Sri Lanka Dec 2007

InterAction Member Activity Report SRI LANKA A Guide to Humanitarian and Development Efforts of InterAction Member Agencies in Sri Lanka December 2007

Photo courtesy of Salvation Army World Service Offi ce

Produced by Mattie Ressler With the Humanitarian Policy and Practice Team, InterAction And with the support of a cooperative agreement with USAID/OFDA

1400 16th Street, NW, Suite 210, Washington DC 20036 Phone (202) 667-8227 Fax (202) 667-8236l Website: www.interaction.org

Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS.....................................................................................................2 MAP OF SRI LANKA.........................................................................................................4 REPORT SUMMARY & HISTORICAL BACKGROUND...............................................5 INTERACTION M EMBER AGENCIES CONTRIBUTING.............................................7 GLOSSARY OF ACRONYM S...........................................................................................8 ORGANIZATIONS BY SECTOR ACTIVITY..............................................................9

Photo by Amy Ellingson, courtesy of Mercy Corps

INTERACT ION MEMBER ACTIVI TY REPORT ADVENTIST DEVELOPM ENT AND RELIEF ASSOCIATION…………......……….10 AM ERICAN JEWISH JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE.....................................12 AM ERICAN RED CROSS................................................................................................17 AM ERICAN REFUGEE COMM ITTEE...........................................................................20 CARE.................................................................................................................................23 CHRISTIAN CHILDREN’S FUND..................................................................................27 CHRISTIAN REFORM ED WORLD RELIEF COMM ITTEE.........................................31

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CHURCH WORLD SERVICE..........................................................................................34 DIRECT RELIEF INTERNATIONAL.............................................................................36 EPISCOPAL RELIEF AND DEVELOPM ENT................................................................38 HEART TO HEART INTERNATIONAL........................................................................39 INTERNATIONAL M EDICAL CORPS ..........................................................................42 INTERNATIONAL RELIEF AND DEVELOPM ENT ....................................................44 LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF........................................................................................47 MAP INTERNATIONAL..................................................................................................48 M ERCY CORPS................................................................................................................49 OPERATION USA............................................................................................................52 OXFAM AM ERICA..……………………………………………………………………55 PRESBYTERIAN DISASTER ASSISTANCE AND HUNGER PROGRAM …......…..56 RELIEF INTERNATIONAL.............................................................................................58 SALVATION ARM Y WORLD SERVICE OFFICE........................................................59 SAVE THE CHILDREN ...................................................................................................61 UNITED M ETHODIST COMMITTEE ON RELIEF.......................................................62 U.S. FUND FOR UNICEF ................................................................................................65 WORLD CONCERN.........................................................................................................66 WORLD VISION ..............................................................................................................68

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Map of Sri Lanka

Map Courtesy United Nations Cartographic Center http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/SKAR-64GDTV?OpenDocument&rc=3&cc=lka

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Report Summary This report chronicles the activities of 26 InterAction M ember Agencies in Sri Lanka. In December of 2006, the Tsunami Accountability Report detailed the activities of InterAction members through the end of September, 2006. Therefore, this report contains information on programs, funding and partnerships with and for Sri Lankans between October 2006 and November 2007. A majority of responding agencies have been active in Sri Lanka since early 2005. They have transitioned tsunami emergency response programs into longer-term reconstruction, community development and livelihood programs. Some members have focused almost exclusively on housing construction, while others have responded to the conditions in Sri Lanka by focusing on the mental, physical and emotional needs of children. A number of vocational, educational and community centers have been renovated and reconstructed, while capacity-building remains one of the foremost strategic goals in the development process. Programmatically, many responding agencies have experienced a significant degree of success with water and sanitation programs throughout the country, specifically in tea estates. Other members have provided millions of US dollars in funding to support Sri Lankan NGOs. One member agency helped to start and now partially funds an island-wide network of Sri Lankan organizations in order to facilitate effective relief and development programs. While hopeful, an overwhelming majority of the responses we have received detailed grim special concerns. Security remains an issue as security conditions have deteriorated significantly. Over the past

year, many NGOs cite continued and escalating violence, leading to an increase in the numbers of internally displaced persons seeking shelter, clean water and basic economic resources. With significant barriers to full cooperation with and from the Government of Sri Lanka, InterAction member NGOs are finding it difficult to place staff and maintain full operations in conflict-affected areas, where the need for these programs is great. Furthermore, waves of return by previously internally displaced persons create a need for members to be ever responsive and mobile in order to address new needs as Sri Lankans return home after long periods of absence. The compounded effects of the tsunami and the re-ignition of conflict have led to a greater need for psychosocial support programs and for new, creative efforts in livelihood development. In the following pages, this M ember Activity Report will describe the relief and development programs of InterAction member agencies in Sri Lanka from the period of October 2006 to November 2007. M ember submissions detail the type of assistance provided, geographic location of activity, partners, funding and the number of persons reached. InterAction members have greatly impacted the lives of thousands in Sri Lanka.

Historical Background Formerly known as Ceylon, Sri Lanka was colonized in turn by Portugal, the Netherlands, and Great Britain. Ceylon became independent from Great Britain in 1948, after having contributed to efforts in World War II. Over 70% of the population of Sri Lankans are Sinhalese, 15% are Tamils, and the remaining minorities include 5

aborigines known as Veddahs, M uslims and Burghers – descendents of the Dutch and British. Of the Tamil population, the majority are Tamils who have lived in Sri Lanka for hundreds of years, though a significant number are Tamils of Indian descent, brought to Sri Lanka as indentured servants by the British colonizers. They have made their homes and livelihoods in the tea estates in the southern portion of the country. In 1983, violence erupted in the state of Sri Lanka. Tamils had begun to agitate against the structure of the state and its relationship with Tamil minority rights and culture. Sinhalese nationalism, Sri Lanka’s adoption of Buddhism as a preferred religion, and the acceptance of Sinhala as the foremost language of the state were all points of tension. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a militant force seeking statehood for Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority in the Northeast, had been responsible for the deaths of 13 Sinhalese soldiers. As the following uproar ensued, thousands of people were displaced from their homes and many fled to neighboring India. Hundreds of people were killed. Violence continues through the present day. M ultiple ceasefires between the LTTE and the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) have been signed. In the later 1980s, the Government of Sri Lanka acquiesced, granting official status for Tamil language, a limited devolution of powers to the provinces, and an experimental fusion of the North and East provinces. An Indian peacekeeping force came to uphold the ceasefire between the warring parties but was unable to quell LTTE agitation, and fighting intensified. In 2002, a ceasefire followed the failed attempts of a 1995 return to peace talks, again providing a degree of

autonomy to the northeast. A ceasefire between the GoSL and the LTTE, negotiated by Norwegians in 2002, is still legally in force but is largely ignored. Fighting intensified greatly in August of 2006, causing additional displacement of over 300,000 people and at least 3,500 deaths. On December 26, 2004, the Indian Ocean Tsunami swept the island nation, and over 35,000 lives were lost. M assive amounts of state infrastructure were devastated along the coast, as well as businesses, livelihood equipment, homes and schools. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that over 440,000 people were displaced by the tsunami. Although ongoing reconstruction has greatly mitigated the effects of the disaster, two major earthquakes and another tidal wave have since struck the island. Currently, many IDPs are returning home, some more voluntarily than others, to a rapidly destabilizing situation. M any recently returned IDPs have missed the planting season and may face severe food and livelihood insecurity in the months to come. Furthermore, as conflict between the GoSL and the LTTE intensifies, citizens of Sri Lanka may be increasingly caught in the crossfire. Human rights abuses are beginning to intensify on both sides of the conflict, with recruitment of child soldiers on the rise. Accusations of abductions and killings are also on the rise. InterAction member organizations continue to combat the ongoing effects of the tsunami, poverty, and chronic conflict. However, they face an uphill battle as fighting intensifies and NGO staff are met with growing suspicion from the citizens, media and the Government of Sri Lanka.

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Inte rAction Membe r Agencies Contributing to this Report

Adventist Development and Relief A gency International (ADRA) American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) American Red Cross American Refugee Committee (ARC) CARE Christian Children’s Fund (CCF) Church World Service Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC) Direct Relief International Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) Heart to Heart International (HHI) International M edical Corps (IM C) International Relief and Development (IRD) Lutheran World Relief (LWR) MAP International M ercy Corps Operation USA Oxfam America Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and Hunger Program Relief International (RI) Salvation Army World Service Office (SAWSO) Save the Children United M ethodist Committee on Relief (UM COR) U.S. Fund for UNICEF (USF) World Concern World Vision

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Glossary of Acronyms

CBOs: Community-Based Organizations CIDA: Canadian International Development Agency CRC: Children’s Charter of the United Nations DfID: Department for International Development FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization GoSL: Government of Sri Lanka HIV/AIDS: Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome ICRC: International Committee of the Red Cross IDPs: Internally Displaced Persons INGOs: International Non-governmental Organizations IOM : International Organization for M igration LNGOs: Local Non-governmental Organizations LTTE: Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam M oE: M inistry of Education M oH: M inistry of Health M oU: M emorandum of Understanding NGOs: Non-governmental Organizations OCHA: Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs OFDA: Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance SLRCS: Sri Lanka Red Cross Society UNDP: United Nations Development Program UNHCR: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNICEF: United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund USAID: United States Agency for International Development USG: United States Government YM CA: Young M en’s Christian Association

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Organization Activity by Sector Child Protection CCF USF World Vision Community Development ADRA JDC CARE CRWRC M ercy Corps Operation USA Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and Hunger Program SAWSO UM COR Disaster and Emergency Relief American Red Cross CARE Church World Service Heart to Heart International IM C M ercy Corps Operation USA Oxfam America World Concern World Concern Education and Training JDC Heart to Heart International IM C IRD Operation USA Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and Hunger Program

Relief International Gender Issues/Women in Development JDC CARE IM C LWR Health Care ADRA JDC American Red Cross ARC Direct Relief International Episcopal Relief and Development Heart to Heart International IM C IRD MAP International SAWSO World Concern World Vision Human Rights, Peace and Conflict Resolution CARE Episcopal Relief and Development Heart to Heart International LWR M ercy Corps Internally Displaced Persons JDC American Red Cross CARE CCF

Episcopal Relief and Development IRD Relief International UM COR Livelihood Activities, Business Development and Credit ADRA American Red Cross ARC CARE CCF Heart to Heart International IM C LWR M ercy Corps Oxfam America Relief International UM COR Water and S anitation JDC American Red Cross ARC CCF IRD Oxfam America World Concern World Vision Reconstruction CRWRC Oxfam America SAWSO

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ADVENTIST DEVELOPMENT AND RELI EF AGENCY INTERNATIONAL U.S . Contact Julio M unoz Interim Bureau Chief for M arketing and Development ADRA International 12501 Old Columbia Pike Silver Spring, M D 20904 tel: 301.680.6373 fax: 301.680.6370 Julio.M [email protected]

Field Contact Stephen Cooper Country Director ADRA Sri Lanka 37 Purana Road, Wattegedara, M aharagama Sri Lanka tel: +94.11.284.1940 fax: +94.11.284.3875 mobile: +94.77.329.6737 [email protected] or [email protected]

Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) International ADRA’s mission is to reflect the character of God through humanitarian and developmental activities by providing assistance in situations of crisis or chronic distress and working toward the development of long-term solutions with those affected. ADRA actively supports communities through a portfolio of development activities that are planned and implemented cooperatively. Adventist Development and Relief Agency in S ri Lanka Contributing to a peaceful Sri Lanka, ADRA Sri Lanka’s employees are committed to assisting communities through integrated, quality development programming in focused sectors and geographic areas. Community Development The Ampara Community Empowerment project is a two-year project designed to focus on the sectors of livelihood, housing, peace building and water. Supported by ADRA International and ADRA network offices around the world, ACE reaches 2,000 people in tsunami-affected families. Permanent housing schemes in Ampara District have improved basic water and housing infrastructure. Community engagement mechanisms have facilitated amicable co-existence among the residents and neighboring communities. Health Care Located in Central Province, in the Nuwara-Eliya District, the Community Hygiene and Health Education Project (CHHEP) is a 12-month project designed to impact the lives of 650 individuals. The project promotes hygiene and health education and is carried out in partnership with the District Secretary of the Nuwara Eliya District. Intended outcomes include the creation

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of CBOs that will take responsibility for the oversight of community health issues in Queensland, M ahanilu and Luccombe Estates. ADRA expects improved hygiene standards among the plantation communities, an improved drainage system in Queensland Estate and the utilization and maintenance of latrines in Queensland and M ahanilu Estates. Additional expected outcomes for the project include continued and strengthened income generation and community health promotion activities in Queensland, M ahanilu and Luccombe Estates. Livelihood Activities, Business Development and Credit Livelihoods and Infrastructure for Family Empowerment Project (LIFE) is a two-year tsunami recovery project in the Hambantota District focusing on livelihoods, housing, health, education, water and capacity building. Under the umbrella of the LIFE project, ADRA constructed rainwater harvesting tanks and kitchen drainage facilities with the participation of project beneficiaries, newly trained in the efficient use of water supply. ADRA developed and implemented a market-appropriate and community-driven livelihood support program, as well as training packages on participatory hygiene and sanitation transformation (PHAST). Capacity building programs for two committees focusing on infrastructure and sustainable livelihoods were also designed and implemented. Designed to impact the lives of 1,000 people in 200 families, LIFE is funded by ADRA Switzerland, Swiss Solidarity, and ADRA Czech Republic. The LIFE program has been implemented with support from numerous local partners. Water and S anitation In Pottuvil, Arugam Bay and Komari in the Ampara District, the Ampara Water Sourcing Project (AWSP) is a water sanitation and health education project that distributes clean potable water to selected tsunami-affected communities. AWSP constructs or rehabilitates wells and hand pumps and teaches hygiene and health education to local communities. By the end of the project, AWSP will have rehabilitated or constructed 33 wells and hand pumps and impacted the lives of 35,000 individuals over the course of one year. AWSP is financially supported by ADRA Canada. ADRA engaged with the Italian NGO RC, IOM , World Vision, and locally with JAICA/Water Board, Government PHO, and M OH in order to make this project a reality.

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American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee U.S . Contact American Joint Distribution Committee 711 Third Avenue New York, NY 10017 The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Inc. (JDC) serves as the overseas arm of the American Jewish community, sponsoring programs of relief, rescue and renewal. In Sri Lanka, JDC offers humanitarian aid on a non-sectarian basis to communities that are victims of natural and man-made disasters. JDC programs encompass disaster relief and reconstruction, medical and health initiatives, support for vulnerable groups, training for local organizations, education and employment initiatives. JDC in S ri Lanka JDC began its operations in Sri Lanka following the tsunami of December 26th , 2004. JDC's activities in the country are implemented in partnership with local NGOs, which have the knowledge and ability to reach the people who were affected by the disaster and to ensure that donations reach their intended recipients. The majority of JDC's projects are implemented in coordination with Sarvodaya, the largest Sri Lankan NGO. Additionally, the JDC has partnerships with USAID Sri Lanka, Sunera Foundation, Rotary, and with MASHAV. Community Development JDC is supporting the construction of multi-purpose community centers (M PCC) through Sarvodaya, which will serve Kalutara, Galle, M atara and Hambantota, along the southern coast, reaching an estimated 25-35,000 people when complete. So far the JDC has provided $332,000 (USD) of the $550,000 committed to the project. The MPCCs will each house a selection of community-based programs including a pre-school classroom, a community bank (SEEDS), a community arts and cultural center, a day center for elderly, a library, a welfare society office, a vocational training center, a multi-purpose room for community events, a kitchen and a playground. The JDC provided $30,000 to Sarvodaya for a vehicle to enable the Sarvodaya District Centre in Batticaloa to implement activities and provide services particularly to vulnerable groups. The vehicle conducts mobile clinics, delivers essential food and other supplies and transports volunteers and staff for emergency relief. The leadership of Sarvodaya is establishing the Community Tourism Initiative (CTI) as a step towards its goal of increasing financial independence for its programs. JDC will contribute $106,000 towards the training, which is theoretical and model-based. Three types of incomegenerating activities in the field of tourism include “self-managed” initiatives, such as camping experiences and home stays; “commercial partnerships,” with a visitors’ center and a Sri Lankan tourism industry partner, and “tourism-related business enterprises,” such as community arts and

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cultural centers. Profits from these new models of economic initiatives will provide income for the villagers and will be reinvested in Sarvodaya’s ongoing work. 2,000 villagers will be directly impacted, and many more will feel indirect benefits as village societies and Sarvodaya generate income. Private enterprises and companies in the tourist and catering industries will collaborate in these programs to assist the beneficiaries. JDC will contribute $500,000 to a playground initiative through a partnership with USAID. Up to 85 children’s playgrounds will be reconstructed in tsunami-affected districts throughout the country. This project began with a special community-based participatory planning process to ensure community "ownership" of the playgrounds, which will ensure long-term maintenance and upkeep of the equipment. Playgrounds will be developed in varied size formats that are appropriate to each community, with elements that are accessible to special needs populations. A scoping team of American and Israeli playground experts visited Sri Lanka in mid-M ay 2005 and recommended that playgrounds meet international safety standards throughout the country. Training workshops for installation, maintenance and safety of the playgrounds were provided by American experts. The playgrounds will be placed in government-controlled, tsunamiaffected areas with four signature parks in Galle, Colombo, Ampara and Jaffna. The playgrounds should serve over 100,000 children a year, though exact numbers are difficult to calculate until the parks are functioning. A program involving the public sector, the private sector, and the local community will be initiated for the maintenance of these parks. It will be an action under a corporate social responsibility activity for the private sector in cost sharing for the long-term maintenance of the parks.

JDC will provide $51,000 to finance the integration of differently-abled and marginalized persons through the performing arts. The aim is to empower people in this area with a renewed sense of self worth, to engage people of all ethnicities and social strata, and to encourage expression and creativity on a communal level. Of this funding, $5,000 is for training in Israel towards a partnership with the Sunera Foundation. Approximately 1,800 children and young adults in Sri Lanka who are living in transitional housing and have suffered mental trauma as a result of the tsunami will be impacted by the project. The projected age range for this group is 318 years. Education and Training Located approximately 40 feet from the shore, an 800-child school was completely destroyed by the tsunami's waves. The Dharmarama K. Vidyalaya School is being completely rebuilt on land donated by the local Buddhist Temple at a site that is on higher ground. JDC support in the form of $600,000 will go towards the construction of a new and upgraded school facility and provision of school equipment and furniture. The school will be constructed in partnership with the Rotary M id-City Club 3220 of Colombo. Until the tsunami, Ariyawansa Kanishta Vidyala housed 830 pupils. The tsunami damaged the school building and destroyed the smaller Kalutara School. Ariyawansa Kanishta Vidyala will be refurbished and reconstructed in order to unite the two schools. The new building is expected to serve 1,200 pupils from grade 1-12. JDC's donation of $390,000 will cover the construction costs

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of an auditorium, staff room and library, the construction of which will be carried out by the Rotary M id-Town club of Colombo. JDC committed $40,000 to the construction of four pre-schools in tsunami-affected communities: one in Ambalangoda in the Galle district and a further three in the Ampara district: Panama North, Panama South and Abesinghepura. Approximately 150 children will benefit directly every year from the pre-schools. Through Sarvodaya, JDC has distributed 2,000 school bags replete with underwear, socks, school uniform material, school stationery and hygiene kits to tsunami-affected children in Galle. These bags enable the children to return to school with the basic tools they require in hand. This project was implemented with funding by JDC of $50,000 with the children’s welfare branch of Sarvodaya: Suwasetha Sewa Society. The Bandaragama Training Center has been functioning as Sarvodaya's training facility. JDC's funding will assist in developing this site to broaden its utilization. In addition, the center will provide external teaching expertise and appropriate management, leadership and skillsdevelopment programs with specific emphasis on those working in tsunami-impacted districts throughout Sri Lanka. Sarvodaya will use the enhanced facilities to introduce income-generating activities so that the center will become entirely self-sustaining. The JDC has committed US $190,000 of capital in the center and will invest a further $90,000 in programs. JDC will provide $410,000 capital and $40,000 in program funding in order to refurbish and upgrade the existing Narigama Vocational Training Center in Hikkaduwa, Galle District as part of a USAID initiative to reconstruct and re-equip ten existing Vocational Training Centers. The Centers will forge public-private partnerships to support and inform training, and will be constructed using principles of environmentally sound architecture. In addition to facilities renovation, the center will address key skills gaps in workforce training, such as: English language, micro-enterprise development and information and communication technology. Program activities will focus on curriculum, pedagogy, staffing configurations, professional development, private sector and community engagement, student ownership and leadership, job placement and utilization of “green” elements of building design as instructional tools. The center is expected to serve a minimum of 300 people yearly between the ages of 16 to 35, mostly from the Hikkaduwa area. JDC is providing $100,000 in support of training for up to 100 professionals from Sarvodaya and Sunera Foundation in Israel. Participants will be expected to train other professionals on their return to Sri Lanka. Training areas include: crisis intervention in the community and the family, women’s entrepreneurship and micro-enterprise development, special needs of women and youth at risk, services for children with special needs, intensive vegetable production under protected conditions and developing and organizing a trauma system. Gender Issues and Women in Development The psychosocial element of the Sarvodaya Women's M ovement provides regular recreational, enrichment and therapeutic intervention activities for children who exhibit signs of trauma and

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stress in post-tsunami situations. Female volunteers are recipients of special training that helps them to better facilitate interactive activities for children, to identify and refer children exhibiting abnormal behaviors and to help support children and families who are suffering under the duress of the situation created by the tsunami. The Women's Livelihood Support component of the program provides vocational training courses to instruct women in production of a wide range of handicraft items, with the ultimate intention of marketing these items locally and to tourists on a long-term basis. Women are also producing garments, drying fish, growing mushrooms and grinding chili and grains. The program provides the women with new equipment, such as sewing machines. For these women, the return to work has been an immeasurable part of their psychological healing process. Other integrated components of this holistic program include a focus on improving health and nutrition and attention to the environment and ecology. A psychosocial economic empowerment program will be funded with a grant of $425,000 for serving ten villages in Galle, two villages in Ampara, four villages in Alumni and four villages in Batticaloa. This program has reached approximately 47,000 people to date, though this figure includes indirect beneficiaries. Sarvodaya is the JDC’s implementing partner for this project, thanks to which over 2,000 people have established income generation. Health Care JDC is providing $100,000 to Sarvodaya for the purchase of a mobile medical unit to provide basic field laboratory services and clinical facilities. These increased capacities will aid the rapid diagnosis and management of diseases and epidemics in the camps and communities affected by tsunami and will serve a population of 257,000 people. The unit enhances prevention of epidemics in tsunami-affected areas, and provides basic, simple testing facilities that will enable preventative clinical care and health education at the village level. In the event of future disasters, the mobile medical unit will be deployed to mitigate human suffering and provide first aid and initial care. In partnership with M ASHAV and the Sri Lankan M oH, an emergency medical response system will be implemented in the Galle District. This pilot program will focus on response to mass casualty events. Funding will be provided for training programs, the exact amount of which is yet to be determined. In addition, JDC is funding the purchase of 6 ambulances and will be providing $500,000: $250,000 for the purchase of ambulances and $250,000 in program support. JDC is providing $697,380 in funding for a partnership between UJA-Federation of New York, the Israel Trauma Coalition and a Sri Lankan mental health NGO named Sahanaya. The project consists of 4 training sessions that promote skills to deal with trauma relief in a community context. The participants come from a wide range of backgrounds and include medical professionals, social workers, NGO workers and municipal employees. Approximately 250 people from tsunami-affected communities receive training. Sixty of these will complete a master's program, which will allow them to become trainers themselves, thereby impacting a wider circle of people.

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Internally Displaced Persons In order to help professionals in the Galle District focus more fully on serving and rehabilitating the wider community, JDC provided $100,000 of funding to refurbish the homes of 100 professional families. Adults in the selected families fill key societal roles, such as: medical professionals, school principals, bank clerks, teachers and police officers. The balance of funds after program completion were reallocated to refurbish the Sarvodaya's Women's M ovement dormitory, which is used frequently to provide training for the project managers and leaders of the Women's Livelihood & Economic Empowerment program. Sustainable Livelihood Development A program has been initiated with a grant of $50,000 with an organization called Consortium of Humanitarian A gencies (CHA), an organization consisting of a federation of INGOs and NGOs. The program is targeting families to receive sustainable means of livelihood, and enabling community economic development. The program aims to achieve sustainable livelihood for investors (there is a focus on people becoming “investors”, not “beneficiaries”), actors, and interested organizations. The CHA granted $50,000 for coordination of activities and toward assisting member organizations in facilitating and networking with other agencies working in the humanitarian sector. This has stabilized and strengthened the member organizations which are now actively working together and sharing information. A grant of $100,000 was provided to The Shilpa Trust, a local NGO for developing five villages in Hambantota district to provide technical assistance and support to restoration of agricultural tanks (Lakes). These tanks will provide water for drinking and maintaining thriving village agriculture for the struggling communities in the dry zone area.

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AMERICAN RED CROSS U.S . Contact Eric Porterfield Senior Press Officer – M iddle East and Asia 2025 E Street, NW Washington, DC 20006 tel: 202.303.4194 [email protected] Field Contact Kelly Bauer Information & Reporting Delegate 62 Green Path Colombo 3, Sri Lanka tel: +94.77.357.6418 [email protected] Photo by Hana Haller Crowe. Courtesy of American Red Cross.

American Red Cross The American Red Cross works with the global network of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to restore hope and dignity to the world’s vulnerable people by helping them prepare for, prevent, and respond to disasters, humanitarian emergencies and life-threatening health conditions. In its efforts to assist people around the world, the American Red Cross strives to deliver effective, high-impact and quality programs that alleviate human suffering while developing the capacities of vulnerable people. American Red Cross in S ri Lanka The goals of the American Red Cross are to increase access to safe water and sanitation systems, to improve hygiene and to respond to the critical care and chronic health needs of vulnerable people, all while building community capacity to provide health services. The American Red Cross seeks to enhance individual and community psychosocial well-being with its psychosocial support programs, to provide tsunami-affected people with safe and adequate shelter and economic opportunities and to enhance the capacity of communities and local Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies to prepare for and respond to these disasters. The American Red Cross Tsunami Recovery Program envisions an enduring recovery for tsunami-affected people who will be prepared for future disasters. Communities will enjoy rebuilt physical infrastructure, restored social networks, quality health services and vibrant economies. The mission of the American Red Cross Tsunami Recovery Program in Sri Lanka is to build on the strengths of communities, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent M ovement and other partners to restore and improve the lives of tsunami-affected people.

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The American Red Cross efforts will focus on transferring capacity to the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society to strengthen its ability to implement relief and development programs in the long-term. In program areas, such as housing and livelihoods, within which the American Red Cross does not have significant internal capacity or longer-term strategic interest, the American Red Cross will work closely with capable partners to monitor program implementation, guide the overall direction of work and ensure that proper stewardship of funds is observed. TRP programming in Sri Lanka is estimated to continue through June 2010. Programming that is currently underway includes the following: Disaster and Emergency Relief The American Red Cross will work with SLRCS and local governments in approximately 200 communities and 200 schools of Galle, Gampaha, Kalutara, Colombo and M atara to help better prepare for and respond to disasters. In collaboration with the SLRCS and the ICRC, the American Red Cross is implementing a Restoring Family Links (also known as tracing) capacity building project throughout Sri Lanka. This service restores family links when family members are separated by international and internal armed conflict, natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies. In its commitment to responding to small-scale disasters that arise in tsunami-affected areas, the American Red Cross has developed a “Quick Action Fund” in Sri Lanka to be used in times when an immediate response is required. In the past it has been used to respond to floods in Gampaha, address water and sanitation issues in Galle and address immediate needs in the east through efforts with the German Red Cross and M ercy Corps respectively. To date, Quick Action Fund projects have met the immediate needs of more than 28,000 Sri Lankans. Photo by Hana Haller Crowe, courtesy of American Red Cross

Health Care Psychosocial support programs are underway in more than 100 schools and communities across 6 districts: Galle, M atara, Hambantota, Kalutara, Colombo and Gampaha. This program has already reached more than 150,000 people since its emergency phase. The program has sponsored more than 880 community activities, has trained approximately 2,000 community volunteers and has distributed more than 70,000 school kits and first aid kits. In addition, thousands of pre-service teachers at all 17 National Colleges of Education have been trained nationwide. 18

Plans are currently underway for community-based health programming in the South and West districts of Sri Lanka. Internally Displaced Persons The American Red Cross is funding the International Organization for M igration (IOM ) to maintain transitional shelters and provide adequate water and sanitation in temporary shelter camps for approximately 44,000 people in the districts of Gampaha, M atara, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Ampara, Kalutara, Galle, and Colombo. The American Red Cross is providing cash grants and technical assistance for an owner-driven housing project in Kalutara and Ampara. The project will reach approximately 10,000 people. In addition, the American Red Cross is working in partnership with the Swiss Red Cross on an owner-driven housing project in Trincomalee to build 500 homes to reach a combined 2,500 people. The American Red Cross is funding efforts of the International Federation’s donor-driven housing project, estimated to impact nearly 200 people. Livelihoods The American Red Cross is providing funding for M ercy Corps to support community-designed and implemented projects that will help generate income for approximately 38,000 people in 27 villages across Hambantota, Batticaloa, Ampara, and Trincomalee districts. The program is also helping to revitalize local economic activities through the provision of approximately 50 livelihood sub-grants. Additional livelihood programs are currently under development, including a project to assist the poorest 10% of tsunami-affected people in Trincomalee, Batticaloa, and Ampara with grants and income-generating activities in partnership with Save the Children. Water and S anitation In M atara and Galle districts, approximately 20,665 people will benefit from efforts with the Sri Lankan Red Cross Society (SLRCS) to rehabilitate and construct new wells, install new toilets and disseminate proper hygiene information. To improve the health of approximately 9,275 school children, water, sanitation and drainage facilities will be provided in 20 schools built by Rotary International. In M atara, more than 26,400 people will have homes with dependable, clean water and modern sanitation facilities. Similar projects will benefit approximately 85,500 people in Galle, where water and sanitation activities will cover the entire municipality. Locallymanufactured ceramic water filters will be provided to approximately 244,000 people in the Ampara, M atara, Galle, Kalutara and Gampaha districts. S pecial Concerns The American Red Cross is greatly concerned by the security issues and ongoing conflict in Sri Lanka and its effects on the civilian population.

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The International Red Cross and Red Crescent M ovement reminds the parties to the conflict they must respect the work of humanitarian agencies and refrain from any acts that might jeopardize humanitarian staff or activities. The American Red Cross also urges them to take all necessary measures to ensure that aid workers assisting the civilian population and persons not or no longer taking part in the hostilities are spared from attack and can move freely and safely. The American Red Cross will continue with its post-tsunami work in Sri Lanka.

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AMERICAN REFUGEEE COMMITTEE U.S . Contact Thi Hoa Pham Regional M anager ARC International 430 Oak Grove St, Suite 204 M inneapolis, MN tel: 612.872.7060 [email protected]

Field Contact John Holveck Country Director ARC 176/26 Lower Road, Orr's Hill Trincomalee Sri Lanka tel: 026.222.2289 [email protected]

American Refugee Committee The American Refugee Committee works with refugees, displaced people and those at risk to help them survive crises and rebuild lives of dignity, health, security and self-sufficiency. American Refugee Committee in S ri Lanka The American Refugee Committee (ARC) seeks to improve the overall well-being of tsunamiand conflict-affected populations, including recently displaced and returning IDPs in Trincomalee District. It is involved in the sectors of health related programming, livelihood development activities, agricultural capacity-building, infrastructure rehabilitation, emergency relief services and assistance. ARC is operating in Trincomalee District in both urban and rural areas where conflict and natural disaster continue to detrimentally affect the poorest segments of the population. ARC began operations in Sri Lanka in January 2005 to provide tsunami relief and reconstruction assistance in Trincomalee District. ARC came to Sri Lanka with the intention of building a foundation from which to provide long-term development assistance to conflict-affected communities throughout the country. ARC continues to strengthen its programming based on the most pressing needs of the population. Health Care Recently, ARC began the construction of one large rural health clinic in Kinniya that will impact over 5,000 tsunami-affected people from 5 surrounding villages. During the last quarter, ARC mounted a massive vector control and urban sanitation campaign to combat the outbreak of Chickengunya Fever. In addition, ARC is examining the potential for reproductive health and family planning programming. Livelihood Activities ARC’s livelihood programming is meant to re-establish self-sufficiency. To this end, ARC has conducted many business trainings entitled “Start and Improve Your Own Business.” Several of

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these trainings have been followed by cash grants to existing businesses. In addition, ARC continues to pioneer inter-agency collaboration around livelihoods in the Trincomalee District. This includes the first-ever District partnership between FAO, UNDP and an INGO (ARC) to reestablish sustainable livelihoods through the distribution of tools, fertilizer, seed kits and training to re-settled farmers. ARC has also supported women-owned business through livelihood infrastructure support. ARC is using bullock carts to provide transportation to entrepreneurs, therefore increasing market access. Because of the context of ongoing conflict and displacement, ARC has initiated a comprehensive assessment to determine the feasibility of continuing livelihood activities. ARC continues to collaborate with the Department of Agriculture to build the capacity of Department staff in micro-irrigation and in the operation and maintenance of the combine harvester. ARC is supporting the Department’s efforts to promote food security with home gardening training and crop diversification into pulses and fruit propagation. During the past quarter, over 250 beneficiaries have received training and supplies to restore and enhance agriculture production and home gardening techniques. Currently, planning is underway for additional agriculture projects and capacity building for the Department of Agriculture. Water and S anitation ARC is constructing pit latrines and common wells for tsunami affected beneficiaries, as well complex drainage systems to mitigate flooding during the monsoon. Also, environmental sanitation projects in several divisions are underway. S pecial Concerns Security continues to be a major concern for ARC Sri Lanka. The security situation impacts not only operational and occupational safety, but remains the principle factor from a programming perspective as well. The safety and security of staff remains a primary threat to the success of ARC in Sri Lanka. In terms of programming, the declining security environment has had a negative impact on both the quality and quantity of ARC programming. It is crucial to note that ARC has been and remains operational in only one district of the country.

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CARE Field Contact Nick Osborne Country Director [email protected] tel:+94.773.230.659 CARE CARE has shifted its focus to better understand the root causes of poverty and marginalization and to engage with duty bearers to fulfill rights. CARE works increasingly at the levels of institutions and structures to combat global poverty and secure the rights of people. Hence, building the capacities of beneficiary communities and promoting networking and good governance both within state and NGOs has become an integral part of CARE’s strategy. CARE in S ri Lanka In its current Long Range Strategic Plan (2007-2011) CARE International in Sri Lanka identifies the need to challenge and transform power in all its manifestations in order to ensure peace and social justice through meaningful engagement in strategic partnerships. Community Development Located in the Central Province, the Plantation Community Development Project (PCDP) is an ambitious one-year initiative designed to assist estate residents to improve their gender relations and conflict resolution skills to improve their quality of life. The project will work through a collective group mechanism called Community Development Forums (CDF) to be set up and nurtured in each project estate with the representation of all estate CBOs. This is a pilot initiative, and will be a learning process. Future expansion and replication of the project will incorporate lessons learned and best practices. The Assistance for Tea Estate Residents Through Enhancing and Advancing CBOs (AFTERTEA) project is the second phase of the Tea Estate Assistant (TEA) project, which was implemented in 15 tea estates in Nuwara Eliya and Badulla Districts from M ay 2003 – M ay 2006. With the goal “Strengthen the social security system within the tea estate, residents to utilise public services,” the AFTER-TEA project aims to strengthen the social security network of estate residents, enabling them to better utilise public services, which do not reach the segregated estates. By doing so, the project will improve the social, political, economical and spiritual lives of the targeted population. AFTER-TEA will strengthen communication between estate resident organizations and estate management, strengthen the administrative skills of CBOs and construct an estate communication system. Information centres for resident organizations and management, administrative bodies and other NGOs will make up the communication system. These activities will enable citizens and CBOs to provide public services and information to residents.

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Capacity Building in the East (CAB-E II) is a project that focuses on improving access to financial services to ensure the economic security of poor households and enhance the capacity of CBOs to manage and access financial resources. Sustainability, social and economic empowerment of women and societies are guiding principles. An included aspect of the program is the release of child soldiers and their reintegration into their communities. Uprooted People’s Water and Sanitation, Agriculture and Resources Development Project (UPWARD) aims to to ensure that uprooted people in Anuradhapura, Vavuniya, Killinochchi, M ullaitivu and Trincomalee in the North Central, Northern and Eastern Provinces are successfully reintegrated, their livelihoods and human rights secured. Approximately 47,250 people in 9,450 households, among them many female-headed households, are expected to directly benefit from the project. The support for the institutional development of CBOs will empower whole communities so that all communities in the Divisional Secretariate Divisions (DSD) will indirectly benefit from the project. Hardware assistance to increase access to safe water and sanitation facilities and support for income generation activities are an integral part of the recognition of the multidimensional nature of reintegration. These physical measures will be coupled with implementation of peace-building and reconciliation initiatives to set the bases for long-term peaceful development. The Community Action for Development (CAD) program focuses on rebuilding and empowering civil society to actively engage in local development initiatives. It is envisaged that by the end of the project these villages will have community organizations (CBOs) that are functional, democratic and accountable to their members and civil society. Villages should be managing local development initiatives (focusing on agriculture, fisheries, microfinance and health) and accessing the services from different service providing institutions. The project will target the most vulnerable groups in the community, which include those dependent upon day labor and government food rations, farmer families, single parent households and youths with disrupted education. The CAD program is run in conjunction with the Silent Tsunami and UPWARD programs, described below. Disaster and Emergency Relief CARE’s long-term rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts are guided by the need to ensure an integrated response in each of the areas where it works. The goal of CARE’s rehabilitation strategy, termed the Post-Tsunami Recovery and Development Programme (PTRDP) is to achieve higher and more sustainable levels of development and livelihood security than existed prior to the tsunami. CARE’s approach highlights the importance of insuring equity, minimizing unintended harm, and promoting peace and good governance. Community participation in the project is highly valued. CARE has been highly active in the North, North Central, and East provinces in past two years by building houses, providing safe water and sanitation facilities and by restarting livelihood activities. Out of CARE’s current commitment to build 1,809 houses, 716 houses will have been completed by the end of the year, a further 732 will be under construction. In CARE’s livelihood recapitalization program, boats, nets and other fishing gear have been distributed. CARE has also

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supported small income generating activities such as shops, sewing machines, poultry and other similar activities - targeting vulnerable groups, especially women-headed households. In addition, CARE has also provided families engaged in agricultural activities with cash grants, seeds and tools to restart production. The Community Preparedness for Emergency Programme (SUPPORT) builds the capacity of communities, enabling them to cope with a range of potential emergencies. The project focuses disaster preparedness and planning. Gender Issues and Women in Development The project is involved in training and awareness-building of CBOs and other stakeholders regarding gender-based violence case management, women’s action groups in the welfare centres, research and campaigns against gender-based violence. Human Rights, Peace and Conflict Resolution The purpose of Transition to Reconciliation (T2R) is to enhance CARE's peacebuilding capacities in order to ensure that its efforts are sustainable by ensuring a long-term programmatic and financial foundation for reconciliation. One of its key strategies is to strengthen the capacity of CARE's staff and its partners through trainings on Do No Harm while also strengthening CARE's conflict sensitivity. The T2R project also aims to strengthen ways in which project staff will understand their operational contexts. They will better understand how to mitigate the negative and increase the positive impacts of their projects. At the same time, research and the strengthening of documentation processes is also included. Internally Displaced Persons The "Silent Tsunami" project aims to address significant unmet needs of shelter and livelihoods for internally displaced people in the districts of Killinochchi, M ullaitivu and Trincomalee the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka, which have been affected both by the tsunami and conflict. The project will support 1200 households by providing permanent shelter and water sanitation facilities. It will also promote the access of displaced and returning communities to productive assets and livelihood and employment opportunities. By doing so CARE hopes to improve and sustain the livelihoods of the IDP returnees and resettling groups, tsunami-affected local communities and impoverished and marginalized groups of local host communities. Livelihood Activities, Business Development and Credit The project “Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods In Post Tsunami Sri Lanka” in the South and Uva provinces has been designed to address an array of post-tsunami recovery and development issues over 5 years. The project targets communities numbering approximately 12,000 households in almost 120 villages in the Hambantota District. The residents of these communities are living in extreme poverty and have been directly and indirectly affected by the tsunami.

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The first phase of the project will target families that have been directly affected by the tsunami. These communities will be supported throughout the entire five-year project period. In the second phase, the project will expand to include adjacent inland households that have been indirectly affected by the tsunami and who are defined as being socially and economically vulnerable because of earning less than $30 per month. The project will assist the targeted population by improving the living conditions of poor communities. It will improve the economic and social positions of communities with special attention to women and youth. The program will increase participation, coordination and accountability at all levels of government and civil society in the district. Located in the North, North Central, and East provinces, the Local Initiatives for Tomorrow (LIFT) project takes an integrated approach to help communities in conflict-affected areas meet their basic human needs and rights. It targets vulnerable communities, provides an integrated range of support to those communities and strengthens the social and economic coping mechanisms of those populations affected by the conflict in Sri Lanka. The main components of the project involve activities revolving around food production, infrastructure rehabilitation, savings and credit, income generation, research, monitoring, evaluation and project management.

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CHRISTIAN CHILDRENS FUND U.S . Contact Ellie Whinnery Global Communications M anager 2821 Emerywood Parkway Richmond, VA 23294-3725 USA [email protected] tel: 804.756.8987 www.christianchildrensfund.org

Field Contact Gamini Pinnalawatta National Director CCF-Sri Lanka, #147, Suvisudharama Road, Colombo 06, Sri Lanka tel: 0094.11.258.7608 Ganga Jasenthuliyana Grants Coordinator [email protected] tel: 0094.11.4962420; 077.311.8101

Christian Children’s Fund CCF is an international child development organization that works for the survival, development and protection of children without regard to gender, race, creed or religious affiliation. CCF programs incorporate health, education, nutrition and livelihood interventions that protect, nurture and develop children. CCF works in environments where poverty, conflict and disaster threaten the well-being of children. Since 1938, CCF has received most of its funding from individual contributors in the form of monthly child sponsorships. In addition, CCF receives grants from UN Agencies, the U.S. government, host country governments, ChildFund International members, other NGOs, foundations and corporations. Christian Children’s Fund in S ri Lanka A memorandum of understanding between CCF and the Government of Sri Lanka forms the basis of CCF’s work in the country. CCF-Sri Lanka is registered as an NGO with the Department of Social Services and as a voluntary social service organization with the National Secretariat for Non Government Organizations in the M inistry of Social Services. The mission of CCF for the years 2007-2010 is to strengthen the holistic development of Sri Lanka’s vulnerable children by empowering communities and actively engaging stakeholders in the design and management of child-centered programs. CCF has operated in Sri Lanka since 1985 and has worked for the well-being of children by supporting locally led initiatives that strengthen families and communities, helping them overcome poverty and protecting the rights of their children through its sponsorship program. Today CCF supports tsunami-affected families in Galle, M atara, Hambantota, Ampara and Trincomalee and has expanded services to the internally displaced persons due to conflict in the north and east. Child Protection

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In July 2005, CCF received support from the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families to continue programs of protection and psychosocial support in Sri Lanka. The project reaches more than 6,500 vulnerable children and youth from 33 communities in Ampara, M atara and Galle districts who were affected by the tsunami. Program participants are comprised of 2,500 directly affected children, 4,000 indirectly affected children and youth and 3,300 community members and other stakeholders. This community-based child protection program supports children and young people at different developmental stages through early childhood, after school and youth programs. To ensure protection, the program also works with families, communities and government stakeholders. In order to make its support more holistic, the program assists with water and sanitation projects such as toilet construction and water supply improvement, a comprehensive health promotion program and the renovation of libraries and schools. These children have access to psychosocial support services to promote normalization, healing and recovery. Communities are also trained to monitor and address protection issues and make referrals to community and district level child protection and psychosocial support networks. 1,000 children are covered by the “Tangalle Taiwan dedicated children’s program and Hambantota children’s program,” which was initiated in the Hambantota District to support children and families affected by the tsunami. The program is designed to operate with community participation and is a further step beyond CCF’s ordinary sponsorship features by integrating child protection activities. A UNICEF-funded project was designed to introduce current best practices models targeting unaccompanied minors, separated children, and children who have lost one or both parents in the tsunami. Working with the Government of Sri Lanka, the project combines the efforts of Child Rights Promotion Officers, Probation Officers and various CBOs to strengthen capacity and establish a strong network of child protection services. Through training, mentoring, income generation, vocational training and other methods, the project strives to assist single parents and family members to care for children in difficult situations. The project also aims to expand the capacity of Sri Lankan CBOs, CCF Child Well-Being Committees and indigenous community institutions and groups to establish local networks that can support single parents, extended family and unrelated caregivers. Internally Displaced Persons CCF has established Child Centered Spaces (CCS) to promote emergency non-formal education and psychosocial support to tsunami survivors and conflict-affected populations. Existing Child Well-being Committees (CWBCs) that serve as a community-based protective body are monitoring and acting as a first response mechanism for child protection issues and risks. The CWBC community members collaboratively lead the process of identifying, planning and monitoring community initiated projects, which respond to child protection issues these communities face. Through these well-established programs, CCF has been successful in transitioning its ongoing CCS and CWBC activities to respond to the needs of internally displaced children. The CWBCs

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have been effective in monitoring the increasing number of child protection issues that have surfaced during IDP movements and collectively organizing a community response. In cooperation with UNICEF, CCF has been serving as a key focal agency for Child Protection and Psychosocial Support in Trincomalee District, as well as lead agency for the inter-agency child protection coordination in the sub-district of Muthur. CCF is currently co-leading a volunteer Training of Trainers program (in collaboration with Handicap International and Save the Children) in Trincomalee District with oversight from UNICEF. CCF engaged in implementing a participatory advocacy project in eight communities in Trincomalee and four communities in Batticaloa District, which covers both tsunami and conflict-affected populations and communities. The project focuses on developing the skills and capacity of children to raise their voice, advocate for their own rights and ensure that children and youth’s voices are an integral part of the development, recovery and rehabilitation process. CCF has been working in 12 IDP camps in the Batticaloa District, establishing Child Centered Spaces and setting-up Child-Well Being Committees. Through these community based protection structures, CCF has provided conflict-affected children with access to non-formal emergency education, normalization, healing and recovery activities. CCF has provided training for community members, including youth, as activity leaders and responded to the needs of IDP children and parents through the provision of hygiene kits and nutritional items. There are eight regular CCSs operating at present in Town and Gravets, Kinnniya and M uthur. The projects covered a total number of indirect beneficiaries of 451,280 in Galle, M atara, Hambantota, Trincomalee and Batticaloa districts. In tandem with the Children’s Charter of the United Nations (CRC), supplemented by the Plan of Action for the Child in Sri Lanka, the CCF is taking the lead in a program that traces, reunifies and plans for unaccompanied minors, separated children and children who have lost one or both parents. The program helps to support and enhance other programs including Child Well-Being Committees, indigenous community institutions and single-parent households. Livelihood Activites, Business Development and Credit The CCF-Sri Lanka M icro-Enterprise Development (M ED) program started in Kegalle District and Nuwara Eliya District. M ED activities were encouraged in the areas of services, agriculture, production, animal husbandry and retail trade. Project participants have reaped greater entrepreneurship skills, links to markets and access to credit facilities. CCF-Sri Lanka M ED unit is now operating programs in five districts: Kegalle, Nuwara Eliya, Trincomalee, Ampara, Galle, M onaragala and Hambantota. As of April 2007, the outstanding loan portfolio is Sri Lankan Rs. 60,385,431.34 (approx. Rs. 544,552.54) with 10,443 clients. Water and S anitation Through UNICEF grants, CCF-Sri Lanka is carrying on Child Friendly Schools Water Sanitation and Hygiene Education in Ampara with toilet blocks for boys, girls and teachers in 17 schools. In Batticaloa, CCF is delivering hygiene education to 70 schools.

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Through the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families, CCF-Sri Lanka was able to continue building a community centre and dig a community well and renovate the M odaragama Perimeter fence in Hambantota. CCF has also been able to construct community toilets at the Kalmunai bus stand, Ampara, Hambantota and two playfields in Tangalle and Hambantota. A new water, sanitation and hygiene education program also started in Hambantota District in 19 schools with ChildFund International member Un Enfant pour la Main in France, providing support to reconstruct a new library in Hambantota Town. A new project, funded by ChildFund Germany in Hambantota, is supporting 35 schools in ensuring that students gain access to childfriendly water facilities and improved key hygiene practices. CCF-Sri Lanka provided 300 Rain Water Harvesting Tanks in Hambantota District, which was supported by Child Fund New Zealand, strengthening its capacity for additional water projects. A new water, sanitation and hygiene education program also began in Hambantota District in 23 schools with the support of ChildFund International member Un Enfant pour la Main (France). Through the implementation of this project, a total of 13,126 primary school students and 285 teachers gained access to child friendly water and sanitation facilities at schools and improved their hygiene practices. They are now using active learning methodologies in the development of hygienic practices among their students. S pecial concerns Security issues in the Eastern Province, including roadblocks, checks points, occasional strikes and increased activity by armed groups has resulted in a climate of general fear and distrust. In Batticaloa, the presence of various armed groups makes the security situation particularly volatile. There is an increased security presence with increased visibility in Trincomalee in particular. Within this context, child protection issues are more pronounced and programs are frequently disturbed, suspended or disrupted. Access to communities that were formerly LTTE controlled, requires special clearance and is irregular. There is fear to travel from the Eastern districts to Colombo and vice versa. The killing of aid workers is a main factor contributing to this fear. M aintaining positive relationships with local and national authorities is essential to ensure access to communities and support for programs.

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CHRISTIAN REFORMED WORLD RELIEF COMMITTEE U.S . Contact Grace Wiebe CRWRC - International Relief Tsunami Relief Project M anager, Burlington, Ontario, Canada tel: 905.336.2920 ext 238 1.800.730.3490 [email protected] Field Contact CRWRC Office – Columbo P.O. Box 130 22/5 Station Road, Dehiwala, Sri Lanka. CRWRC Batticaloa Office 65 Lake Road, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka

Photos courtesy of CRWRC

www.crwrc.org Christian Reformed World Relief Committee CRWRC’s mission is to engage God’s people in redeeming resources and developing gifts in collaborative activities of love, mercy, justice and compassion. Christian Reformed World Relief Committee in S ri Lanka CRWRC is providing much-needed assistance to beneficiaries who were impacted by the tsunami as indicated by the Sri Lanka municipal government. Registered by the government, tsunami-affected people received building grants of $2,500. However, these people have been assessed as being unable to establish themselves in minimally required rehabilitated permanent shelters without assistance because of poverty and lack of livelihood restoration. The CRWRC aims to improve the physical security, health and well-being of tsunami-affected people. Currently the CRWRC provides rehabilitation of sustainable livelihoods and assists homeowners in the reconstruction of their homes, helping to ensure the quality of these homes by meeting the minimum government requirement of 500 square feet. The CRWRC has aided in the construction of permanent dwellings and expects to have completed the construction of up to 750 five hundred square foot homes by the end of 2007. These new buildings will replace homes that were destroyed by the tsunami by over 60%. The budget for reconstruction of shelter and rehabilitation of livelihood is $3,021,000. At 750 households, the average cost of a new home is $4,028, with 3,140 targeted beneficiaries. As of M ay 2007, 225 of these homes were completed,

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with an additional 150 expected through June 2007. CRWRC expects that 155 additional homes will be completed by September 2007, and the last 220 homes should be finished in November 2007. These homes have been and will be constructed in the south in Batticaloa and M annar in the North. In the south, 36 homes will be built in Boossa will total, 158 homes will be built in Angulana, Negambo will receive 6 homes, and Hikkaduwa will receive 6 homes. In Batticaloa, Kurruklmadam will receive 23 homes, 71 homes will be built in M ankadu, 98 in Kurrulmadam, 68 homes will be built in Kaluthavailai and Cheddipalayan will receive 220 homes. In the North in M annar, 64 homes will be established. This building process is designed to ensure cooperation between CRWRC, the local government and the homeowner so that eligible tsunami victims are restored to pre-tsunami housing conditions. Each of the families have been screened, evaluated and surveyed to ensure eligibility. An M oU has been established with the District Secretary to ensure government commitment to provide each homeowner with a grant of Rs.250,000. Each grant recipient has signed a letter of agreement regarding homeowner responsibilities. CRWRC has established a matching schedule of payments towards materials and professional labor to each homeowner for up to $3,500, or on a construction phase completion basis. Each homeowner is being assisted in the completion of a home that will match or come close to the house plan of 502 square feet adopted and approved by CRWRC. The total amount of the government assistance grant and the CRWRC grant will not exceed the $6,000 per typical BOQ for a house built in the region. CRWRC has provided technical assistance, regular inspections, advice and quality-monitoring. CRWRC has experienced considerable success with its owner-driven process. S pecial Concerns The Sri Lankan government now claims that it does not have the funds for the housing grants as its assets are frozen until the World Bank has received and approves the required financial report regarding tsunami finances from RADA . As CRWRC is still aiming to meet the December deadline for the completion of projects, a new MOU with the government was designed stating that CRWRC will build 300 sq.ft. completed houses for 125 beneficiaries, and that it expects the government to submit its $2,500 grant when funding becomes available, in order for beneficiaries to increase it to 500 sq.ft. CRWRC will still only pay $3,500 per home, and has found contractors willing to build for this amount. There has been continued escalation of hostilities between government security forces and the LTTE, resulting in some difficulty with the procurement and transportation of building materials, resulting in an increase in costs and difficulty in hiring skilled labor. CRWRC projects are somewhat behind schedule but remain within budget despite these conditions. Incidents of bombings, shelling and abductions continue. Of some concern is that many innocent bystanders are now being affected by incidents of violence. Jaffna remains a concern as reports from INGOs stationed there report a serious situation, whereas the government is reporting that there is no crisis in Jaffna. At the last CHA meeting, it was noted, for instance, that there are only 7 medical doctors working in Jaffna for a population of 500,000 people.

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The tension due to the conflict continues in the country, especially with the recent addition of LTTE aircraft and bombing in crowded civilian areas. CRWRC continues to follow and update its security policy and contact other agencies regarding security issues. As more than two-thirds of the housing projects are in the Batticaloa region, trips to Batticaloa are increasingly lengthened with more check stops and rigorous searches, although CRWRC personnel are not searched to the degree others are. The CRWRC country team leader travels every other week from the Columbo office to the office in Batticaloa and remains there for 3 days. A shelling incident involving some international diplomats took place in Batticaloa, close to the CRWRC office. Staff telephoned the next morning to say that everything was operating as before and that they were still planning to visit the villages. Staff reported that, except for unusually heavy shelling all night, things are ‘normal’ in Batticaloa. CRWRC sent its drivers to a Security Training Course to enhance their activities, behaviors, and knowledge regarding movement in high risk areas. High frequency radios are now installed and in use. The vehicles are outfitted with equipment such as aerials. It is good to be able to contact home base while on the road to Batticaloa and for the team in Batticaloa to contact each other while in the field. CRWRC remains hopeful that security conditions will not continue to rise to the point of project interruption. With offices in Dehiwala and Batticaloa, CRWRC has made an impact in the lives of many tsunami victims on both the east and southwest coasts of Sri Lanka.

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CHURCH WORLD SERVICE U.S . Contact Donna Derr, Director Emergency Response Program 110 M aryland Ave., NE, Suite 108 Washington DC 20002 tel: 202.544.2350 fax: 202.546.6232 [email protected]

Field Contact National Christian Council of Sri Lanka; Contact Person: Rev. Jayasiri Peiris. Address: 368/6 Bauddhaloka M awatha, Colombo 7, Sri Lanka tel: 94.112671723 fax: 94.11.2671721 [email protected] www.churchworldservice.org

Church World S ervice Church World Service (CWS), founded in 1946, is the relief, development, and refugee assistance ministry of 35 Protestant, Orthodox, and Anglican denominations within the United States. Working in partnership with local organizations in more than 80 countries, CWS supports sustainable self-help development, meets emergency needs, aids refugees and addresses the root causes of poverty and powerlessness. CWS provides assistance without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, political affiliation or gender. Through support including technical assistance, material aid and cash awards, CWS supports field offices and indigenous partners with a track record of accountability, integrity and longterm presence in the countries in which they work. Church World S ervice in S ri Lanka Working through local partners, the Church World Service and its member denominations have responded to needs stemming from the December 2004 tsunami. Recent efforts have provided relief assistance in areas affected by sectarian violence. Tsunami relief work has been focused in locations on the north, east and southern coasts. Specific locations include Vanni, M ullaitivu, Batticaloa, Thirukovil, Ampara, Trinco, M uttur, Galle, M atara, Tangalle, Hambantota, Colombo, Lakutara, Wattala, and Negambo. CWS has provided disaster relief supplies including food and water, tents, mats, sheets, mosquito nets, health supplies, kitchen utensils, clothing, and medicine to 14,000 families. In support of efforts stemming from sectarian violence, CWS is supporting local partners in the sectors of livelihood, health and nutrition, education and housing – serving some 13,078 families. Activities are planned through 2007. A particular focus is assistance in the Jaffna Peninsula, where there are no regular supply routes by land. The area also faces limited food supplies, high inflation rates, and no regular means of livelihood for many of its residents.

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CWS-supported efforts include support of immediate relief assistance with some rehabilitation components for conflict-affected internally displaced persons (IDPs) and populations in the north and east of the country. Assistance includes food and non-food items, water and sanitation, medicines and livelihood support. Implementing churches and organizations in this CWSsupported ecumenical response include the Jaffna Christian Union, Church of Ceylon - Diocese of Colombo, the M ethodist Church of Sri Lanka, the Salvation Army, the Young M en’s Christian Association (YM CA), the Salvation Army and the Jaffna Diocese of the Church of South India.

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DIRECT RELIEF INTERNATIONAL

U.S . Contact Lindsey Pollaczek Direct Relief International 27 S. La Patera Ln. Santa Barbara, CA 93117 tel: 805.705.9372 [email protected]

Direct Relief International

Photo courtesy of Direct Relief International

The mission of Direct Relief International is to improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty, disaster, and civil unrest. Direct Relief International works to strengthen the indigenous health efforts of its international partners by providing essential material resources – medicines, supplies and equipment. Direct Relief International in S ri Lanka Direct Relief focuses on strengthening health care and health services by providing critically needed medicines, supplies, equipment and cash grants to in-country health facilities and organizations. Following the tsunami, Direct Relief has put resources behind a variety of key health initiatives. These projects include: building community healthcare centers in isolated or underserved areas; the reconstruction of physically stronger, more disaster-resistant and larger medical clinics (often adding accommodations for a trained healthcare provider); the purchase of medical equipment including emergency, intensive care, OB/G YN, and diagnostic items; the cleaning and rebuilding of proper wells, toilets, and septic tanks; and the training of local healthcare providers. 24 shipments of medical material aid, totaling more than $4.47 million in value, have been sent to Sri Lanka to support medical services provided by public clinics, hospitals, local organizations, international NGOs and the Sri Lankan M inistry of Health. Donated pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, nutritional products, and equipment constitute full courses of medical treatment for over 1,097,853 people. In order to provide comprehensive support, Direct Relief has also invested over $4.3 million in cash assistance to support health programs, including mobile medical outreach programs along the affected coastline, procurement of high-

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tech medical equipment, disease prevention, and clinic and hospital rehabilitation. 135,000 mosquito nets were distributed to the M inistry of Health and local health care organizations to prevent the spread of malaria. Following the tsunami, Direct Relief International partnered with over 20 local non-profit organizations, including the Sri Lankan M inistry of Health, to implement health activities in Colombo, M oratuwa, Hikkaduwa, Seenigama, Tangalla, Hambantota, Pottuvil, Ampara, Sori Kalmunai, Nintavur, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, M utur and Jaffna. Direct Relief is entirely privately funded; the generosity of individuals, organizations, and companies make its work possible with financial and product contributions.

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EPISCOPAL RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT U.S . Contact

Nagulan Nesiah Program Associate Episcopal Relief and Development 815 Second Avenue New York, NY 10017 tel: 212.716.6357 [email protected]

Ayana Davis Communications Office Episcopal Relief and Development 815 Second Avenue New York, NY 10017 tel: 212.716.6113 [email protected]

Episcopal Relief and Development Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) provides relief in times of disaster and promotes sustainable development by identifying and addressing the root causes of suffering. ERD is the international response arm of the Episcopal Church to human suffering in the world. Episcopal Relief and Development in S ri Lanka ERD does not maintain overseas field offices, but works directly with and through partners. In this case, ERD works in partnership with the Diocese of Colombo of the Church of Ceylon. Work continues in order to complete the final phase of the tsunami rehabilitation and recovery program, which includes housing, livelihood recovery and income generation, counseling, special needs and children’s support and education. ERD is providing ongoing financial support to both the Diocese of Colombo and the National Council of Churches of Sri Lanka to assist the refugee program and victims of conflict, including the provision of shelter, transport and material needs. Previous programs have included a community development program for plantation workers, a labor emergency project and an emergency flood-relief project. Planned programs include an environmental project to mitigate coastal disasters, the establishment of a center for peace and conflict resolution within the Diocese of Colombo and integrated community development programs. Program locations have included the districts of Jaffna, Trincomalee, Vavuniya, Batticaloa, Amparai, Hambantota, M atara, Galle and Colombo. ERD partners with local organizations on programs related to primary health or food security. In Sri Lanka, ERD partners include the Church of Ceylon, the National Christian Council of Sri Lanka and the Centre for Environmental Justice. ERD partnerships work together in the sectors of livelihood recovery and business development, disaster and emergency relief, education and training, gender issues/women in development, health care, human rights, peace and conflict resolution, refugee services and rural development. ERD programs in Sri Lanka are currently funded through private contributions, mainly from individuals and churches. The 2005-2006 program budget was approximately $1.1 million, with a combined total of 18,430 beneficiaries. ERD continues to be concerned with the escalating political instability in Sri Lanka and the safety and security of its implementing partners.

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HEART TO HEART INTERNATIONAL U.S . Contact Jamie Craft Tsunami Program Coordinator, Global Crisis Response Heart to Heart International 401 S. Clairborne, Suite 302 Olathe, KS 66062 tel: 913.764.5200; 913.707.2203 [email protected]

Field Contact Govinda Tidball Asia Regional Advisor, Global Crisis Response Heart to Heart International tel: +94.776.976.208 [email protected] www.hearttoheart.org

Heart to Heart International Heart to Heart International is a global humanitarian organization that inspires, empowers and mobilizes individuals to serve the needs of the poor in their communities and around the world. Heart to Heart accomplishes this mission through partnerships that promote health, alleviate hunger, deliver resources, education and hope, and provide opportunities for meaningful service. HHI aims to provide essential services and effective aid during each phase of an authorized crisis response, to provide assistance and training in the areas of health care and education, to fund projects and partnerships which exemplify HHI’s core competencies, values and mission, to build the capacity and effectiveness of local organizations and to build proactive partnerships with international actors to strengthen future regional and/or global responses. Heart to Heart International in S ri Lanka HHI is in the process of closing out its efforts in Tangalla this September. New projects and ongoing humanitarian assistance are in Dehiwela, Ratmalana, M t. Lavinia and Bandaragama. The majority of the funding HHI receives for its programs in Sri Lanka are from individual contributors, donors and corporations. The number of beneficiaries that HHI’s current programs reach are vast, as the organization impacts the lives of all those living in the Mt. Lavinia/Dehiwela beach slums area, as well as the entire staff of approximately 100 at Community Concern Society (CCS). HHI engages in cooperative efforts with the following agencies and organizations: Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), Community Concern Society (CCS), World Concern and United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The US Ambassador to Sri Lanka is also a partner of HHI. Disaster and Emergency Relief The management team of Heart to Heart International approved HHI engagement in Sri Lanka shortly after the Indian Ocean tsunami in December 2004. Based on an initial three-year

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commitment to Sri Lanka, HHI is presently engaged in the rebuilding and restoration phases of its disaster response model. Education and Training To enhance its current programs in Sri Lanka, HHI coordinates three volunteer teams of highly skilled U.S. professionals each year. In addition to direct-service projects, these teams provide formalized training of local partner staff in requested areas and capacity gaps determined after a Training Needs Assessment (TNA). One or more requested trainings have been completed in the following areas: health care, business development and micro-enterprise, youth sports programming, training for primary and secondary school teachers, psychological development and stress management. To support HHI’s current program objectives in Sri Lanka, HHI’s Asia Regional Advisor lives in Colombo and works with headquarters staff to coordinate training and capacity-building initiatives. The education staff at CCS has undergone (and continues to undergo) rigorous training in curriculum building, lesson planning, behavioral situations, thematic units, the Seven Intelligences, resource utilization, classroom innovation, disciplinary action and human growth and development. This training has enabled teachers to better handle difficult student situations arising from challenging living conditions at home and to more effectively teach students with different learning styles. Health Care Current health care programming is run in collaboration with Community Concern Society (CCS), a Tier 1 HHI partner in Sri Lanka. HHI partners with CCS and supports it in the capacities outlined below. Because of the training, equipment and supplies the CCS medical staff has received from HHI, CCS can better and more effectively serve its patients. The nurses have been trained on how to identify and treat certain wounds and infections and have learned how to educate patients on proper hygiene practices. HHI fully funds The Frank Whilsmith M edical Centre (FWM C)/Prema Project, which works with tsunami-affected communities in Dehiwela, M t. Lavinia and Ratmalana. The Prema Project is a mobile medical program of FWM C that performs weekly visits to tsunami IDP camps and services beach slums in the area. In addition to fully funding the medical center, HHI equips the center with needed supplies and equipment. HHI also works alongside the staff to implement recent trainings given by HHI volunteer teams. HHI fully funds an outreach program called the Village Welfare Program. This outreach program, which caters to families in crises, provides urgent prescriptions for medication and transportation to hospitals. The Village Welfare program also provides assistance in cases of domestic violence, asthmatic attacks and severe allergies. HHI is funding the beginning phase of a Well Woman Clinic. The clinic will offer a holistic healthcare program for registered women. Also, HHI partially supports one of the nation’s most successful drug rehabilitation centers for men, known as the Power House.

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HHI supports the funding of the Garbage Disposal Program that addresses the lack of proper garbage disposal in the selected project area, which has resulted in numerous health-related hazards and mosquito-borne illnesses. Human Rights, Peace and Conflict Resolution Although HHI has not overtly taken a proactive role in issues relating to peace and conflict resolution, a staff member of HHI with experience in this area has been given approval to provide support over the past two years in this area to the humanitarian community at large. This support has been part of several initiatives spearheaded by the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies (CHA), an INGO umbrella agency that has worked consistently to create more space for humanitarian agencies providing aid in Sri Lanka. Livelihood Activities, Business Development and Credit Two Vocational Training Centers (VTCs) have been built in collaboration with Strickland Construction. The first VTC has been merged with a larger U SAID campus in Tangalla and is scheduled to open in September 2007. This facility will provide training in fishing, aluminum fabrication and motorcycle repair and mechanics. The second VTC center or multi-purpose facility has been completed in Bandaragama and is completing its needs assessment of potential beneficiaries; programming is scheduled to commence shortly. S pecial Concerns The ongoing security situation is a concern to HHI as it decreases the space for humanitarian action and endangers the lives of innocent civilians. All efforts to end the conflict are appreciated. Kidnappings and abuses of human rights are to be noted. The deterioration of local and international press freedom and access is deliberate and serves to escalate the present crisis. The Government of Sri Lanka itself is posing a major obstacle to service delivery.

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INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS U.S . Contact Tracey Shissler Senior Desk Officer, Asia International M edical Corps 1313 L St NW Suite 220 Washington, DC 20005

Field Contact Gareth Price-Jones IM C-SRI LANKA 15 Greenland Avenue Havelock Park, Colombo 05, Sri Lanka Tel: +94.112.258.9971 Cell Phone: +94.77.695.9082

International Medical Corps To improve the quality of life through health interventions and related activities that build local capacity in underserved communities worldwide. International Medical Corps in S ri Lanka Since its immediate tsunami response, IM C has focused both on improving the government health care system and establishing community-based health programming. IM C is also providing mobile medical clinics with emergency primary health care services, including ANC services and basic health education to IDPs in Trincomalee. IM C has made mobile primary and mental health clinic services available for more than 73,000 people in Ampara and Batticaloa districts. IM C also constructed four health centers in Ampara district, where fourteen were destroyed by the tsunami. These facilities serve a combined population of 100,000 people and focus on maternal and child health care services and referrals for secondary care. IM C is currently building two additional health centers to serve the area. IM C built a mental health resource complex that will serve as a static mental health clinic, informational mental health library and training center for Ampara and Batticaloa districts. In addition, seven community mental health centers have been established at seven different primary health care centers, which have provided direct support and treatment to over 250 mental health patients. IM C has also provided mental health services for Hambantota district through training, capacity-building, and mental health consultations. IM C translated 1,000 copies of Vikram Patel’s Where There Is No Psychiatrist: A Mental Health Care Manual into the Tamil language for distribution. IM C is looking ahead, developing creative, long-term solutions for Sri Lanka. Among other areas, IM C will focus on strengthening its current mental health and livelihood services and extending mobile primary health care services for IDPs in conflict areas such as Trincomalee and Batticaloa.

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IM C will build on its expertise in health service provision by moving from emergency service provision to supporting improved service provision and quality by local health services to 930,000 people in Ampara and Trincomalee IM C will utilize its global expertise and develop national expertise to address unmet needs by changing and improving nutrition knowledge, attitudes and beliefs among at least 600,000 people. IM C will build on its expertise in mental health to design and deliver a program supporting the Sri Lankan M oH to deliver effective community mental health. IM C will be sure to ensure that all projects have a positive impact on relations between genders, ethnic groups and communities. IM C programs in Sri Lanka fall into the following sectors: health care, disaster and emergency relief, education and training, and gender issues and women in development. IM C’s projects are located in Ampara and Trincomalee, formerly in Batticoloa and Hambentota. In Trincomalee the program for Emergency M obile Health for Conflict-Affected Populations has approximately 8,400 direct and 33,600 indirect beneficiaries. The scale of value runs at €174,187. In Ampara the construction of two village health centers benefits an approximate 13,000 people directly at $251,000. IM C partners with the M oH and the Deputy Director of Health Services in Hambentota, Batticaloa, Ampara and Trincomalee. S pecial Concerns IM C is concerned about access to services given the number of checkpoints beneficiaries are often subjected to and not permitted to pass through. Concerns also include safety of Tamil staff as they provide services through mobile clinics in the northeast.

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INTERNATIONAL RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT U.S . Contact International Relief and Development 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 400 Arlington, VA 22209 tel: 703.248.0161

Field Contact M artijn Hekman No. 7 Jayaratne M awatha Colombo 5 tel: 94.11.255.6010 [email protected]

International Relief and Development International Relief and Development’s mission is to reduce the suffering of the world’s most vulnerable groups and to provide tools and resources needed to increase their self-sufficiency. IRD accomplishes its mission by implementing targeted, cost-effective relief and development programs that improve the lives of these vulnerable groups. International Relief and Development in S ri Lanka IRD has maintained a presence in Sri Lanka since July 2004 with offices operating in Colombo, Hambantota, and Batticaloa. IRD has become a leading provider of effective humanitarian program interventions, and is currently partnered with over 20 local CBOs. Education The Hambantota Educational Support Improvement Project (HESIP) aims to improve the educational performance of school children through school feeding, health and hygiene awareness and infrastructure repairs in the Hambantota District. In July 2004, IRD began work in Sri Lanka on the U.S. Department of Agriculture-funded Hambantota Educational Support Improvement Project (HESIP). Through the HESIP program, sachets of Ultra-High Temperature (UHT) milk are distributed five days a week to 12,000 children in 46 schools. The project has also accomplished the renovation and rehabilitation of 25 schools with a focus on water and sanitation facilities. Through HESIP, school children are screened for intestinal parasites; those infected are provided with medicines. HESIP also focuses on the promotion of improved health and hygiene among students. This program targets students living in rural areas and strives to enhance their educational environment for improved learning. The daily distribution of 200 ml sachets of milk improves the children’s ability to concentrate on their studies, reduces the number of children fainting in school and provides an incentive for parents to continue to send their children to school during the harvest season. Unfortunately, many of the schools lack sufficient water and sanitation facilities or have crumbling walls and roofs. IRD is working with school staff and community members to identify the most needed repairs and provide the resources necessary for the renovation and rehabilitation of identified buildings.

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Following the tsunami, IRD provided 12,000 school kits and supplies with the support and donations of M edical Teams International and American schools. IRD is hopeful that this program makes it possible for more students to remain in school and obtain an education that will enable them to grow strong and experience an improved quality of life. Health Care After the tsunami in 2005, Direct Relief International (DRI) awarded IRD a grant to provide capacity-building grants to local NGOs for health-related tsunami relief projects. IRD is also distributing needed medical supplies and equipment to selected local non-governmental organizations (LNGOs). The program seeks to improve the deteriorating health conditions in the tsunami-affected communities and to increase access to health and other basic services, minimize the spread of waterborne diseases and distribute basic supplies to the most affected populations. IRD assists more than 20 LNGOs in the design and implementation of health interventions. This program is comprised of intensive training and knowledge transfer mechanisms in order to ensure sustainable capacity development. IRD provides financial support, supervision and monitoring to partner organizations. Partner organizations assist more than 200,000 beneficiaries directly and indirectly in Puttalam, Colombo, Galle, M atara, Hambantota, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Ampara and Jaffna. Core health program activities include infrastructure development, health awareness programs and capacity-building, as mentioned above. IRD’s infrastructure development work in Sri Lanka includes the construction of latrines, water wells, emergency healthcare centers and the rehabilitation of toilets, canteens and first aid rooms. Psychosocial programs, awareness workshops on vector-borne diseases and health awareness programs regarding clean drinking water and water usage together comprise the Health Awareness Program. In order to most effectively build the capacity of LNGOs, IRD conducts training workshops for LNGO partners and distributes office equipment such as computers, printers, scanners, fax machines and flip charts to facilitate more efficient work. The majority of program activity in this area was conducted between M arch 2004 and M arch 2007. Internally Displaced Persons Between April and July of 2007, IRD will be responsible for the coordination of all relevant agents to provide safe water. IRD will also be responsible for health, sanitation and hygiene training programs and will ensure that all IDPs are provided with basic WASH facilities in the Batticaloa and Ampara Districts. Thus, IRD is conducting trainings for IDPs on practical aspects related to hygiene, sanitation and the prevention of environmentally linked health conditions including insect vector-borne diseases. As a part of this project, IRD is designing and implementing behavior change communication strategies towards effective preventive practices related to food preparation and consumption, minimum water usage methods and basic hygiene and hand washing. IRD is also constructing emergency toilets; providing hygiene kits and other necessary items with hygiene messages and providing emergency services for the collection of solid waste and disposal and garbage structures.

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IRD expects that, by the end of the project, 3,500 conflict-affected IDP families will be trained on proper practices on minimum usage and water-saving methods and will be less prone to environmentally linked infections. Also, these 3,500 families will have been provided with emergency toilets and supplies such as hygiene kits. In the end, 17,500 beneficiaries will have been targeted by the Emergency Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Practices program. Water and S anitation Based on an initial needs assessment following the tsunami, World Vision awarded IRD a grant to implement the Hambantota Water Proejct (HWP) to improve existing water supply and distribution networks in the districts of Kirinda and Bundala. The Hambantota Water Project was designed to improve access to potable water through installation of water distribution networks, rehabilitation of wells and water purification. As part of the program, IRD has installed distribution networks and pumps, completed water testing, and improved wells throughout the region. IRD has also built additional water treatment plants and pump houses to expand water distribution capacity for 65,000 beneficiaries. IRD is also working with the National Water Supply and Drainage Board to create a 20-year master plan for water infrastructure development. This will result in an additional 45,000 beneficiaries of access to potable water. In order to integrate an economical bacteriological disinfection method with IRD’s existing activities in providing safe drinking water, World Vision Lanka is providing funding for IRD to carry out the SODIS program. Targeted towards 18,000 people between June 2007 and June 2008, this project will support IRD’s past and present efforts in the area. IRD is currently implementing a WASH program in Ampara and Batticaloa districts, and the SODIS project could build upon the WASH project. IRD would like to integrate hygiene and water usage training sessions with the SODIS project, which will increase the total health standards for the targeted communities. IRD has developed excellent hygiene awareness training materials in the Tamil language, developed with the consent of UNICEF, DPDHS, M oH and other government authorities. Awareness programs, which have been conducted by IRD, have been very successful in increasing the involvement and participation of local communities. The SODIS project will integrate an economical bacteriological disinfection method with IRD’s existing activities to providing safe drinking water to the community. IRD intends to maximize the benefits of this integrated approach by ensuring that best outputs will be shared with the community while building the capacity of its local members.

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LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF U.S . Contact Ms. M aryce Ramsey Regional Director, Asia and the M iddle East 700 Light St. Baltimore, M D 21230 tel: 410.230.2809 [email protected] Field Contact M r. Benil Thavarasa Country Program M anager, Sri Lanka 410/96 Bullers Road Colombo 7, Sri Lanka tel: +94.77.353.7548 [email protected]

Lutheran World Relief Lutheran World Relief works with partners in 35 countries to help people grow food, improve health, strengthen communities, end conflict, build livelihoods and recover from disasters. Photo Courtesy Direct Relief International

Lutheran World Relief in S ri Lanka In Sri Lanka, Lutheran World Relief is currently transitioning its programs from tsunami relief to long-term sustainable development. LWR is currently focusing $591,325 worth of programming in the sectors of small enterprise development, gender issues, rural development, mental health, human rights and peace and conflict resolution in the tsunami-affected regions of Sri Lanka. Security is a special concern of LWR as it works to implement its goals in Sri Lanka.

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MAP INTERNATIONAL

U.S . Contact Jack M orse MAP International 50 Hurt Plaza Suite 400 Atlanta, GA 30303 tel: 404.880.0540 [email protected]

MAP International

Photo Courtesy of Mercy Corps

MAP International is a global relief and development organization that advances the Total Health of people living in the world’s poorest communities by providing essential medicines, promoting community health development, and preventing and mitigating disease, disaster and other health threats. MAP International in S ri Lanka MAP International is delivering essential medicines and medical supplies to partner agencies in Sri Lanka. M AP medicines are being used in both permanent and temporary medical clinics. MAP International is currently active in the health care and disaster and emergency relief sectors in Sri Lanka. M AP International annually delivers about $10 million of medicines and medical supplies (wholesale value) to Sri Lanka. These products benefit about 25 million people each year. In order to carry out its work, M AP International engages in cooperative efforts and partnerships with Children’s Cross Connection International, Children’s Dental Care International, Health Teams International, International M edical Corps, International Relief Teams, Operation Serving Children and World Vision.

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MERCY CORPS U.S Contact Joanna Walshe Senior Program Officer, South Asia M ercy Corps 1730 Rhode Island Ave, NW Suite 809 Washington, DC 20036 USA tel: 202.463.7383 x120 fax 202.463.7322 [email protected]

Field Contact Josh DeWald Country Director M ercy Corps Sri Lanka 51/1 Gregory’s Road, Colombo 7 tel: +94.11.4740423 fax: 202.268.8352 [email protected]

Mercy Corps M ercy Corps exists to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping people build secure, productive and just communities. M ercy Corps works amid disasters, conflicts, chronic poverty and instability to unleash the potential of people who can win against nearly impossible odds. Since 1979, M ercy Corps has provided $1.3 billion in assistance to people in 100 nations. Supported by headquarters offices in North America, Europe and Asia, the agency's unified global programs employ 3,400 staff worldwide and reach nearly 14.4 million people in more than 35 countries. Mercy Corps in S ri Lanka M ercy Corps works in Sri Lanka to create public, private, and social sector partnerships that promote peaceful coexistence, economic opportunities, responsive institutions and access to services for vulnerable communities. M ercy Corps works intensively in the areas of community revitalization, development and economic opportunities in Sri Lanka. M ercy Corps also supports emergency relief efforts as the situation requires and as funding permits.

Photo Courtesy of Mercy Corps

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M ercy Corps Sri Lanka coordinates efforts with the following local, international and governmental agencies: Uwegewewa Beneficiaries’ Society, Ruhuna Rural Women’s Organization, Arugam Bay Tourist Association, M ahashakthi Foundation and the Sri Lankan Red Cross, among many others. M ercy Corps’ programs in Sri Lanka are located in Hambantota, Ampara, Batticaloa and Trincomalee districts. To date, M ercy Corps programs in Sri Lanka have been funded by the following: M ercy Corps private resources, American Red Cross, USAID/OFDA, USAID/OTI/ DAI, Inc., AusAID, DFID, the Scottish Executive, Taiwan ICDF, PepsiCo, JP M organ Chase, and Oprah’s Angel Network. M ercy Corps Sri Lanka is currently administering 6 grants with a total value of $8.7 million that will support at least 100 projects over the next two years. Community Development The Eastern Community Rehabilitation Program, funded by AusAID, is targeting 10 conflictaffected communities in Ampara and Trincomalee districts. Through this project, M ercy Corps is working to strengthen the capacity of three local NGOs and ten CBOs so that they may implement 20 infrastructure projects. Ideally, these projects will be completed through participatory and conflict-sensitive processes that reduce tensions among ethnic and religious groups. This is supplemented by activities to link communities to each other and to the local government. With funding from U SAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI), provided through Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI), M ercy Corps supports community rehabilitation and development by implementing seven community infrastructure projects among tsunami-affected communities in the Hambantota District. The project also provides support for establishing community action groups in each community and assisting these groups and the LNGOs that support them with training and capacity-building, links to local government and communitybased conflict management. In Trincomalee, M ercy Corps supports community development by implementing three key economic infrastructure projects in the Kinniya DS division – two fish markets and one vocational training center. These three projects are implemented in partnership with the Government of Sri Lanka under the Reconstruction and Development Agency’s Divisional Livelihoods Development Plans. A Scottish Executive funded intervention provides support to four community-based livelihood or infrastructure projects in four communities in the Ampara District, utilizing conflict-sensitive community mobilization approaches. The second component of this program provides two grants to local civil society groups to support business associations or public companies in key local industries in tsunami-affected communities. Disaster and Emergency Relief As a result of the conflict, M ercy Corps has been responding to the immediate and transitional needs of new waves of internally displaced persons. M ercy Corps responded to displacements

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in Trincomalee and Batticaloa by providing non-food items, improving water and sanitation systems and implementing cash-for-work projects. Human Rights, Peace and Conflict Resolution M ercy Corps’ Civil Society and Conflict M anagement team has provided training and technical assistance to several UN agencies and INGOs on negotiating with armed actors. This training provides field workers within these organizations practical tools for dealing with armed actors around such issues as access to displaced populations and negotiating at checkpoints. M ercy Corps hopes to provide further training to local NGOs who face similar issues. Livelihood Activities, Business Development and Credit This three-year program, funded by American Red Cross and private donations to M ercy Corps, supports economic recovery and development through livelihoods activities and improved community action. As part of this project, M ercy Corps is working in 27 tsunami-affected villages in the Ampara, Hambantota and Batticaloa districts by improving infrastructure to support economic development, providing grants to business associations and cooperatives and revitalizing the tourist industry in three locations. S pecial Concerns Several of M ercy Corps’ operational areas are affected by the insecurity in the North and East caused by renewed conflict between the Government of Sri Lanka, the LTTE, and the TM VP. Post-tsunami agencies (such as M ercy Corps) are experiencing difficulty in obtaining exemptions from taxes and duties. M arket linkages are eroding in the North and East due to renewed conflict, making M ercy Corps activities more difficult. Also, suspicions from the media, government and the public at large towards INGOs are proving to be significant obstacles for M ercy Corps.

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OPERATION USA U.S . Contact Nimmi Gowrinathan Director, South Asia Programs Operation USA 3617 Hayden Avenue, Suite A Culver City, CA 90025 tel: 310.838.3455 [email protected]

Field Contact Naomi Wyles/Goran Bilic No 51-53, Street 352, #502 Sangkat Beong Keng Kang I Phnom Penh, Cambodia Tel: +855.0.12.981.869 [email protected]; [email protected]

Operation US A The mission of Operation USA is to alleviate the challenges faced by marginalized communities that are often overlooked in the aftermath of disasters. Operation USA aims to empower these communities by implementing community-driven solutions that provide systemic and sustainable results. Operation US A in S ri Lanka Operation USA has been implementing programs throughout the island of Sri Lanka since the 1990s, paying specific attention to areas impacted by the ongoing civil war and the tsunami of December 2004. Operation USA has provided post-disaster and post-conflict emergency relief as well as longer-term development programs in the Jaffna, Ampara, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Galle, and M atara Districts. Community Development Located in Kalladi, Trincomalee District, the Kalladi Village Development Program is a disaster relief and rural development project. The Kalladi Village Development Program will impact the lives of 967 families with a budget of $700,000. Operation USA has committed to constructing homes, a health center, a primary school, a pre-school and a community center, primarily relying on village labor services. The program will also provide 70 fishing boats and nets, back-to-work and back-to-school packages and a vehicle as a part of the income generation and revolving fund program. Disaster and Emergency Relief Following the December 2004 Tsunami, Operation USA raised awareness amongst local Los Angeles elementary schools, which chose to sponsor one children’s home in Sri Lanka. Through bake sales, dance-a-thons, and car washes, eleven schools raised funds sufficient to run each children’s home for 12 months. This program continues to provide support during the current political crisis. The children’s homes are run with the support of the NGO VISIONS and with St.

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John’s Church in the Batticaloa and Trincomalee Districts. Thanks to Operation USA, these children’s homes shelter between three and five hundred children. Operation USA has also partnered with Sareeram to provide emergency relief to IDPs in the Batticaloa District. Sareeram is working to look after the welfare of 284 displaced persons belonging to 60 displaced families, who have found shelter at Notary M ooththathamby Vidyalayam(School) situated in Arayampathy. The relief includes supplying morning meals, sugar, tea leaves, milk powder, milk, dental equipment as well as many other basic necessities and the construction of 20 tube wells to provide safe drinking water. Education In collaboration with local schoolteachers, Operation USA is helping to implement a program targeted at 90 children between the ages of 3 and 6. Located in Paiyagala in the South, the M uditha Preschool Program program provides continuous support for weekly English lessons as well as a monthly healthy school nutrition program. Operation USA supports a preschool teacher named M s. Champa, who spent her life's savings to purchase land on which to rebuild the preschool that was completely destroyed in the tsunami. The two-story building opened its doors to students in M arch 2005. Operation USA has budgeted $20,000 plus $200 a month for two years for this project. Operation USA has also partnered with VISIONS to implement an Effective English Teaching (EET) program, which will build English teaching skills and confidence among rural primary school teachers in Sri Lanka by introducing teachers to innovative teaching techniques and resource materials, and empowering them to establish English resource centers in their communities This initiative is a collaborative effort between public and private sector educational organizations in Sri Lanka. Visions, Youth League for Sanatana Dharmic Perception (YLSDP), the National Institute of Education (NIE) and the British Council are all invested in implementing this project. An initial training in Basic English skills will be held for 63 teachers from 21 government schools in one zone. Following this initial interaction, the top 30 teachers will be selected and brought to Colombo every three to four months to undergo 3 one-week training sessions. With the return to military hostilities in regions heavily affected by the December 2004 tsunami, Operation USA has also initiated educational support programs, in collaboration with YGRO. The program will provide financial support for students to buy books and other school supplies, sponsor after-school tuition classes, provide specialized coaching in language and numerical skills, offer seminars on various topics relevant to studies, and provide interest-free bicycle loans. The program will also include the construction of a study hall and resource center for students. Vocational Training Operation USA is working with local partner YGRO on a vocational program to provide career services for unemployed youths in the Vavuniya district of Sri Lanka. The program seeks

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poverty reduction through provision of vocational training and on-the-job training, as well as securing jobs and self-employment through services and micro-credit. Operation USA is also working with Sarvodaya to implement a livelihood program for the internally displaced population in Vaharai.100 widows were identified as beneficiaries, who lost all of their assets in the war. One high yielding milk cow will be provided to each family as a basis for income generation. Psychosocial Operation USA in collaboration with the IM HO Women’s Forum as well as the Center for Women's Development in Sri Lanka, to initiate a new campaign to address the growing need for psychosocial care amongst displaced tsunami and conflict affected populations. This program will run through the Victory Home in Vettimanai which provides food, shelter, clothing, and medical support to 176 women and young girls in need of psychosocial assistance.

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OXFAM AMERICA U.S . Contact Elizabeth Stevens Oxfam America Humanitarian Information Officer 226 Causeway Street Boston, MA 02114 tel: 617.728.2478 www.oxfamamerica.org/whatwedo/emergencies/asian_floods_2004 Oxfam America Oxfam America is an international development and relief agency committed to creating lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and social injustice. Working with Oxfam affiliates and local partner organizations, Oxfam America carries out emergency relief operations, development programs, and campaigns to overcome the political, economic, and social policies that exclude much of the world’s population from political participation and economic opportunities. Oxfam America in S ri Lanka When the armed conflict in Sri Lanka intensified in 2006, many of those affected by the tsunami in the north and east were again forced from their homes. A portion of Oxfam’s tsunami program therefore reverted to emergency response: staff and partner organizations are providing food, relief materials, clean water, and sanitation facilities to camps for those who have been uprooted by both war and the tsunami and are advocating for the rights of the displaced. Oxfam and partners continue to construct permanent homes for people who lost theirs to the tsunami disaster, though the conflict has slowed this process. Elsewhere in the country, Oxfam programs are now focused on helping the poorest of those affected by the tsunami improve their incomes and on reducing the risks of future disasters. Since 2005, Oxfam America has been carrying out field studies with Sri Lankan research institutions on a range of issues, including disaster risk reduction, how to help coir (coconut fiber) spinners improve their incomes and how best to deliver aid to communities that are divided by social tensions. The work described above is being carried out as part of a unified Oxfam International tsunami program, for which all Oxfam affiliates have pooled their resources into a single fund that is expected to reach $282 million (Oxfam America contributed $30 million). Close to $64 million of Oxfam’s overall tsunami fund has so far been spent in Sri Lanka.

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PRESBYTERIAN DISASTER ASSISTANCE AND HUNGER PROGRAM U.S . Contact Pamela Burdine Presbyterian Hunger Program/Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Presbyterian Church (USA) 100 Witherspoon St. Louisville, KY 40202-1396 USA tel: 502.569.5834; 888.728.7228 ext 5839; 502.569.5704 fax: 502.333.7011 [email protected]

Field Contact Chenoa Stock 10/1 Fonseka Terrace off Havelock Road Colombo 6 Sri Lanka [email protected] www.pcusa.org/pda

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and Hunger Program in S ri Lanka After the tsunami in 2004, the Sri Lankan government and NGOs received large amounts of aid from international organizations to help rebuild the nation. Each sector worked separately, according to its own projects, without much collaboration in the effort. M any organizations within Sri Lanka thought of this process as unsustainable for the affected people. In M arch 2005, the Presbyterian Hunger Program and the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Program contacted a number of organizations within Sri Lanka to create a Joining Hands Network within Sri Lanka. Likeminded organizations convened to discuss the present situation after the tsunami, the major problems of the affected people, how to collaborate as a network and how to approach the problems and issues of those affected by the tsunami. Praja Abhilasha was formed in November 2005 to mobilize the people as a network in regards to human rights, land rights and livelihoods, women’s rights and the impact of globalization on all facets of life. The programs are focused on tsunami-affected people as they are in a constant struggle for general human rights and the right to land and property. Praja Abhilasha is the Sri Lankan network related to the Joining Photo courtesy of Presbyterian Disaster and Hunger Assistance Program

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Hands Against Hunger program of the Presbyterian Church (USA). The focus of this program is to move beyond short-term responses to disaster, hunger and poverty by addressing their root causes through community education, advocacy, alternative economic activities, lifestyle changes and spiritual grounding. After studying and assessing the key issues within a country, strategies are proposed by the network itself to address these issues, which could be through hunger education, public policy advocacy, or development assistance. The goal is to promote the self-sufficiency of poor and marginalized groups and to confront and influence the structures of exploitation and injustice. The Praja Abhilasha network works with fishermen, farmers, laborers, women, plantation workers and IDPs. Working together, eighteen NGOs, grassroots groups, and community groups make up the network, which is island-wide and holds programs throughout the country. Training and capacity-building workshops are run by the partnership. The Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and Presbyterian Hunger Program funds these workshops. The programming budget for this year is $30,363, and is being distributed amongst eighteen organizations in the network in support of training programs. These programs include regional workshops, a network newsletter, an information center, a poster contest and a land rights booklet. The network is a cooperative effort by definition and includes all local Sri Lankan organizations of all faiths and ethnic backgrounds. S pecial Concerns The current civil war limits the scope of the programs and restricts movement throughout the country.

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RELIEF INTERNATIONAL

U.S . Contact John M aris-Senior Vice President of Program Development 1575 Westwood Blvd. Suite 200 Los Angeles, CA 90024 tel: 310.478.1200

Field Contact Rajinda Jayasinghe-Acting Country Director tel: +94.077.728.1633 20/7 Greenland Lane Colombo 5, Sri Lanka www.ri.org

Relief International Relief International is a humanitarian non-profit agency that provides emergency relief, rehabilitation, development assistance and program services to vulnerable communities worldwide. RI is solely dedicated to reducing human suffering and is non-political and nonsectarian in its mission. Relief International in S ri Lanka Relief International arrived in Sri Lanka days after the 2004 tsunami, providing relief in the form of emergency health supplies, water and sanitation services, food distribution, temporary housing and schools. As the emergency period dissipated, RI developed long-term programs in the fields of education and livelihoods. With the reemergence of war, RI has revived its emergency skills to assess population movement and needs in the east. Through local partners, RI has taught young people information technology skills through 10week computer courses. In 2006, the course had 614 students and continues providing educational programs with the use of internet to post-tsunami communities. A popular microfinance project with 2,404 clients teaches underserved women financial literacy and provides them with loans and skills trainings to help them develop their livelihoods. RI works alongside UNHCR and UN OCHA to assess the needs of the internally displaced through home visits, the development of an IDP database and services to IDPs in the Thirukkovil and Pottuvil Divisions of Ampara District. The majority of RI’s programs are located in Ampara District in the Eastern Province. Relief International cooperates at the interagency level at district coordination meetings and in Colombo at the national level. RI works with a variety of government servants, local NGOs and community based organizations. One of RI’s significant concerns is the deteriorating security situation in the country.

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SALVATION ARMY WORLD SERVICE OFFICE U.S . Contact Patricia Kiddoo The Salvation Army World Service Office Assistant Executive Director for SAWSO 615 Slaters Lane Alexandria, VA 22313 tel: 703.684.5525; 571.277.8354 fax: 703.302.8670 [email protected] Skype: PAKiddoo

Field Contact Christopher Needham The Salvation Army. Sri Lanka Territory Tsunami Projects M anager P.O. Box 193 Colombo. Sri Lanka tel: 091.227.5681; 094.77.340.8861 [email protected] www.salvationarmy.org www.sawso.org

S alvation Army World S ervice Office (S AWSO) The mission of SAWSO is to support and strengthen The Salvation Army’s efforts to work hand in hand with communities to improve the health, economic and spiritual conditions of the poor throughout the world. S alvation Army World S ervice Office in S ri Lanka In Sri Lanka, the general objectives of SAWSO are to provide emergency relief assistance, trauma support for victims, ongoing recovery and development of damaged community infrastructure and capacity building for individuals and families impacted by the tsunami. SAWSO has a long-term commitment to foster full recovery from the disaster through multi-sectoral development projects in Sri Lanka.

Photo courtesy of Salvation Army World Service Office

The Salvation Army works with local community members as partners in all development work. Community acceptance is fundamental to all projects. The identification of community needs

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and selection of project beneficiaries are important collaborative aspects of SAWSO’s work. Furthermore, project implementation and monitoring incorporate a great deal of interaction with local communities. SAWSO receives funds from several donor agencies as well as individuals. Donors include the American people, corporations and Salvation Army Territories. Community Development and Reconstruction SAWSO is running a number of projects in Sri Lanka. In the Galle and Ampara District, SAWSO is implementing a post-tsunami reconstruction and sustainable livelihoods project. The Tsunami Recovery Program phase 2, using local contractors, community construction teams and local Salvation Army staff, has been enacted with funding from Canada and Bermuda Territory, SAWSO and the Netherlands Territory of the Salvation Army. At a scale of $8,312,596.00, this project should support 6,500 people. SAWSO supports Sri Lankan citizens who are repairing or rebuilding damaged and destroyed houses. SAWSO’s sustainable livelihood assistance includes grants for tsunami-affected large and small businesses with complementary business training. A typical small-scale business would have five employees and receive a grant of $1,000.00, while a large-scale business would employ 10 – 20 people and receive a grant of $7,000.00. In addition, SAWSO provides vocational training programs such as sewing, computer skills, cooking and electrical works. Health Care SAWSO and Blue Cross Blue Shield – M ichigan support the mobile clinic in the three districts of Galle, Batticaloa and Jaffna. They are giving $500,000 over three years to help support over 5,000 people. Post-tsunami Psychosocial Support in Colombo, Kalutara, Hikkaduwa, Galle, Batticaloa and Jaffna supports 9,600 people with $40,000, provided by SAWSO. The program partners with community facilitators. S pecial Concerns Political concerns in the North and East have impeded a larger response in these areas. The Salvation Army maintains good working relations with local and national authorities.

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SAVE THE CHILDREN U.S . Contact Ingrid M ilne Regional Operations M anager Asia Tsunami Response Save the Children USA 54 Wilton Road Westport, CT06883 tel: 203.221.4096 [email protected]

Field Contact Richard M awer, Save the Children in Sri Lanka 69/1 Ward Place Colombo 7, Sri Lanka www.savethechildren.org

S ave the Children Save the Children is the leading independent organization creating lasting change for children in need in the United States and around the world. For 75 years, Save the Children has been helping children survive and thrive by improving their health, education and economic opportunities and, in times of acute crisis, mobilizing rapid life-saving assistance to help children recover from the effects of war, conflict and natural disasters. Save the Children USA is a member of the International Save the Children Alliance, a global network of 28 independent Save the Children organizations working to ensure the well-being and protection of children in more than 120 countries. S ave the Children in S ri Lanka Save the Children US provided $4,487,583 to Save the Children in Sri Lanka (part of Save the Children UK) to respond to the needs following the tsunami. These funds were spent to fulfill the needs of 350,000 citizens of tsunami-affected communities in emergency response in areas such as shelter, food, health and child protection. The contribution was dedicated to a program length of five years, and so the remainder of the contribution has transitioned into support for development programs. Save the Children in Sri Lanka works with 215 local and international NGO partners and local and national government. Currently, 129,333 children are benefiting directly from Save the Children’s program activities in Sri Lanka. S pecial concerns As the security situation deteriorates, distrust for NGO staff is becoming more apparent. The situation for aid workers is becoming more dangerous, especially in the North and East. Furthermore, visa acquisition for international staff is becoming more difficult, and NGOs are being blamed by the government for the failure to construct homes as promised.

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UNITED METHODIST COMMITTEE ON RELIEF U.S . Contact M ichelle Scott 475 Riverside Drive, Room 330 New York, NY 10115 tel: 212.870.3815

Field Contact Bharat Pathak No. 27/1 M elbourne Avenue Colombo 4, Sri Lanka tel: 94.11.550.5550 www.umcor.org

United Methodist Committee on Relief United M ethodist Committee on Relief (UM COR) responds to natural or human made disasters—interruptions of such magnitude that it overwhelms a community's ability to recover on its own. UM COR's mission is to alleviate human suffering with open minds to all religions and open hearts to all people. UM COR is the humanitarian, non-proselytizing agency of the United M ethodist Church. United Methodist Committee on Relief in S ri Lanka UM COR established its Sri Lanka office in response to the December 2004 South Asia tsunami. UM COR Sri Lanka works to provide relief and rehabilitation in partnership with the M ethodist Church of Sri Lanka (M CSL). Operations have been focused on the Trincomalee and Batticaloa districts in the eastern part of the country. Sri Lanka was already experiencing the effects of a prolonged civil war before the tsunami, and in 2006 it experienced a resurgence of conflict. As tensions remain high, UM COR Sri Lanka realizes the need to address these issues as well as the destruction caused by the tsunami. As a result, the mission’s current programming is focused on rehabilitating tsunami affected communities and addressed basic human needs (e.g., shelter, food, water, sanitation, and health) of conflict affected persons in the northeast. UMCOR Sri Lanka’s operations are also active in economic recovery, community and social development and local institution building. The core of all of UM COR’s work is a shared approach to implement programs that encourage participants to take on ownership and act as project partners. Agriculture and Food Production UM COR is supporting the region’s agricultural industry by repairing the small-to- medium-sized reservoirs that were destroyed in the tsunami. UM COR, with the help of the M CSL, the district secretaries (government authorities) and the communities, has been repairing these reservoirs, clearing out drainage and irrigation channels which have been filled with silt. UM COR is also providing seeds and tools so that communities can once again become self sufficient in food and sell surpluses at a profit. Other agricultural projects include setting up a nursery so that farmers can access good quality seedlings with which to plant their harvest and agricultural training centers where farmers can learn the latest techniques in appropriate agriculture.

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Business Development, Cooperatives and Credit The tsunami virtually wiped out the fishing industry in eastern Sri Lanka and destroyed much of the coastal agricultural industry. UM COR Sri Lanka is working to revive the livelihoods of both agricultural and fishing communities. By working with local fishing societies, UM COR and M CSL were able to identify the communities’ priorities and implement appropriate projects such as clearing potential net destroying debris on the beach and underwater through paid work programs, providing materials for creating new fishing nets, constructing vadis (beach houses) so that fishermen have a temporary place to stay, and providing new boats for sea and lagoon fishing. Disaster and Emergency Relief Photo Courtesy Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and Hunger Program

Following the resurgence of conflict in 2006, UM COR, in partnership with MCSL, local government, UN agencies and other humanitarian aid organizations, assisted those fleeing the fighting. They provided emergency relief to approximately 100,000 people who left their homes to stay in welfare centers or with host families in the Batticaloa and Trincomalee districts. This assistance included providing food, hygiene supplies, and clothing; transportation for sick and disabled persons, and supporting a field hospital with medical equipment and supplies. When security conditions improved and these displaced families could voluntarily return home, UM COR assisted them again with the necessary supplies and provided materials to repair over 2,000 conflict-damaged homes. UM COR is also managing the "Sub-Grants for Humanitarian Assistance and Relief in Emergencies (SHARE)" Program, an emergency funding mechanism to enable humanitarian aid organizations to promptly deliver humanitarian assistance to populations affected by the renewal of armed conflict since 2006. Human Rights/Peace/Conflict Resolution UM COR is working with M CSL and M uslim Aid on religious reconciliation and is supporting the protection of children, youth and the internally displaced. UM COR is sponsoring grassroots seminars that bring together representatives of different faiths and communities to agree upon practical ways of encouraging peace and reconciliation at the national level. An international peace seminar to be hosted by the MCSL (with organizational, logistic, and financial support from UM COR Sri Lanka) is planned for early 2008. 63

UM COR has also started a major capacity building project with M CSL which will enhance the ability of the M CSL to implement relief and development programs without the support of UM COR thus providing UM COR with an equitable partner to which it can hand over projects in the future and exit the country. Rural Reconstruction and Development UM COR is building over 200 houses identified by M CSL and supported by the Government of Sri Lanka in the Batticaloa and Trincomalee areas, enabling more than 1,000 vulnerable tsunami and conflict affected people to have appropriate shelter. UM COR homes are of a consistently high standard, are earthquake resilient and have gained a reputation with communities and authorities alike for being of high quality in terms of participatory and vernacular design, owner participation and construction. Priority is given to assisting the most socio-economically vulnerable persons, such as single headed households; families with large numbers of children; households with sick, elderly, or disabled persons; and families that have remained displaced since the tsunami and are living in welfare centers, temporary shelters, or with friends and relatives. UM COR is repairing community infrastructure so that families can access clean water, sanitation, electricity, and improved roads. UM COR Sri Lanka has carried out a variety of small scale projects that have helped substantially improve thousands of lives, such as constructing semi-permanent classrooms and water and sanitation facilities for an elementary school in Batticaloa; development of a playground in Batticaloa for children attending the same elementary school; rehabilitation of the water supply network in Trincomalee so that families have access to potable water; and construction of access roads so that fishermen can more easily get to the sea and farmers can reach their paddy fields. Since 2005 UM COR Sri Lanka has received funding from such donors as the American Red Cross, Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund, Solidar, the United M ethodist Committee on Relief of the General Board of Global M inistries of the United M ethodist Church, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and the United States Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance. The generous support of these donors, totaling more than $15 million has enabled the Sri Lanka M ission to support the relief and longer term recovery of approximately 100,000 people directly impacted by the Indian Ocean tsunami and armed conflict in the northeast. UM COR Sri Lanka works cooperatively with a number of agencies including: Action by Churches Together, the Consortium of Humanitarian A gencies, the M ethodist Church of Sri Lanka, M uslim Aid, the Government of Sri Lanka and its ministries, departments and regional offices. S pecial Concerns Security concerns related to armed conflict in the regions where UM COR and its partners are operating are significant. Security issues have delayed some projects and have displaced some families receiving assistance.

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U.S. FUND FOR UNICEF U.S . Contact Richard Alleyne tel: 212.686.5522 [email protected]

Field Contact P.O. Box 143, Colombo, Sri Lanka tel: 94.11.255.5270 [email protected]

U.S . Fund for UNIC EF The U.S. Fund for UNICEF (USF) works for the survival, protection and development of children worldwide through education, advocacy and fundraising. The USF is one of 37 national committees that support UNICEF’s mission as well as its emergency relief and long-term efforts in Sri Lanka. US F in S ri Lanka UNICEF, together with its local, national and international partners, addresses the different needs of the Sri Lankan children as they grow into adults. The program starts from early childhood and progresses through the learning years to adolescence as each age group has specific needs that need to be met. This is supported by cross cutting the Water and Sanitation and the Child Protection Program which covers abuse, exploitation, child recruitment, mine-risk education and psychological care and support. UNICEF is also instrumental in tsunami response and recovery. The UNICEF response builds on the pre-tsunami priorities and interventions that have emerged as critical to an effective recovery from the disaster. Tsunami Recovery Program USF is providing funding for Disaster and Emergency relief programs to UNICEF in Sri Lanka. UNICEF is ensuring the provision of safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene, essential health and nutrition services, the restoration/provision of education, and the protection and psychosocial support of children and women in affected areas. Child S urvival and Development The key objectives of UNICEF’s Early Childhood and Development program are to build the knowledge and skills of caregivers in appropriate child care practices, improve access and quality of maternal and child health services, and to support national and sub-national capacity building to develop and implement health and nutrition programs. Trainings were conducted for more than 2,000 health service providers and over 6,500 volunteers to promote maternal and child care practices at the family and community level through home visits, outreach services, and parent groups. UNICEF supported mobile health services in sites located in Vaharai and Kilinochchi for Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) serving more than 28,000 IDP who did not have sufficient access to regular health services.

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WORLD CONCERN U.S . Contact Patty Howell Grants Administrator World Concern 19303 Fremont Ave. N. Seattle, WA 98133 tel: 206.546.7416 [email protected]

Field Contact Ian M cinnes World Concern Sri Lanka Country M anager No. 62-A M uhandiram E.D. Dabare M awatha Narahempita,Colombo 05 Sri Lanka tel: +94.0.11.250.8214 / 494.0046 [email protected]

Rhonda M anville Communications Officer tel: 206.546.7346 [email protected]

World Concern World Concern is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to providing life, opportunity, and hope in the most neglected and impoverished places on earth. World Concern has field workers and professionals in 18 countries, whose people are under siege by HIV/AIDS, hunger, natural disasters, oppression, war, and disease. World Concern in S ri Lanka In Sri Lanka, World Concern aims to improve the quality of life through increased access to permanent homes, essential infrastructure, water and sanitation facilities, livelihood support mechanisms and social care. In response to the December 26, 2004 tsunami, World Concern has been implementing the Tsunami Rapid Recovery Project in Sri Lanka, a two-year program that has increased access to permanent, safe shelter, clean drinking water and safe sanitation facilities, sustainable livelihood and culturally-affirming bereavement care for 10,000 families (approximately 50,000 people) affected by the tsunami. The project targeted four severely affected regions to alleviate suffering and restore hope and opportunity. Thousands of men, women and children in tsunami-affected communities on the coastal belt of Sri Lanka continue to suffer physically, emotionally, socially and environmentally. World Concern’s work is now focusing on increasing disposable income for tsunami-affected households, providing permanent housing, rebuilding infrastructure (water access, community road systems, drainage facilities) and organizing community building events to promote the formation of advocacy groups to improve joint access to government resources.

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World Concern programs fill sectors in disaster and emergency relief, health care (water and sanitation) and rural development. These programs are located in Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Ampara and Galle Districts and are funded by the American Red Cross, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Solidar, Tearfund UK, Volunteers of America and World Concern general donor constituency. This funding allows World Concern’s programs to reach 50,736 people, comprising 12,675 families per year at a dollar value of $3,575,817. World Concern engages in cooperative efforts with other local, international, or governmental agencies including Tearfund UK, American Red Cross and Volunteers of America in order to more efficiently implement its projects. During the last two years, the security environment has deteriorated significantly into a low-level war context, with an increase in forced business closures and violent attacks (grenades, bomb explosions, air strikes) related to the on-going civil/ethnic conflict. This has impacted World Concern’s work by limiting access to the field through repeated office closures or the need to keep staff in the office and away from field travel. Open field combat struggles occurred in two of their main program districts and successive bomb attacks (including aerial bombardment) took place in the capital area of Colombo. Watchfulness and animosity against INGOs in particular also increased, with additional layers of restrictions and permits put in place by national authorities. As a result of these conditions, and due in part to the tragic murder of a World Concern staff member from the Trincomalee District office in September 2006, work was limited/stopped entirely for an estimated 60 days. The context of insecurity, conflict and antiNGO sentiment has affected World Concern’s way of operating at the national and field levels.

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WORLD VISION U.S . Contact Rachel Wolff World Vision US P.O. Box 9716, Federal Way, WA 98063 tel: 253.815.2072; 253.394.2214 [email protected]

Field Contact Rajkumar Selwyndas Director Programs World Vision Lanka tel: +94.112691233; +94.777713447 [email protected] www.worldvision.org/press

World Vision World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender. Funding for the current year is approximately $1,400,000 from the US government, CIDA, DFID, AUSAID, NZAID, Government of Germany, UN agencies, and private sources. World Vision in S ri Lanka Resources come from many World Vision offices around the world, so this report includes information on the combined effort over the past six months, not only the efforts of World Vision US. World Vision has been operational in Sri Lanka since 1977, and exists as World Vision Lanka (WVL), a local NGO registered with the government. The primary operational model is that of area development programs (ADPs), which focus on multi-sectoral, communitydriven development over 12 to 15 year periods within the poorest communities of Sri Lanka. In addition, WV is implementing 8 tsunami-response projects in 8 administrative districts and 14 humanitarian and emergency response projects in 7 administration districts. World Vision is continuing its emergency response in many areas of Sri Lanka. Efforts in child protection, transitional shelters and mobile clinics continue in Jaffna, Kilinochchi, M adhu, and Batticaloa. Further efforts, such as food distribution are taking place in M ullaitivu and Trincomalee. Vavuniya also has a mobile medical clinic program. 5,500 are children under WV’s protection programs, while 10,000 direct beneficiaries and 5,000 caregivers are reached by WV’s mobile medical clinics. In addition, 7,000 families benefit from water distribution and more than 7,000 people are recipients of food assistance.

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