The Government of Japan has made a donation in kind of 3,175 tonnes of rice for the newly displaced people in North and East areas of Sri Lanka. The official handing over ceremony was held at Orugodawatte Warehouse on 27th April 2007. H.E. Mr. Kiyoshi Araki, Ambassador of Japan, Mr. J.R.W. Dissanayake, Secretary, Mr. R. Tharmakulasingham, Addl. Secretary of the Ministry of Nation Building & Estate Infrastructure Development, Mr. Lalith Abeygunawardana, Director General, Presidential Secretariat and Mr. Jeff Taft-Dick, Representative & Country Director of WFP Sri Lanka were present on the occasion. This assistance in kind by the Government of Japan will be implemented through the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).
The first consignment - a shipment carrying 422 tonnes of rice - has already arrived at the Colombo Port on 9th of April and the first dispatch from the shipment has been delivered to the displaced people in Batticaloa. The remaining consignments of the 3,175 tonnes of rice will be arriving within a few weeks. Most of the donation will be used for the displaced people in the Batticaloa district.
The Japanese Government assistance, valued at 200 million Yen (approximately Rs. 180 million), will help to alleviate the burden of thousands of displaced people who had to leave their homes due to the deteriorating security situation.
The Japanese Government is very much concerned about the restoration of the livelihood of displaced people in the North and East. Last December, the Japanese Government provided assistance for 10,000 displaced people with 10,000 sleeping mats, 10,000 water containers and 4,000 plastic sheets through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).