US embassy cable - 05COLOMBO956

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 COLOMBO 000956 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE ALSO PASS TO USAID 
USAID/W FOR A/AID ANDREW NATSIOS, JBRAUSE 
DCHA/OFDA KISAACS, GGOTTLIEB, MMARX, RTHAYER, 
BDEEMER 
AID/W FOR DCHA/OFDA 
DCHA/FFP FOR LAUREN LANDIS 
DCHA DEPUTY ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR WILLIAM 
GARVELINK 
ANE DEPUTY ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR MARK WARD 
BANGKOK FOR OFDA SENIOR REGIONAL ADVISOR TOM DOLAN 
KATHMANDU FOR OFDA REGIONAL ADVISOR WILLIAM BERGER 
GENEVA FOR USAID KYLOH 
ROME PASS FODAG 
NSC FOR MELINE 
CDR USPACOM FOR J3/J4/POLAD 
USEU PASS USEC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID, AEMR, PREL, PGOV, CE, Tsunami 
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA - EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMIS: 
USAID/DART SITREP #25 - Ampara District 
 
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Summary 
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1.  From May 17 - 20, the USAID/OFDA Shelter 
Specialist, USAID/Disaster Assistance Response 
Team (DART) Information Officer (IO), and 
USAID/Colombo Project Management Assistant 
traveled to Ampara District to monitor USAID/OFDA- 
funded programs and visit tsunami-affected areas. 
The USAID team met with representatives from 
Christian Children's Fund (CCF), Mercy Corps, 
REVIVE-SEEDS, and Shelter for Life (SFL) during 
this field visit to Ampara District.  Progress 
continues steadily but greater attention to 
livelihood restoration as both a psychological and 
economic concern is required.  End summary 
 
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Psychological and Social Support - CCF 
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2.  In Kalmunai town in Ampara District, the USAID 
team visited three CCF psychological and social 
support project sites on May 18.  In addition, the 
USAID team met with the CCF Child Protection 
Advisor for eastern Sri Lanka.  USAID/OFDA 
provided a total of $2,310,294 to CCF for cash- 
for-work and psychological and social support 
activities in Ampara, Galle, Hambantota, Matara 
and Trincomalee Districts. 
 
3.  CCF's psychological and social support 
activities consist of Child Centered Spaces (CCS) 
and Child Well-being Committees (CWBC).  The CWBCs 
are made up of two children, four teenagers, and 
four adults from the tsunami-affected community. 
The CWBCs select four volunteers from the 
community and these volunteers operate the CCSs 
and receive a small stipend.  The CCSs have their 
own structure in the community and the volunteers 
lead activities twice a day for four hours each, 
as well as provide snacks.  The program also 
includes hygiene promotion with a latrine cleaning 
and handwashing campaign.  The volunteers receive 
training from CCF on issues such as problem 
identification, communication, stress, and working 
with children.  The volunteers recruit additional 
teachers from the community to teach music, 
dancing, drawing, and other activities.   In 
addition, CCF employs members of the community 
through cash-for-work activities. 
 
4.  The first site was a Muslim community that had 
moved three months earlier from tents on the 
grounds of a mosque into transitional shelters. 
98 families live in 54 rooms, built barracks 
style, five in a row. 
 
5.   The second site was a Hindu Tamil community, 
also in Kalmunai.  This community had been staying 
in tents on the grounds of a Hindu temple and had 
just recently moved to transitional shelters 
nearby.  (Note: CCF establishes CCSs in tent camps 
and then moves them to the transitional shelter 
settlements.)   60 children each attend the 
morning and afternoon sessions.  The volunteers 
and CWBC noted that although World Vision fills 
the water tank daily, there was still a shortage 
of water in the community and that residents were 
asking neighbors for water in the meantime. 
 
6.  The third site was a Christian Tamil community 
of 29 families, in Panthiruppu Thiawpathi Amman 
Kovil (Temple) Tamil Division in Kalmunai.  Their 
church provided the land for transitional 
shelters.  These families were moved from Nilavani 
and Manatchinai approximately five kilometers 
away.  They were relocated on May 9.  55 children 
attend the morning and afternoon sessions, ages 
ranging from 2 - 12 years.  There are also 
community programs for teenagers.  For example, on 
the day of the USAID team's visit, the youth group 
(25 members) had just finished cleaning land for a 
play area. 
 
7.  According to the CCF staff and volunteers, the 
key challenges for the children's psychological 
and social support program are a lack of equipment 
and space.  Many of the toys and sports equipment 
have been broken or lost and CCF is working to 
replace them.  Space to play sports was sorely 
lacking.  For example, in the Muslim community, 
children were playing cricket in the only free 
space available - approximately three by five 
meters.  In addition, the CCF volunteers and CWBC 
emphasized a need for more cash-for-work 
opportunities and micro-finance loans in order to 
restart livelihoods.   One CCF staff member noted 
that although the immediate trauma of the tsunami 
has subsided, some families have had more serious 
problems such as alcohol abuse, abandonment of 
children and, in one case, suicide. 
 
8.  At each site, the CCF volunteers and CWBC 
members were clearly proud of their role as 
community leaders.  The CWBCs discussed concerns 
about livelihoods rehabilitation, micro-finance, 
health, hygiene, water and sanitation for the 
entire community - not just children and explained 
the role they have taken on as advocates for the 
community. 
 
 
 
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Livelihoods, Water/Sanitation, and Shelters - 
Mercy Corps 
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9.  On May 19, the USAID team met with Mercy 
Corps' staff in Ampara and visited projects in 
Thirukkovil, Komari, Pottuvil, and Akkaraipattu. 
USAID/OFDA provided $1,509,447 million to Mercy 
Corps for cash-for-work, livelihoods, and 
community rehabilitation projects in Ampara, 
Batticaloa, Hambantota, Matara, and Trincomalee 
Districts.   Mercy Corps began operating in Sri 
Lanka prior to the tsunami in November 2004. 
 
10.  The Mercy Corps Ampara District Director 
explained that a focus of Mercy Corps projects is 
capacity building of local partners.  Mercy Corps 
holds proposal writing and project design 
workshops for local organizations and requires 
that partners submit grant proposals before any 
funding is disbursed. 
 
11.  The USAID team visited a Mercy Corps 
riverbank clean up project of the Konawatha River 
in Addalaichenai.  Mercy Corps conducted the 
project through a new local partner Social, 
Economic, Educational, and Cultural Organization 
(SEECO).  This project illustrated Mercy Corps' 
capacity building approach with local partners. 
Mercy Corps worked with SEECO to develop a project 
proposal to clean a riverbank which had become 
dirty with refuse and debris from the tsunami. 
The project employed twenty people for five days 
through cash-for-work.  SEECO's activity was very 
successful with the group cleaning 1.2 km of river 
bank instead of the planned 1 km.  Moreover, SEECO 
returned 1,050 rupees (approximately $10) in 
unused funds to Mercy Corps following the project. 
In addition, SEECO is conducting an awareness 
campaign in the neighborhood to encourage people 
not to place their garbage in the river or on the 
riverbank.  SEECO is currently exploring 
additional project opportunities with Mercy Corps. 
 
12.  In Thirukovil, the USAID team visited 
latrines that Mercy Corps is building in 
partnership with IOM transitional shelter 
construction.  Mercy Corps plans to construct 900 
toilets for transitional shelters in Thirukkovil 
and Ullai and 175 permanent toilets in Pottuvil. 
The latrines are pour flush latrines with soak 
away pits.  The water table is high in the area so 
Mercy Corps is compensating by keeping a 
sufficiently far distance between the soak pit and 
the family well.  The Mercy Corps Water and 
Sanitation Engineer explained that although many 
families complain about water shortages, he 
believed that the water supply is sufficient in 
Thirukovil (Oxfam supplies 60 liters of water per 
person per day and the Sphere guideline for water 
is 15 liters) but a campaign is needed to 
encourage people to be more careful with their 
water usage. 
 
13.  In Komari, the USAID team visited a large 
transitional shelter settlement where Mercy Corps 
plans to construct 100 transitional shelters. 
Various organizations have constructed shelters of 
vastly varying quality at this site, which is 
three miles from Komari town.  The Mercy Corps 
shelters are 200 square feet and cost 
approximately $500-550.  The shelters have palm 
roofs and wooden walls.  (Comment: The GOSL 
Transitional Accommodation Program (TAP) has set a 
standard shelter material cost of $400 per 
shelter.  Competition for beneficiaries has placed 
pressure on NGOs to increase the amount spent on 
each shelter although these increases further 
exacerbate competition.  USAID/OFDA is monitoring 
these cost increases and encourages partners not 
to participate in competitive shelter pricing) End 
Comment. 
 
14.  In Pottuvil, the USAID team met with one of 
the beneficiaries of the Mercy Corps poultry 
livelihoods renewal program.   Mercy Corps is 
working through a neighborhood poultry association 
that existed prior to the tsunami to renew and 
improve residents' poultry stock and repair or 
rebuild chicken coops.  In the first phase, 
beneficiaries receive 100 chicks and then in the 
second phase, those beneficiaries give ten of the 
adult chickens to another beneficiary. 
Beneficiaries also receive training on poultry 
care and marketing, as well as veterinary 
services.  The beneficiary told the USAID team 
that he had 500 chickens prior to the tsunami and 
believes that he will have 500 chickens again in a 
year.  The chickens are provided to the 
beneficiaries in stages so that adult chickens do 
not reach the market all at once.   The 
beneficiary noted that the expected profit for 
each chick is approximately $2. 
 
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Transitional Shelter - Shelter for Life 
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15.  The USAID team met with the Director of 
Shelter for Life (SFL) in Ampara to discuss 
transitional shelter in Ampara District. 
USAID/OFDA provided $1,026,185 to SFL for the 
construction of transitional shelters in 
Trincomalee and Ampara Districts.  Originally SFL 
planned to construct shelters in Trincomalee 
District only but expanded to Ampara District 
after not receiving sufficient beneficiaries in 
Trincomalee.  SFL plans to construct approximately 
350 shelters in Kalmunai and Pittukovil.   SFL 
noted that although the GOSL has set a cost 
guideline of 40,000 rupees ($400), most of the 
shelters being constructed in Ampara District cost 
45-60,000 rupees.  The SFL director noted that the 
key challenge in Ampara District has been getting 
accurate information on assessments and 
beneficiaries from the local government.  For 
example, at one shelter meeting, the GOSL said 
that there were either 28 or 50 tent camps in 
Ampara District.  (Note: According to SFL, there 
are 25 tent camps.)  As a result, when 
organizations receive their list of beneficiaries 
from the government, they must check the 
information and frequently reassess the numbers 
and situation.  In addition, local officials have 
given the same lists of beneficiaries to different 
NGOs. 
 
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Micro-finance and livelihoods restoration - REVIVE 
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16.  USAID/OFDA provided $10,091,159 million to 
Nathan's Associates to establish REVIVE, a 
livelihood restoration project.  REVIVE plans to 
focus on 29,000 families who lost livelihoods, 
emphasizing tourism, small coastal retailers, 
small-medium businesses, and women's cooperatives. 
On May 26, USAID staff met with REVIVE to discuss 
progress to date.  REVIVE has established 
partnerships with the Tourism Cluster (cash-for- 
work), Arthacharya Foundation, Sewalanka, SEEDS, 
Women Development Federation, The Spice Council, 
and the Federation of Chamber of Commerce.  REVIVE 
staff explained that the majority of cash-for-work 
activities have ended and current and future 
projects will focus on microlending, grants, and 
capacity building.   According to REVIVE, the main 
challenges to date have been logistical, such as 
the hiring of staff and finding facilities and 
appropriate local partners.  In addition, REVIVE 
staff noted that local partners are hesitant to 
work with new clients and would prefer to provide 
loans to tsunami affected persons that they had 
worked with prior to the tsunami. 
 
17.  The USAID team met with REVIVE's local 
partner SEEDS in Ampara District on May 20.  The 
local project director explained that they had 
received 15 million rupees ($150,000) in USAID 
funding for REVIVE that they would use for 150 
loans charging 6 percent interest.  (Note: 
Commercial banks are charging 20-25 percent 
interest.)  According to REVIVE project staff, 
REVIVE will provide 75 million rupees ($750,000) 
for loans in six districts starting June 15. 
 
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Comment 
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18.  Psychological and social support and 
livelihoods rehabilitation are emerging as the key 
concerns for affected communities and the 
organizations supporting them.  While transitional 
and permanent shelter remains foremost for most 
beneficiaries, it is clear that once people 
receive housing, whether transitional or 
permanent, their focus turns to the means to 
restore their livelihoods.  At every site visited 
by the USAID team, beneficiaries mentioned 
livelihoods as their main concern.  At the May 10 
psychological and social support coordination 
meeting in Colombo, participants agreed that 
livelihoods and psychological and support 
activities are closely linked because people need 
employment in order to feel satisfied. 
Participants agreed that livelihoods programming 
is essential to involving men in psychological and 
support programs - a challenge to date.  Although 
USAID/OFDA partners continue to make steady 
progress despite logistical and programmatic 
challenges, greater coordination between 
organizations and increased attention to longer- 
term concerns, such as livelihoods, are needed. 
 
LUNSTEAD