Caritas Sri Lanka - SEDEC

Unwavering in its commitment to serve the thousands affected by natural and man-made disasters, Caritas Sri Lanka SEDEC, through its National Centre and Diocesan Centres island wide, continued with its sustained effort to deliver relief aid and rehabilitation measures to those who, even one and a half years after the war ended in the north, still find themselves living in tragic situations in different parts of the country without proper housing, livelihoods and other basic facilities.

Last year, 1382 temporary shelters and 304 permanent houses were constructed for displaced and resettled families respectively. 50 houses were repaired while toilets were built for 219 families. In the livelihood sector, 3,445 families were given grant assistance for various income generating activities. At the same time, the innovative “cash for work" scheme provided and avenue for more than 21, 000 persons to earn reasonable wages at least for limited periods of time. 44 youth benefitted from vocational trainings which equip them with marketable skills for employment or self employment.

Caritas did not fail to focus on the field of education. Nearly 9,000 students were supported under a special program which gave much-needed educational assistance for the upliftment of their standard of education and for improving school attendance. In addition, nearly 1,200 of these students were provided with nourishing meals under the nutritional feeding program.

Supplementary food was also given for 2,500 resettled families while non-food relief items such as soap, towels and plastic containers were distributed among 1,130 families. Other necessities such as solar lamps 1,500 and bicycles 1,660 for children in the resettled families were also distributed in order to improve their living conditions and travel facilities. For the year 2011, Caritas will particularly focus on building more permanent shelters and providing livelihood support for the affected families.