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Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka - Restoring livelihoods key to long-term recovery

Getting people back on their feet quickly and into work is imperative for the long-term recovery of tsunami victims said IOM as it launched a livelihood restoration programme in the country. It has been two months now since the Indian Ocean tsunami that killed more than 30,000 people in Sri Lanka.

At a ceremony in Matara on 28 February attended by government and IOM officials, a group of 14 carpenters, who were presented standard tool kits to replace those they lost, became the first to benefit from the programme.

"Up until now, the focus has been so much on meeting the urgent daily needs of people such as shelter, food, water and medical aid. People were also in shock, depressed and couldn't see what their future held. Now, tired of communal, emergency living conditions, they want to get on with their lives," says Jeff McMurdo of IOM Sri Lanka. "We can clearly see that the emergency phase of this disaster is over and that people are now ready for reconstruction to begin."

More than one million people in Sri Lanka have been affected by the tsunami and according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), 400,000 of those have lost their jobs or sources of income. The worst hit have been the fishing, hotel and tourist industries.

IOM has been taking advantage of camp management workshops it has been holding in both eastern and southern Sri Lanka to discuss and assess livelihood assistance with tsunami survivors. In some cases, this means providing replacement tools or equipment. The tsunami has left a severe shortage of skilled labour in the country and assisting people this way has several benefits. The carpenters that been given tool kits, will now be able to reconstruct their lives both privately and publicly as they will use their skills to physically help rebuild communities.

Another group needing help is fishermen. IOM, in coordination with FAO, which is taking the lead in assisting fishermen, is helping to identify who needs assistance and what their needs actually are, especially as not all fishermen may want to go back to fishing. Such livelihood assistance and that for the carpenters, is just the start for IOM. Priority will be given to single-headed households, in particular those who may be at risk from trafficking.

For more information, please call Virginia Moncrieff, IOM Colombo, Tel + 94 11 535 1941

Email: virginiam@iomsrilanka.org <mailto:virginiam@iomsrilanka.org>