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 [email protected] 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: [email protected]
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