THE

Join hands for humanity

October 2012

IN THIS ISSUE

HUMANITARIAN

PAGE—2

FSD CELEBRATES ITS 10TH

YEAR ANNIVERSARY IN SRI

LANKA

PAGE—3

HUMANITARIAN NEEDS

KARACHI DS DIVISION, KILLI-

NOCHCHI DISTRICT

PAGE—4

USEFUL WEB LINKS

The

Velankulam and several surrounding villages in

Vavuniya were significantly affected by the

conflict. People living in these villages faced

displacement since the very beginning of conflict and

returned to their village to find their homes and be-

longings completely destroyed. At

present, around 1500 resettled villagers live in

Velankulam in a small hamlet of transition shelters.

They have access to very basic and limited facilities.

Even though the families strive to restart their lives,

the bread winners find it difficult to provide for the

increasing needs of the family. Most often the income

of one person is not adequate to purchase their bare

necessities. Housewives too could contribute towards

the family income if they are given self employment

opportunities that permit

them to operate from their

homes whilst looking after

their young children.

Rebuilding war shattered

communities is a key initiative

of Alliance Development Trust

(ADT). Through its Community

Development Education (CDE)

programme, ADT conducted a

02 day training programme

on food preservation for the

women of Velankulam village.

This programme aimed at em-

powering the participants

through self employment. 40

women both housewives and young adults attended

this programme on 16th and 17th October.

A live demonstration on how to make jams, chutneys

and pickles was conducted for the participants. They

were further instructed on how they could use

resources that grow in their own village and home

gardens. The programme was conducted by Guru Nithi

Kanagaratnam, an Agriculture Specialist.

An ADT Livelihood Initiative for under privileged communities

Participants at the workshop on Food Preserving

THE HUMANITARIAN

Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) in Sri Lanka

deploys committed, professional and high-performing

humanitarian demining actors to support and

strengthen the goal of creating a mine and explosive

remnants of war free environment in support of the

resettlement and development programmes of the

Government of Sri Lanka. As at end of August FSD

deploys more than 400 members, who are motivated

and ready to save a lives.

“The aim hasn’t changed, but our role has broadened

over the years, to support approximately 75,000

beneficiaries” says Hartmut Thoms, the Country

Programme Manager in Sri Lanka. With continued

generous support from the respected donors, FSD

Sri Lanka has successfully destroyed over 97,000

antipersonnel mines, 18,300 items of unexploded

ordnance, 48 Anti tank mines and 314,500 explosive

remnants of war and have cleared approximately

35Km² of land for community development in the

most landmine/ERW contaminated regions of Sri

Lanka (Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Mannar, Vavuniya,

Mullaitivu and Jaffna). Currently, FSD mine clearance

activities focus on Vavuniya, Mannar and Mullaitivu

Districts, on releasing land that is also contributing to

poverty reduction, income generation and improved

livelihood. Hence agricultural land, irrigation areas and

land that could be used for off-farm activities will be

given priority.

FSD has made over 2,000 water wells mine threat free

for the returnees over the past two years. The Com-

munity Liaison

teams provided

socio-economic

support for

vulnerable

populations by

reducing the

risk of injury

from mines and

unexploded ord-

nance by raising

awareness and

promoting

behavioural change through public-information

campaigns, education and training, and liaison with

communities in FSD areas of responsibility.

On 12 October 2012, FSD celebrated the anniversary

of an exceptional performance by a team of 9

Community Liaison officers who have organized a

Prize giving ceremony for inter-schools mine risk

awareness competitions which was held on Friday, 12

October 2012, in Vidyananda College in Mulliyawelei

GN in Mullaitivu District. The theme of the

competition is “Stay Safe – Bright future” covering the

entries of essay writing, songs, speech, short story

writing, rearranging sentences and dramas within 12

schools in Puthukudiyerippu and Maritimepattu DS

Divisions in Mullaitivu District. 345 students who have

obtained 1st, 2nd and 3rd places were honored by

certificates, gold, silver and bronze medals and

trophies.

FSD would like to extend its gratitude to the Chief

Guest, Government Agent Mullaitivu, Mr. Vedhanaya-

ham and other special guests Brigadier Ehelamalpe,

Mr. Martin Studer, Deputy Country Director Swiss

Development Cooperation and Mr. Davide Vignati

First Secretary Political, Embassy of Switzerland and all

our partners, principals, teachers, parents and stu-

dents.

FSD is proud to mark this day, and congratulates the

amazing national team in Sri Lanka. FSD would like to

thanks all its current and previous donors namely U.S

(Continued on page 3)

FSD CELEBRATES ITS 10TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY IN SRI LANKA

Students participated at the stage drama Prize giving ceremony

THE HUMANITARIAN

Humanitarian Needs Humanitarian need assessment was conducted by CHA team at Karachi DS division, Killinochchi District. Prioritized issues

for the community:

No Village Toilets Drinking water Livelihoods

1 Ampakkulam ×

2 Skanthapuram × ×

3 Maniyankulam ×

4 Ponnakar Central ×

5 Uruththirapuram west ×

6 Selvanagar ×

7 Iraththinpuram ×

8 Maruthanagar preschool ×

9 Akkarayan East ×

No Trainings needed for community Villages

1 Coir works and industry Kanagapuram, Iraththinapuram, Solai

2 Fruit juice production Vinayakapuram

3 Sandal sticks production Many villages

4 Sewing trainings Killinochchi, Uruththirapuram

5 Palmyra handicrafts Killinochchi

Department of State, Government of Japan, AusAID,

ECHO, Swiss Development Cooperation, Rotary Club,

IOM, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, German

Ministry Foreign Affairs, and UKAID. “The

combination of operational support and active stra-

tegic partnerships forms the basis of our efforts to

promote a well organized, accountable and effective

delivery of humanitarian assistance” concludes

Hartmut Thoms.

FSD CELEBRATES (Continued from page 2)

Drought, then cyclone wreaks havoc on vulnerable communities

Since December last year Sri Lanka has been waiting for rains that finally arrived last month. Adding to the prob-lems caused by the drought, Cyclone Nilam hit the island last week, affecting over 50,000 people and displacing close to 5,000 across the island.

Usually rain is welcome after a long period of drought, but this time they brought floods and landslides, worsen-ing the situation for farmers and communities who have endured the drought. However, the rainfall is insuffi-cient to ease the dry conditions or allow for crop planting in all drought-affected areas.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has launched a one million Swiss

Franc appeal to help the Sri Lanka Red Cross support 20,000 vulnerable families (or approximately 125,000 peo-

ple).

For more details : http://reliefweb.int/report/sri-lanka/drought-then-cyclone-wreaks-havoc-vulnerable-

communities

THE HUMANITARIAN

The Newsletter is an effort to illustrate the work of the humanitarian community, including doubts and criticism, for

humanitarian audiences. Circulated to I/NGOs, the civil society, Government agencies, private sector, donors, and

diplomatic missions. The newsletter covers agency activities, interviews with Heads of agencies, CKC updates, district activi-

ties, and advocacy initiatives.

We hope The Humanitarian newsletter would give wide publicity for development agencies’ projects and programs. We

invite your feedback and suggestions to improve the quality of this work and your contributions in different sections of

upcoming editions to expand its outreach and purpose. Please contact us on 4626100 ext 135 or infoanalyst@cha.lk for

further information With Our Best Wishes

The Humanitarian Team

Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies (Gte) Ltd.

No. 86, Rosmead Place, Colombo 07, Sri Lanka. Tel/Fax: +94-11-4626100 E-mail: info@cha.lk

USEFUL WEB LINKS

Joint Humanitarian and Early Recovery Update, Sri Lanka, September 2012

This report indicates the UN and NGO partner response to continuing humanitarian needs and early recovery

concerns, in support to the Sri Lankan Government’s efforts to rebuild the former conflict-affected regions. Ac-

tivities show progress towards the sectoral priorities and goals described in the 2011 Joint Plan for Assistance.

Download link : http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/LKRN065_JHERU_September.pdf

The Market Monitor - Trends of staple food prices in vulnerable countries, Issue 17 - October 2012

This bulletin examines trends in staple food and fuel prices, the cost of the basic food basket, terms of trade and

consumer price indices for 70 countries in the third quarter of 2012 (July to September, Q3-2012). The issue

contains also a special focus on countries most vulnerable to the tightening of the global grain markets.

Download link : http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/wfp252036.

UNDAC Disaster Response Preparedness Assessment Mission to Sri Lanka – 12-25 Nov 2011

Download link : http://www.hpsl.lk/docs/UNDAC_SL_Report_Final_Email.pdf

Islandwide Water Level Situation in Major Rivers

Download link : http://www.dmc.gov.lk/attchments/Islandwide%20Water%20Level%20Situation%20in%

20Major%20Rivers.pdf

Distribution of Notification(H399) Dengue Cases by Month

Web link : http://www.epid.gov.lk/web/index.php?option=com_casesanddeaths&Itemid=448&lang=en

Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into Housing Sector in Sri Lanka

Download link : http://www.dmc.gov.lk/Publications/housing_SL.pdf