By Damitha Chanaka – Assistant Programme Officer of Disaster Management Unit of Sri Lanka Red Cross
10/04/2012 – Welioya, Anuradhapura: Residents of Monarawewa and Gajabapura villages in Welioya will now have access to clean water as the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society’s (SLRCS) Anuradhapura Branch launched a massive well cleaning programme in these respective villages.
Many wells were cleaned during a four-day programme, which will benefit over 164 families living in these areas.
by Mahieash Johnney – IFRC Communications Manager in Sri Lanka
05/04/2012 – Menik Farm, Northern Sri Lanka: The Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS) has taken immediate steps to provide much needed aid to the victims of the mini cyclone that swept across the Menik Farm Internally Displaced Camp in Vavuniya.
With permission from security forces personnel manning the Menik Farm camp SLRCS lorries were taken inside the camps to provide relief to 375 families still living within the camp.
In December 2010, Youth as Agents of Behavioural Change (YABC) training was conducted in Vavuniya through the Red Cross Post Conflict Recovery programme (RC PCRP). Inspired by this training was the Volunteers in Action (VIA) programme which sought to use YABC as a means of providing young people with the opportunity to inspire positive change in their communities.
Walioya, Sri Lanka – 27/02/2012: 200 families in the Walioya, Gajabapura&Monarawawa in the Mullativu district received non food relief items from the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society recently.
These families were in dire situation due to the inability to engage in livelihood activities after being relocated to these areas. These villages were battle zones in the conflict between the government & the LTTE in the recent past.
04/03/2012 – Ampara, Sri Lanka: As a pilot project Sri Lanka Red Cross Society implemented IDRR project with the funding support of German Red Cross. This project differs from other DRR projects because it highly considers the Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security.
Project is implemented in Ampara, Uhana and Thirukkovil DS divisions for selected six communities and six schools. Among the special features of the IDRR project followings are exceptional,
By Mahieash Johnney & Zafran Packeerally of IFRC/SLRCS Communications in Colombo, Sri Lanka
03/03/2012 – Thalayadi, Sri Lanka: Thalayadi is a village located in the northern tip of Sri Lanka in the Jaffna Peninsula. The village comprises of fishermen and laborers who are in the lowest spectrum of poverty living their day-to-day lives and working hard in order to build a better future.
These people have faced a 30-year-old conflict, a tsunami, floods, cyclones, droughts and severe drinking water shortages in recent times.
By Naveendra Senarathna & Mahieash Johnney of SLRCS/IFRC Communications
04/02/2012 Thoppur, Sri Lanka: Since the conflict in Sri Lanka came to an end there is a massive development phase that is been rolled out in all parts of the country. As of now high ways, tallest towers, new roads, electricity, water, and other essential services are being established in areas where guns and mortars were experienced for over 30 years.
President of the SLRCS Jagath Abeysinghe handing over a rescue boat to the Divisional Secretary of Thawalama
18/01/2012 – Galle, Sri Lanka: According to Early Warning System audit reports, it is evident that the knowledge on risk reduction is very low among communities, those who are living in disaster prone areas in the Gin ganga basin.
11 January 2012 , By - David Brown, Asia Manager for Australian Red Cross
The war is over but now the people of Sri Lanka have the hard task of rebuilding their lives and homes. David Brown, Asia Manager for Australian Red Cross, writes about his personal experiences visiting people who are benefiting from the Red Cross cash grant scheme.
By M. Zafran Packeerally, Communications Officer, IFRC, Colombo
The newly built medical ward, surgical ward and the doctors’ quarters at the Chavakachcheri Base Hospital in Jaffna was vested to the public yesterday (19th Dec).
(27.09.2011 Colombo, Sri Lanka) “I wish to draw your urgent attention to a matter which causes me great alarm…the continuing suffering of the thousands of peoples living in the North and East, today, mainly due to the unfortunate lack of enthusiasm and disappointing response of the international community to their plight”
This was stated by Jagath Abeysinghe, President of the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society, in an Appeal to the International community for greater assistance for the reconstruction efforts of the North.
by Mahieash Johnney in Colombo, Zafran Packeerally & Navindra Senaratne in Ampara, Eastern Sri Lanka
The Water and Sanitation and the Hygiene promotion programme of the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society supported by the International Federation of Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies vested in the public in Ampara, Eastern Sri Lanka today. (27th July 2011).
The programme provides clean drinking water to over 10,000 schoolchildren in 27 schools in the Ampara district.
By Zafran Packeerally – Red Cross Communications Officer in Sri Lanka
Building a house is a dream for many, but most especially so for those living in the district of Killinochchi. The decade long conflict shattered everything they had. Lives, property... everything.
Rebuilding their lives was not an easy task for them. Bitter memories still haunt many, including 47 year old Kanthasamy Ravichandran.
A Red Cross Project to construct a new building complex for the Padaviya Base Hospital in Anuradhapura was launched yesterday. (2nd June)
The foundation stone for the proposed building complex was laid with the presence of many dignitaries.
The proposed building will house an outdoor patients unit, wards complex, Administrative office, and public toilets with the financial assistance of 40 million Rupees from the European Union and the German Red Cross.
By Navindra Senaratne – Media Coordinator of Sri Lanka Red Cross Society
The recent wave of flooding in Sri Lanka caused severe damages to paddy land almost destroying nearly 400,000 acres of paddy land in 7 Districts in the North, North-western, and Eastern Provinces.The livelihoods of farmers living in these were severely affected and the floods put their livelihood at risk.
In this backdrop the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS) launched its Post Flood Recovery Programme and took steps to restore their livelihoods and to support them to restore their lives.
By Zafran Packeerally – Red Cross Communications Officer in Sri Lanka
Ampara, Sri Lanka - The dengue epidemic still remains a major health hazard in many parts of the island. Consorted efforts are being made by the government health authorities, public and private organizations, and schools among others by extending their fullest support towards achieving the goals of National Dengue prevention program launched by the Ministry of Health.
School children at the Sri Ramakirshna
College in Alayadiwembu, Ampara greeting guests at the opening ceremony
Alayadiwembu, Ampara, Sri Lanka - Over
5000 school children in Alayadiwembu, Ampara, in Eastern Sri Lanka were
fortunate to get access to safe drinking water on the 22nd of March 2011,
coinciding with World Water Day.
This feat was achieved by the Red Cross
Ampara Water Supply Project & Hygiene Promotion Programme which managed
to give water to 7 schools in the area.
By Zafran Packeerally, Red Cross Communications
Officer in Sri Lanka
Olluvil, Ampara, Sri Lanka. - "People
in this area had to drink unhygienic water from wells and other water bodies
which in the rainy season were contaminated due to floods. Due to this
we are always sick. Thanks to the Red Cross WatSan project we now get clean
healthy drinking water. Our health is not at risk now...."
This is the testimony of 46 year old
Sithy Umma, mother of five who lives in Olluvil 04, Ampara, in Eastern
Sri Lanka. Like her, most of the families that live in the community do
By Ganga Kariyawasam - IFRC Snr. Officer,
Monitoring & Reporting (PCRP)
The villagers of Krishnapuram in Kilinochchi
had to undergo severe hardships when they began to rebuild their lives
soon after a 25 year old conflict.
They left the village in June 2008 due
influx of the armed conflict between the government military forces of
Sri Lanka and the LTTE pushing them towards displacement. They resettled
back in the village in March 2010, where everything was devastated and
abandoned.
