International Organization for Migration

Sri Lanka: Tsunami Response Programme Situation Report # 49 International Organization for 1 September 2005 – 15 September2005 Migration Transitional Housing

To date, with funding from Japan, ECHO and Greece, IOM has provided transitional housing for 3,766 families who lost their homes in the tsunami. In the first weeks of September, 325 houses were completed. An additional 518 are currently in various stages of construction.

Transitional housing is designed to last between two and four years while permanent housing is finalized. All IOM transitional houses meet the minimum standards set by the Sri Lankan government. They typically include a two-room indoor living areas of 200 sq ft, a covered kitchen area of 30 sq ft and a 70 sq ft covered

IOM transitional housing site in , district. veranda.

During the reporting period, IOM received requests to build more than 1,000 additional transitional houses in three eastern districts.

In , IOM finished a survey in 16 emergency settlements to identify remaining housing needs. IOM agreed to provide transitional housing for approximately 400 families identified through the survey and is currently sourcing land on which to build. In addition, IOM received requests to take responsibility for the construction of some 200 houses originally pledged by other agencies.

In , the Transitional Accommodation Project (TAP) office and several Divisional Secretary (DS) offices asked IOM to build approximately 400 additional houses. Land has been allocated and IOM is in the process of verifying beneficiary lists.

In , the Kunchchaveli DS asked IOM to build transitional houses for 69 families in Pudavaikattu.

In total, IOM has now received requests to build some 5,500 transitional houses in seven tsunami-affected districts. At present, land has been allocated for approximately 5,100.

Total no. of No. of transitional Total no. of transitional transit. District houses completed houses currently under houses completed during the reporting construction to date period Gampaha 14 52

IOM Colombo 32

1, Police Park Kalutara 4 40 404 Place / 31, Police Matara 14 3 224 Park Avenue, Colombo 05 Ampara 209 275 1,516 Batticaloa 84 35 1,086 Tel: 11 535/536 1941 Trincomalee 71 452 Fax: 11 5340401 Total 325 424 3,766 E-mail: [email protected] 1 www..iom.int/tsunami

During the reporting period, the TAP asked IOM to provide kerosene lanterns for transitional houses located in areas with no connection to the national electricity grid. IOM is currently procuring 12,000 lanterns, while a remaining 6,000 will be provided by UNICEF.

UN Deputy Special Envoy visits IOM sites

On 3 – 4 September, the UN Deputy Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery, Mr. Eric Schwartz, visited several IOM transitional housing sites in Kalutara and Matara districts. Mr. Schwartz met with residents, attended a livelihood ceremony, and observed and participated in some of the psychosocial activities for residents at the sites.

Water & Sanitation / Care and Maintenance

On 9 September, 2005 IOM signed a US$ Mr. Schwartz visits IOM housing site in Matara 500,000 agreement with World Vision (WV). WV will fund IOM activities to improve vital water and sanitation services for transitional settlements in Ampara and Kalutara districts. Activities include construction and cleaning of wells, waste disposal, provision of water and sanitation systems, and ensuring adequate drainage systems. In addition, the project includes components to help educate people about healthy hygiene habits and training for residents to maintain water and sanitation systems in their communities.

IOM's shelter programme is now placing increased emphasis on care and maintenance of transitional housing sites. This will ensure that all families in transitional housing, as well as surrounding communities, have secure and healthy environments in which to rebuild their livelihoods, develop their skills, and address their daily needs without having to rely on ongoing aid.

At present IOM provides management services for tsunami survivors at over 30 emergency camps and transitional housing sites in seven districts. This includes ensuring adequate water supplies, drainage systems, garbage disposal and other services. IOM supports communities to establish Camp Management Committees (CMC). The CMCs make management decisions, which IOM helps to implement. The aim is to assist residents to manage their own communities in the longer term.

During the reporting period, IOM agreed to fund 12 technicians to work for TAP offices in Young girls outside their transitional homes built by IOM in Kalutara Colombo, Kalutara, Galle, Hambantota, Ampara, Batticaloa and Trincomalee districts. The technicians, who are part of TAP's upgrading and camp care and maintenance IOM Sri Lanka programme will help assess needs and improve conditions at transitional housing sites. In addition, TAP is in the process of appointing site monitors to work in transitional settlements 1, Police Park Place / 31, Police with more than 100 houses. IOM agreed to fund and support the estimated 125 site monitors Park Avenue, needed for the project. Colombo 05 Livelihood Restoration and Development Tel: 11 535/536 1941 Fax: 11 5340401 To date, with funding from ECHO, USAID and Greece, IOM has initiated livelihood projects E-mail: to provide direct assistance to 1,574 tsunami-affected families who lost their source of [email protected] income during the tsunami. IOM replaces lost or damaged tools and equipment, provides www..iom.int/tsunami 2 stock and other supplies, and conducts training programmes and business management schemes.

In the first half of September, IOM began direct livelihood projects with 151 people. Activities included help for 17 mobile vendors to restart their businesses in Ampara district. In Trincomalee district, IOM assisted 14 cattle rearers and nine goat rearers. Livestock distribution is undertaken with the assistance of the department of Animal Production and Health (APH), which examines all animals and provides health clearance. The APH will also provide training in animal husbandry for the beneficiaries.

In addition to direct livelihood assistance, IOM also started four new projects in partnership with Local Community Organisations (LCOs);

In Trincomalee, IOM worked in collaboration with the organization Multi Ethnic Community Development to launch a project to provide 41 tsunami-affected farmers with bullocks and bullock carts. In Batticaloa district, IOM began a project with the Beacon of the East Social Service Organization (BESSO) to support 100 beneficiaries engaged in goat-farming. The project includes distribution of livestock, training in goat husbandry, as well as training in business management.

In Ampara district, IOM partnered with the Pottuvil Dairy Co-operative Society and Janasaviya Agricultural Dairy Society to launch a project to support the 330 members of the cooperatives. The project includes provision of superior buffalos and cattle to improve the local cattle gene pool, various equipment, and training in cattle rearing and breeding techniques.

In Matara, IOM started a project with the Social Economic and Environmental Development Organization (SEEDO). The project provides 150 youths with vocational training in plumbing, electrical wiring, tile laying and other related professions. Through the project, the participants are also provided with toolkits and assisted in finding job-placements. In addition, the project is supporting 100 widows to establish home-based businesses in areas such as curd making, fresh fish frying, and sale of roasted nuts. Beneficiaries are provided with raw materials, entrepreneurship training, and English language training for business operators in tourist areas.

To date, IOM has entered into livelihood partnerships with 10 NGOs/CBOs in six districts. IOM expects that by the end of 2005, approximately 2,000 tsunami-affected families will have benefited from assistance provided through these projects.

Back in Business…

As the sun rises over the town of Muttur in Trincomalee district on Sri Lanka’s east coast, 65-year-old Daoud is already hard at work rebuilding his livelihood, after losing his home and his means of making a living in last December’s tsunami.

At dawn he rises to prepare hot porridge, and before long he’s pushing a cart laden with steaming dishes of gruel through an

IOM camp, where his extended family has been sheltering

since their homes were destroyed by towering waves.

In addition to supplying shelter, IOM helped Daoud get back on his feet by providing a sturdy cart, bowls, glasses, cooking equipment, and supplies for his mobile porridge business.

His home cooked meals are in hot demand among the camp residents and local townspeople, and Daoud says he’s earning more now than he did before the tsunami. 3 Psychosocial Activities

IOM continues to implement psychosocial activities in seven tsunami-affected districts. The psychosocial programme benefits more than 25,000 people living in transitional settlements and surrounding communities. The programme is funded by Japan, Korea, USAID, Poland and various private contributors.

Psychosocial activities include but are not limited to:

¾ IOM psychosocial mobilizers have conducted more than 50 workshops in transitional communities concerning issues such as mental health, substance abuse, child protection and youth issues. ¾ IOM has worked closely with tsunami affected communities to establish approximately 16 pre-schools, 15 playgrounds, 15 youth clubs, 20 camp care committees, 10 tea centres, 10 sports clubs and various other activities, which strengthen community bonds and re-establishe a sense of normality in peoples' lives. ¾ IOM continuously provides and supports recreational activities in tsunami-affected communities. Activities have included 18 Interactive acrobatic/juggling shows, 13 interactive puppet shows, 20 film screenings, 11 children's days/festivals, 5 music concerts and various other performances and cultural events. ¾ IOM provides daily delivery of newspapers to 44 emergency camps / transitional housing sites, benefiting approximately 10,000 people. ¾ IOM currently supports 43 pre-school teachers and 16 family support workers, to work in IOM supported transitional communities. Most of these workers are tsunami- affected and reside in IOM transitional housing themselves.

Tsunami Survivors Band Together to Make Music

Young people made homeless in the tsunami joined together on Wednesday, September 7, to enjoy musical performances at Kallady in Eachchilampattu DS Division in Trincomalee District.

More than 20 young people now living at IOM transitional housing sites in Kallady and nearby Ilangaithurai staged a recital to display their newly developed musical skills.

The young people had received instruments from IOM's partner organization, the local NGO Voluntary Organization for Vulnerable Communities Development (VOVCOD), while staff from VOVCOD and IOM provided training and instruction for members of the youth bands.

The young residents performed a variety of dances, while elders and adult musicians also joined in the campfire recital.

More than 250 residents and people from the neighboring community participated in the event.

Health

IOM health staff conducted a nutritional survey in IOM supported emergency camps and transitional settlements in Ampara district. The survey covered 209 children under five years of age. The children were weighed and measured to identify any nutritional problems. The majority of the data fell within the normal range identified for Sri Lanka.

4 In Batticaloa district on 10 September, IOM held a health education workshop at the Onthachimadam transitional housing site constructed by IOM for 282 families in Kaluwanchikudy DS division. The workshop included training and interactive discussions on issues relating to hygiene and physical and mental health.

On 6 September in Trincomalee district, IOM, in coordination with the Department of Health, organized a day-long nutritional deficiency awareness and eradication programme at a transitional housing site built by IOM for 161 families in Kallady. The programme was run by an IOM community health surveillance officer and other IOM staff together with a medical doctor, two public health inspectors, six public health midwives, two representatives from the Association of Medical Doctors of Asia (AMDA) and nine health volunteers. The programme covered 91 children under the age of five and 68 mothers, as well as 76 young school children living at the site.

Activities included; nutritional assessments, distribution of vitamin supplements, hygiene promotion, dental hygiene and distribution of basic hygiene kits, demonstrations on how to prepare supplementary food items such as corn soya, distribution of thiriposa and corn soya supplements to mothers of young children, and basic health checks for school children, including delousing. A separate "baby clinic" weighed, provided growth charts and immunization for children under five. In addition, all beneficiaries were given de- worming medication.

Top: School children are taught about dental hygiene. Bottom: Children under five were weighed and given growth charts.

Counter – Trafficking

IOM works to prevent human trafficking in tsunami-affected areas through an awareness- raising campaign, which focuses on the risks of trafficking, including sexual exploitation and abuse and HIV/AIDS, livelihood assistance to extremely vulnerable families and psychosocial training and activities.

Activities In the first half of September included:

Awareness-Raising Activities: In Matara, IOM held a workshop on 8 September, for tsunami-affected young people who are about to graduate or leave school. The workshop included information on counter- IOM Sri Lanka trafficking, safe migration and HIV/AIDS, as well as vocational training opportunities. A total of 103 girls and 13 boys participated in the workshop. 1, Police Park Place / 31, Police Park Avenue, Psychosocial Activities: Colombo 05 The counter trafficking programme supports psychosocial training and activities in eight tsunami-affected districts. A major objective is to build the capacity of local staff working in Tel: 11 535/536 humanitarian, development, social and health fields to provide psychosocial assistance. 1941 Fax: 11 5340401 E-mail: [email protected] 5 www..iom.int/tsunami From 5 – 9 September, IOM led five one-day mental health and psychosocial awareness workshops for SewaLanka, local IOM field staff, and others in . The workshops, which were conducted by an IOM international mental health nurse and a community health surveillance officer, raised awareness among NGO psychosocial staff and public health workers on mental health issues, child psychosocial development, coping skills, basic human needs, and substance abuse. A total of 138 people participated in the workshops, including also local hospital staff and other public health workers as well as psychosocial and health volunteers from various NGOs from Vavuniya and Mannar districts.

Livelihood support: To date, IOM’s counter-trafficking programme has provided livelihood support to some 550 households identified as single-headed or otherwise extremely vulnerable. Some families are directly assisted by IOM, while others are supported through partnerships with local women-focused NGOs, including the Nawimana South Rural Development Foundation in and Pacific Asia Resource Centre (PARC) in Jaffna.

Women at work in …

Ninety women from three hard hit fishing villages in Jaffna district are benefiting from a project being conducted by IOM in partnership with the Japanese NGO Pacific Asia Resource Centre. Thirty-one of these women are the main breadwinners for their families. Since its launch on June 1, women involved in the project have received technical training and education about hygienic dry fish processing techniques. The women are trained in cutting, cleaning and drying processes, and also receive business training. Training is conducted by the Department of Fisheries and Nautical Engineering and PARC advisors.

Women participating in the project are encouraged to establish groups to jointly conduct fish processing, bulk

purchasing and marketing. Their fish products are sold to small local retailers, supermarkets and wholesalers.

Disaster Risk Management

On 20 September IOM, in collaboration with the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC), organized a consultative meeting on community-level disaster preparedness and public awareness. Participants from the , NGOs, and UNDP shared experiences in implementing disaster risk management programmes in Sri Lanka, and identified recommendations for future local-level disaster preparedness and public awareness.

IOM is partnering with ADPC to conduct disaster risk management activities. During the reporting period, a disaster management expert from ADPC arrived in Sri Lanka to help assess gaps and needs in the existing disaster risk management mechanism and to identify IOM Sri Lanka areas in which IOM's involvement would be most beneficial. ADPC is working to produce a

1, Police Park project document for IOM concerning future activities in disaster risk management. Place / 31, Police Park Avenue, Registration and Information Management Colombo 05

Tel: 11 535/536 On 9 September, IOM signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Presidential 1941 Secretariat to officially launch a project to register the approximately one million Sri Lankans Fax: 11 5340401 affected by the tsunami. The project will track assistance delivered to devastated E-mail: communities and manage all associated information. [email protected] 6 www..iom.int/tsunami With funding from ECHO, IOM will provide financial and technical support to establish a national database centre to be located at the Presidential Secretariat, and standardized, computerized information management centres (IMCs) in 13 districts. In addition, IOM will provide training for government officials and all associated personnel in conducting surveys, collecting and entering information, and maintenance of the database and IMCs.

IOM Chief of Operations, Mr. C. Gascon and Secretary to the President, Mr. W.J.S. Karunaratne signed a MOU on 9 September.

Transport Activities

During the first half of September, trucks were dispatched 49 times to IOM construction sites and IOM supported camps and communities. Cargo included various building materials, such as timber, roofing sheets, doors and windows, as well as different tools and materials needed for livelihood projects. In addition, IOM leased six trucks with a trailer capacity for a 20ft container to transport cement boards to Ampara district.

Since the tsunami, IOM has been providing transport assistance to government agencies, IOs, NGOs and other donors operating in tsunami-affected areas, without cost to the recipients.

In the reporting period, IOM trucks were dispatched 134 times on behalf of other agencies. Transport assistance included:

• 72 trucks transported medicines and medical equipment from Colombo Medical Supplies Division and Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) to warehouses in Colombo and to tsunami-affected areas throughout the country for the Ministry of Health. • A total of 24 trucks transported cement, plywood and roofing sheets to Ampara, Batticaloa and Trincomalee for UNHCR. • 15 trucks transported boats to Trincomalee and Ampara, and cement to Hambantota for CARE International. • Eight trucks transported various relief items to Matara district on behalf of the Prime Minister's Office. • Seven trucks carried cement to Matara for the Task Force for Rebuilding the Nation (TAFREN). • A total of six trucks carrying plastic bins and small motorbikes (mopeds) were dispatched to Galle, Matara, and Negombo for the Central Environmental Authority. IOM Sri Lanka • IOM supplied10 mopeds to the Central Environmental Authority. The mopeds are 1, Police Park provided on a one year basis to transport personnel within tsunami-affected areas. Place / 31, Police • Two trucks transported fertilizer to Trincomalee district for Action Contre La Faim. Park Avenue, • One truck transported medical equipment to Batticaloa for Merlin. Colombo 05 • IOM supplied10 mopeds to the Central Environmental Authority. The mopeds are Tel: 11 535/536 provided on a one year basis to transport personnel within tsunami-affected areas. 1941 Fax: 11 5340401 E-mail: [email protected] 7 www..iom.int/tsunami Timber Transportation IOM is providing logistical support and transportation for a large timber shipment donated by OXFAM Australia.

During the reporting period IOM leased 110 prime movers, each with trailer capacity for a 40ft container. A total of 104 prime movers were used to transport timber containers from Colombo seaport to the container yard at Ceylon Shipping Lines, which is used as a logistical centre and main dispatch area. Four timber containers were transported to Ampara for GOAL and two containers were transported to Batticaloa on behalf of Caritas.

FUNDS RECEIVED

The IOM Tsunami Response Program in Sri Lanka has received generous contributions from:

The Government of Japan, Greece, ECHO, USAID, World Vision, Portugal, South Korea, China, Poland and various Private Donors.

IOM Sri Lanka

1, Police Park Place / 31, Police Park Avenue, Colombo 05

Tel: 11 535/536 1941 Fax: 11 5340401 E-mail: [email protected] 8 www..iom.int/tsunami