organizations to distribute further relief items. UNHCR is 
calling on organizations that have put up tents to inspect them and 
remove them if they are no longer used as accommodation.

As a result of strong winds, tin roofing sheets and some cajans were 
blown off recently completed semi-permanent shelters. In Vaharai, the 
roof of a temporary school building collapsed two weeks ago and resulted 
in minor injuries to students and teaching staff. Some families are 
refusing to move from tents to transitional shelters because of these 
incidents, and also because sand is blowing through the shelters during 
strong winds. In response, the Shelter Task Force in Batticaloa has 
urged all those engaged in the construction of semi-permanent shelters 
to inspect their respective shelters and take appropriate action for any 
upgrading or reinforcement that needs to take place. Shelter 
organizations agreed that, with their support, the monitoring and 
reinforcements of these shelters should ideally be carried out by the 
beneficiaries themselves.

Save the Children in Sri Lanka (SCiSL)is just completing three common 
halls for transit camps in Kilinochchi, and has signed three agreements 
for the construction of 100 temporary shelters in Ampara. SCiSL has also 
distributed 3043 hygiene kits in Jaffna.

Handicap International in Batticaloa has drawn attention to the issue of 
accessibility and the specific needs of people with disabilities, and 
launch with relevant government bodies a sensitization campaign, "Access 
For All." As part of this campaign, Handicap International has 
circulated, amongst others material, models of Water and Sanitation 
projects that accommodate the needs of disabled people. The objective of 
this campaign is to sensitize all decision- makers so that schools, 
hospitals, resettlement areas which are built or rebuilt are accessible 
to all community members, including the disabled.

Education

SCiSL has constructed a children's library at Tal-arambe that will be 
inaugurated on 4 July. Children will be given basic training on library 
management. SCiSL has also completed construction of seven pre-schools 
in transit camps and ten play grounds in Kilinochchi and has acquired 
land for the construction of permanent buildings for seven out of 11 
pre-schools in Jaffna

Livelihoods

Following months of discussion and concerns amongst members of the 
Livelihood Task Force in Batticaloa on the potential threat of 
over-fishing, FAO Batticaloa - referring to recent statistics that the 
the number of boats issued in Batticaloa is more than replacement 
requirements - warned again at a 16 June Task Force meeting that this 
situation would contribute to over-fishing and result in long-term 
damage to coastal fisheries resources. It was advised that all 
organizations and individuals distributing boats should work closely 
with the Department of Fisheries to prevent a long-term livelihood 
disaster in the fisheries sector.

SCiSL in partnership with DOFAR, a local NGO, has distributed 400 boats, 
engines and fishing gear in Batticaloa. SANASA, another local NGO 
together with SCiSL has made the second installment of a cash grant 
ranging from Rs.5,000 to Rs.10,000 to six beneficiaries in the fish, 
vegetable, toy and book vending and coir industry and boat repairing 
sector. They also had a two day training session on 17 and 18 June for 
46 beneficiaries in the coir industry who learned how to improve and 
assess the quality of their coir products.

SCiSL's block making activities with the District Federation of Youth 
Club have been suspended due to lack of a supply of electricity at ten 
of their sites. The present rainy season is also hampering block-making 
activities as they are unable to dry sufficiently. SCiSL is looking in 
to the possibility of providing simple tents at each of the sites. In 
Ampara SCiSL in cooperation with Al Ameen is supporting 50 families in 
making string hoppers in the food processing sector and helping five 
families run mini groceries. Sweido Vision in a joint venture with SCiSL 
is providing support to 89 families for paddy cultivation, 19 families 
for a clay brick making project and 22 fishermen to regain their 
livelihood in Ampara. Women's Development Federation (WDF) and SCiSL 
have distributed 50 sewing machines in the Kalmunai Division. Sewa Lanka 
together with SCiSL has completed 74 km of beach cleaning and repaired 
1000 meters of road and ten lagoon canoes in Ampara.

Protection

To date, 5,797 separated, unaccompanied and single-parent children have 
received follow-up visits from social workers. These are children 
affected by the tsunami who have lost their parent(s) either as a direct 
result of the tsunami or previously due to conflict or other reasons. 
The tsunami has resulted directly in 15 children who lost parents and 
are not with any family, 948 children who have lost both parents and are 
currently with other family members, and 3,714 children losing one 
parent.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Appropriate Donations for International Disaster/Humanitarian Needs
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Center for International                  web: www.cidi.org
     Disaster Information             listserv: www.cidi.org/listsub.htm
                                    guidelines: www.cidi.org/donate.htm
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -