Tsunami One Year on: Sri Lanka
28/12/2005
SOS TSUNAMI RELIEF WORK IN SRI LANKA
Southern and Eastern Sri Lanka were very badly hit by the waves last Christmas. SOS Children was the first aid organisation to reach many of the affected people. We are still supporting these people today and will continue to do so for years to come. SOS Children has so far rebuilt 1,014 houses, with the first homes handed over in June this year. When we rebuild villages, we also restore the infrastructure: electricity, water and sewerage facilities.
Over 7,000 children in Sri Lanka are benefiting from the SOS Family Strengthening Programmes, which offer health check-ups, medicines, and day care. In Iraalodai, on the East coast, we provided 128 families who lost their livelihoods with start-up grants to help them rebuild their lives and be independent once more.
Many children were orphaned by the tsunami, and we are constructing a new SOS Children’s Village to provide a loving home for 120 children. Youth homes will be built in five years’ time, to accommodate the children as they grow older. A location for the Children’s Village is currently being finalised and the first children will move into their new home in 2007. An SOS Social Centre will be located near the village, which will provide health advice and counselling to people from the local community.
Over 2,340 families every year will benefit from the 10 SOS Medical Centres that will be built in Sri Lanka, meaning that children and parents will be healthier. Six SOS Adult Training Centres, which will give skills education to 150 people, will help the region’s economy grow again.
This article is part of the tsunami one year on review.
Relevant Countries: Sri Lanka.