OCHA Situation Report
Sri Lanka
26 August - 2 September 2005


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Overall Situation

Eric Schwartz, UN Deputy Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery began a 
ten-day assessment mission in Sri Lanka and Indonesia on 31 August. Mr. 
Schwartz who was appointed to replace Mr. Erskine Bowles as Former 
President Bill Clinton's deputy by the Secretary General in August will 
see first-hand the impact the tsunami has had on people's lives, gauge 
the current status of the recovery effort and explore additional ways to 
support the efforts of governments and civil society in the 
reconstruction process. Schwartz who arrived in Sri Lanka 2 September is 
consulting with a wide range of partners- including government 
officials, United Nations agencies, civil society groups and the 
business community. He will specifically focus on issues such as the 
launch of the online financial tracking system --- Development 
Assistance Database, shelter, livelihoods and suitable timber sourcing.

Main challenges and response

The government of China donated a further US$ 6,174,897 towards tsunami 
relief activities in Sri Lanka, which is in addition to the same amount 
donated by China in the immediate aftermath of the tsunami.

Food security

Save the Children in Sri Lanka's Feeding programme for over 1,200 
tsunami-affected children got underway in Ampara. SCiSL also recently 
completed 100 shelters in Ampara and another 50 more are to be built.

Health

On 31 August, more than 100 tsunami-affected young people took part in a 
workshop in Kalutara aimed at helping them find employment and avoid 
falling victim to trafficking, HIV/AIDS and other dangers. Participants 
received packs of playing cards with information on HIV/AIDS in English, 
Sinhala and Tamil, produced with funding from USAID and the Government 
of Japan. The workshop was organized after field workers in IOM camps 
and transitional housing sites reported that many young people, aged 
from 16 to 22 years old, were neither employed nor enrolled in formal 
education, thereby making them more susceptible to various risks. 
Operation Phoenix, a not-for-profit organisation founded in New Zealand 
is embarking on a project in Hikkaduwa to provide the division its first 
Emergency Ambulance Service. It has provided assistance to 
tsunami-affected communities in the form of medical aid, permanent 
housing, well-cleaning, sanitation blocks, planting of coconut trees, 
and other relief work in the emergency phase mostly in the area of 
Hikkaduwa Division, Galle District and Batticaloa District. The 
ambulance programme has been well received by the local residents and 
volunteer community as a whole, and has been approved by the local 
authorities and commencement of the service is planned for October 10, 
2005. The service will work in conjunction with the state teaching 
hospital, Karapitiya Hospital, in Galle District.

Water and sanitation

The Water & Sanitation (Watsan) Working Group in Galle District is 
identify the watsan needs in the transitional shelter sites through the 
provision of watsan surveys and mapping of water supply/ tank locations 
with GPS coordinates. This mapping programme, which will take between 
four and eight weeks, is the collaborative work of the Watsan Working 
Group, in particular UNICEF, CHF, World Vision, Project Galle 2005 and 
the Humanitarian Information Centre (HIC).

Non-food items and shelter

All housing needs in Bentota division, the least tsunami-affected area 
in Galle district are now complete. The first site for permanent housing 
construction is in Nelunpokunagama Site Number 1, where 40 single-story 
houses have been constructed and new home-owners have been residing 
there for a little over a month. The houses were built by the Sri Lanka 
Fund from the Lankarama Buddhist Vihara on two acres of state-owned 
land. Nelunpokunagama Site 2 and 3 have ten single-storey houses in the 
final stages of construction by the Bentota Buddhist Service 
Association. Twelve single-storey houses are also being built by an 
organization called Only One World in Galtuduwa.In Ampara, SCiSL has 
given 1,144 yards of shirt/frock and 711 meters of shorts/trouser 
material to tailors for school uniforms, distributed 217 mosquito nets, 
20 plastic sheets and 19 bicycles to pre school teachers in Jaffna.The 
Government's Damage Assessment Team inspected 6,741 tsunami-damaged 
houses in the Galle district which reside beyond the 100 meter buffer 
zone. They determined 1,921 houses to be fully damaged and 4,769 houses 
as partially damaged. A total of 6,690 houses are eligible for 
compensation. One hundred shelters were completed by SCiSL and 
handed-over to beneficiaries on 31 August 2005 in Ampara district. Banks 
in Galle district disbursed 4,596 grants for a first installment of Rs. 
50,000 each and five grants for a second installment of Rs.50,000. There 
is an outstanding payment of 173 grants on the first installment and 
4,364 grants on the second installment for partially damaged houses 
beyond the 100 meter buffer zone

Education

SWOAD, a SCiSL partner, has purchased 100 chairs, three water tanks, 
three first aid boxes, three closets, three clocks and 25 tables for pre 
schools in Ampara. Save the Children in Sri Lanka distributed 9837 pairs 
of school shoes to 26 schools in Ampara.People in Peril, an NGO that has 
built permanent housing in Deliwata in the South coordinating with Save 
the Children in Sri Lanka is seeking its expertise in child involvement 
and children's rights to make these new communities child friendly.In an 
effort to strengthen the local capacity of pre-school teachers SCiSL 
held a training programme for 35 zonal education staff in Ampara on 26 
August with a focus on the psycho-social aspect of teaching pre-school 
children. Furthermore, 21 bicycles were donated to Pre School teachers 
in Jaffna and out of 25 new temporary pre schools to be built in 
Trincomalee three have been completed and handed over to the 
community.In an attempt to build social harmony and create an 
environment of peace Save the Children has established five huts in 
Batticaloa where children can gather and partake in activities such as 
gardening and the YMCA Batticaloa facilitates evening classes for slow 
learners, club meetings, book readings, cultural performances and field 
officer visits to schools and families.The National Library and 
Documentation Services Council has taken steps to publish a series of 
books motivated to inspire and foster the morals of children affected by 
the tsunami to strengthen their character in order to better face and 
overcome challenges in life. The Council expects to publish 15 such 
books under its Tsunami Children's Books Publication Project, seven in 
Sinhala, five in Tamil and three in English.

Livelihoods

GTZ along with SCiSL conducted a career guidance programme at a 
Sarvodaya training centre in Sathurukondan in which 21 children 
including 18 former underage recruits and their parents participated. 
The parents welcomed the initiative to guide their children and the 
opportunity afforded for vocational training through GTZ which is 
working to affiliate the endeavour with the Government Technical 
College.One million rupees provided to the Rotary Club of Nikaweratiya 
by its UK based Rotary Club was utilized to hand over 30 rafts to 
tsunami-affected fishermen in Negombo

Protection

Save the Children in Sri Lanka held a four-day capacity building 
workshop titled "How to approach children with special needs and how to 
integrate them into the community" as support to the Inyavalvuz Illam 
School for the differently abled children in KilinochchiSave the 
children organized a children's retreat 25 through 28 August in Matara 
--- "Tear to Tear- Building bridges beyond borders" which was an 
opportunity for children who lost parents or siblings, and for adults 
who lost children to the tsunami or other traumas to meet, share 
experiences and build communication networks. Teenagers from the 
southern region are tasked with keeping the network alive and will be 
guided by Save the Children.

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