Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: Tsunami-recovery Construction

Habitat for Humanity Sri Lanka has responded to the needs of tsunami-affected families in several ways. When families owned land suitable for rebuilding, or could obtain it, Habitat built upgraded replacement houses. In many villages near Galle on the southern coast and Batticaloa on the east, Habitat volunteers cleaning up rubble and preparing to rebuild were the first signs of recovery.

Habitat has also built relocation communities to serve the needs of families who were not allowed to rebuild within the government-mandated coastal buffer zone. The 196-house development at Mandanai, near Thirukkovil in the east coast district of Ampara, is a prime example. Sizes and designs of Habitat Sri Lanka’s tsunami-recovery houses vary from 36 square meters to 46.5 square meters. They are built of concrete block, plastered inside and out and white-washed or painted. They have planked timber doors, window shutters, tiled roofs and septic tanks. They are comprised of a main hall, bedroom and kitchen; the attached toilet has an outside entrance.

A list of project sites and donors is available.

Sri Lanka: Going Forward
Even as the Sri Lanka national organization completes its commitment to tsunami-recovery rebuilding early in 2007, it will focus on another national need: permanent housing for families displaced by the conflict between government forces and Tamil separatist groups. Tens of thousands of conflict internally displaced people or IDPs are still housed in primitive barracks. Some have lived in these squalid conditions for ten years.

Habitat for Humanity Sri Lanka is committed to working with IDP families through its Habitat resource centers. Based in Trincomalee and Batticaloa, they cover a broad swathe of east and northeast Sri Lanka. As the conflict has accelerated, caution and flexibility are required in the carrying out the reconstruction work.

Strengthened Habitat resource centers will be ready to start Save & Build programs. These will assist low-income families in financing new houses and making additions and improvements to existing houses. Habitat helps with group administration, financing and construction supervision. Some of the tsunami-affected families who received houses are ready to make additions to better accommodate large families.

Habitat for Humanity Sri Lanka was formed in 1994 and has built more than 5,000 houses in partnership with families who otherwise would not be able to afford a good house of their own. There are active building programs based in ten communities that serve a wide area of the small island nation.

Sri Lanka: Family Experiences

Houses are Just the Beginning for a New Community
R. Lugumi, 29, is relieved to be in a permanent house in Mandanai, a 196-house relocation community on the east coast of Sri Lanka. After the tsunami, she and her husband, V. Ravichandran, 31, and their two children lived in a temporary house on land owned by a relative. They have anxiously looked forward to moving their two children into a home of their own, she said.

Like many other homeowners, Ravichandran and Lugumi were unable to rebuild on the land they occupied before the tsunami because it fell within the government-defined coastal buffer zone.

A farmer, Ravichandran got a loan to finance growing tomatoes and other vegetables in shares with the relatives they had lived with. With no reliable means of transportation, he can’t get there every day to help with the crop. He ends up taking day jobs as a construction helper.

A.Arulanatham, 34, also works as a mason’s helper. Along with his wife Chuthra, 27, and their three children, he lived in one small room in a temporary shelter for many months after the tsunami. Moving into a permanent house with a strong roof and walls was a big step toward the family’s recovery.

“We are safe from the sea and I’m not afraid,” Chuthra said. “It’s better here in the house.” Now that they have some privacy and a place of their own, life will be better for the children, she acknowledged, but there are still obstacles and concerns.

Transportation is a problem; it’s a six-mile walk to school, and with no bicycle, Arulanatham finds it hard to work outside the community or to bring home goods and supplies. Chuthra is used to carrying water, but the family looks forward to the day — however distant — that they will once again have electric lights.

Habitat is a Catalyst for Community-building
On behalf of the residents of the new community of Mandanai, Habitat for Humanity is working with government and NGOs to provide needed services. Along with a newly-organized youth group, they’ll advocate for Mandanai to have its own school.

But the youth group’s first project is health-related. At the second meeting of the group, Habitat project manager Justus Gregory showed the 50 boys and girls how the plastic bags they toss on the ground can become a breeding place for mosquitoes during the rainy season, increasing the danger of malaria and dengue fever. More than 1,000 families lived in tents on this barren ground for months and plastic bags litter the landscape.

Sitting on the ground under the only shade tree on the property, Justus promised the children 1,000 trees to plant and care for, courtesy of a partner NGO.

“We can make a beautiful green canopy for this place,” he promised them. He’s already encouraged their parents and helped them get plants to start home gardens.

New House Brings Hope to Argugam Bay Family
Before the tsunami, Nazeema’s family lived in large house on the main road in Arugam Bay on the southeast coast of Sri Lanka. After the house was destroyed by the waves, they lived for nine months in a temporary wooden shelter in the same place. But the roof leaked and water seeped in under the door during the rainy season. It was a miserable life; their health and morale suffered.

“We attended meetings of the development association and found out that Habitat was building houses,” said Dilshard, Nazeema’s 23-year-old son in law. “Within a month after we found out about it, the workmen started on the foundation of this house.” To lend a hand, families hauled materials to assist the masons and carried water. Another month after that, the house was finished.

“We feel much more secure and comfortable in the house,” said Dilshard, who was preparing to bring his wife and newborn daughter to their new home. He hopes to earn enough to enlarge the house so that there is more privacy for his in-laws and his new family.

M. Mustafa Nazoor, Dilshard’s 46-year-old father in law, a fisherman, was hit by a boat during the tsunami. He was fortunate to survive, but because of continuing health problems, he has not been able return to work. Dilshard has taken the help of an NGO to set up a chicken-farming operation. He gets day-old chicks, 50 at a time, and raises them to sell.

The family struggles to meet basic needs. They have to walk one kilometer to carry drinking water. They go to the river to bathe or carry water from the well, which is 700 meters away. But that water is not good enough to drink. There is no electric service in the area, but there is a generator for public use. When they have the fuel to run it, they have electricity for two or three hours a night.