OCHA Situation Report
Sri Lanka
12 - 19 August 2005


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Overall Situation

The Japanese Government has provided over US$ 5 million to reconstruct 
four bridges and a culvert in the Southern coast. Reconstruction work 
began on August 14. The assistance is part of the US$ 80 million 
provided under the Japanese Non-Project Grant Aid for relief, 
rehabilitation and reconstruction of a wide range of tsunami-affected 
sectors including fisheries, housing, power, roads, health, education 
and water and sanitation sectors.

The four bridges are in Akurala, Seenigama, Magalle and Goiyapana and 
the box culvert at Weligama. The bridges were temporarily repaired in 
the immediate aftermath of the tsunami to allow traffic to pass, 
however, the safety of these bridges in their present state cannot be 
guaranteed particularly with the movement of heavy vehicles. In addition 
to the construction of bridges in the South, damaged causeways in the 
East are being reconstructed under the Japanese grant assistance.

Following a request from the Divisional Secretary, IOM funded a training 
programme for committees of transitional settlements in Matara, which 
was carried out recently in cooperation with the local NGO Sevalanka and 
the Christian Children's Fund. IOM held meetings with residents of three 
temporary housing sites to help them select representatives and discuss 
the scope of their responsibilities. A workshop was also held to 
brainstorm on issues of concern at transitional housing sites and 
possible solutions. Interactive sessions were held on four issues; 
safety and security, site maintenance, health concerns and 
psychosocial/child protection issues.

The NGO Football without Boundaries is hosting a match between two 
tsunami affected teams, one Tamil and one Sinhalese. The aim is to 
promote peace through sport. The Sri Lanka Army and LTTE have agreed to 
a friendly match via the Football Federation on 20 August. The match is 
supported by the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs, the Football 
Federation of Sri Lanka, Jaffna Football Federation and the LTTE sports 
coordinator and Military and Securities Forces. A selection of the best 
players from Jaffna and Galle districts will compete in Jaffna. The 
match will be played at Jaffna Stadium, is open to the public free of 
charge.

Health

As part of its psycho-social programme, IOM sponsored the Alcohol and 
Drug Information Centre, a local NGO, to conduct two-day workshops on 
alcohol and substance abuse in Ampara on 8 and 9 August, Batticaloa on 
10 and 11 August and Trincomalee on 12 and 13 August. The workshops were 
attended by local NGO field staff, Ministry of Health employees, 
including public health inspectors and mental health nurses and IOM 
field staff and volunteers. A total of 93 people participated.

Non-food items and shelter

The Ministry of Housing and Construction Industry, Eastern Province 
Education and Irrigation Development has launched a special programme to 
reconstruct school buildings in the Eastern Province. Almost 50 per cent 
of the school buildings were fully destroyed or partly damaged by the 
recent tsunami. The Korean International Co-operation Agency under the 
guidance of the government of South Korea has volunteered to construct 
two school buildings for Al-Siraj Vidyalaya and Al-Hithaya Vidyalaya at 
Saithamaruthu in Navithanvely Divisional Secretariat Division in the 
Eastern Province at a cost of Rs.6 million. Construction work on these 
school buildings began on August 5.

IOM has constructed more than 3,000 transitional houses which are 
designed to last between two and four years, with funding from Japan, 
the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), Greece, and 
China. It has also built communal areas, pre-schools, play grounds, 
administration offices and health centres at transitional housing sites. 
On some sites, IOM provides toilets, showers and other water and 
sanitation services, while on other occasions it is done through 
cooperation with other agencies in the districts.In the first two weeks 
of August, IOM finished 403 transitional houses and an additional 512 
are currently under construction. To date, land has been allocated for 
IOM to build a total of 3,910 transitional homes in seven districts. The 
organization is prepared to undertake further construction and assist in 
upgrading work as requested.

Education

In Matara district, IOM has installed 16 newspaper reading stands to 
facilitate access to information for 1,535 residents at 11 emergency 
camps and transitional communities. Additionally, movie screenings were 
organized at two transitional housing sites. Approximately 400 community 
members attended the screenings.

Livelihoods

In Matara district, an opening ceremony was held for the Sri Lanka Peace 
and Connectivity Programme in Weligama on 30 July. The programme, which 
is supported and funded by IOM is a year-long project conducted in 
partnership with the Centre for Peace Building and Reconciliation 
(CPBR), a local NGO. IOM is funding the establishment of a computer 
centre

and supporting CPBR to provide computer skills classes to youth living 
in tsunami-affected areas. Technical expertise is provided by the 
American NGO Relief International, which is also funding a similar 
centre in Ampara district. Youth in each district will engage in 
collaborative projects, using the internet and computer programmes to 
communicate with each other. The project aims to foster understanding 
between youth of different ethnic, religious and geographical 
backgrounds. In all, 1,000 youth are expected to upgrade their computer 
skills and benefit from the programme.

Three IsraAID projects were recently inaugurated in Galle district on 
the grounds of a Buddhist temple. They include a kindergarten and an 
adjoining playground that serves Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, and Christian 
children; a small two-loom coconut-fiber matt cottage factory; a 
coconut-fiber broom factory and a vegetable patch on the grounds of a 
Buddhist temple.

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