Contents

Wennappuwa  - 13 December 2006
Jaffna -  6 November 2006
Batticaloa
Vavuniya - 5 October 2006
Jaffna - 10 October 2006
Vaharai - 20 August 2006
Kantale - 7 August 2006
Udappu - 27 July 2006
Kebedigollawa - 13 July 2006

Wennappuwa, 13 December 2006 - The community in Randiyagama, which is situated in the Puttalam District under the governance of the Wennappuwa Urban Council, suffered greatly due to the recent floods. Essential dry food rations were a major concern, as such, we intended to distribute these on 13 December 2006.

We selected 58 families who were in extreme need and who were not in a position to provide food for themselves. We prepared 58 packages containing rice, sugar, tea, soup, dhal, milk, candles and boxes of matches. Several community leaders, including four regional Gramasevka officers, the regional Justice of Peace and two Pastors from the regional churches were involved in the project.
 

FOOD SHORTAGES IN JAFFNA

Jaffna, 06 November 2006 - Since August, the A9 road which is the main access to the Jaffna Peninsula has been closed. As a result, the people of Jaffna are facing several food shortages. Schools have been reopened but children are finding it very difficult to attend school. Schools are running their academic programs behind schedule. 

CHILDREN FACE STARVATION
There are 260 children participating in the Change Makers Club activities in Mannatkaadu and Seendippanthalin in the Jaffna district. Due to the current situation they are struggling for food. All the children’s families are from the fishing community. Due to the ban on fishing imposed by the military for security reasons, these children face starvation. Their parents are unable to earn a living or provide food for their families. Alliance Development Trust was able to help 101 children from such families by providing dry rations (rice, flour, dhal, sugar etc.) which is enough for each family for one week.

MAJOR CHALLENGES
We were able to provide relief to only 101 families out of 260 families. This was because of the current shortage of food items in Jaffna.

Since there are military check points everywhere, people are afraid to go out. The dry rations we have given are limited and after one or two weeks they may face difficulties again. 
 

RELIEF PROJECT FOR DISPLACED REFUGEES
Alliance Development Trust initiated a relief project in the Batticaloa District for the people who have been displaced from Vaharai, which is in the LTTE controlled area, due to the recent escalation of violence. Relief assistance was provided to 360 families who have sought refuge in local churches in Valachchenai.

ESCALATION OF VIOLENCE
Vaharai is situated in the north of the Batticaloa District on the southern border of the Trincomalee District.  With the escalation of violence, over 40,000 people from the north of Trincomalee have fled to Vaharai to seek refuge during the last two months.  Subsequently, with the recent incidents, the people living in Vaharai were also forced to leave their villages and many of them are now seeking refuge in the Valachchenai area.

The Human Rights Watchdog has called on the Sri Lankan Government to investigate the attack on civilians in Vaharai.  In a recent incident, an IDP camp in the Vaharai area was attacked, leaving over 60 people dead and over 100 injured.

CRITICAL NEEDS
According to our Regional Office, relief agencies have been refused permission to transport food items beyond military check posts. Officials confirm that over 43,000 civilians in Vaharai, including civilians who have been displaced from the Trincomalee District and residents from Vaharai, are facing severe food shortages.

It is estimated that 36 metric tons of food are required per month for the people in the LTTE controlled areas of Batticaloa, but only 16 metric tons are being sent to these areas through the government agencies. With the onset of monsoon rains there is the additional possibility of these refugees and civilians being affected by infectious diseases like viral fever, which will have a drastic impact in such crowded conditions.
 

Vavuniya, 05 October 2006 - The closure of the A9 road on 11 August 2006 has resulted in many people being forced to take refuge in churches and schools in Vavuniya. They are faced with a shortage of food and other essential items. Furthermore, many children attend school in Vaviiya temporarily.

ADT was able to provide dry rations to 185 families and school bags with exercise books to 450 children in eight schools.
 

Jaffna, 10 September 2006 - The A9, which connects Jaffna and Colombo has been closed for the last two months. The A9 was the only road giving  access to the Jaffna mainland for  the transportation of  essential items. The provisions brought in by the cargo ship Mercs Ruhunu was adequate only for one week and the Jaffna Bakery Owners Association has complained that the stock of flour is only enough to meet their needs for the next three days. A second shipload has also arrived at the KKS port but it will still not be enough for the people in Jaffna. 

The Jaffna NGO Consortium states that the quantity of items brought in by a single cargo ship is not enough to meet the needs of the population in Jaffna.

Essential supplies are usually brought into the peninsula by hundreds of lorries on a daily basis. Meanwhile none of the essential items, including flour, sugar, lentils and cooking oil, were available in any of the business establishments. The price of sugar has doubled and is sold at LKR 130 per kg. Flour, which was being sold at three times the market price, was not even available in grocery shops.

There is also a severe shortage of petrol, diesel and kerosene. If the A9 is not reopened in time, the entire population of the Jaffna peninsula will face starvation. The Alliance Development Trust is continuing  its  relief efforts in Jaffna. Up to now the relief team was able to support over 1400 families with essential food supplies.

On 10 September 2006, Alliance Development Trust helped a number of families  in Thenmarachchi. Nearly 270 packs of food items and bare essentials were distributed.
 

Vaharai, 25 August 2006 - Alliance Development Trust provided relief items for 14 days to 300 families in Vaharai with the help of United Nation World Food Program (UNWFP). Due to tightened security, no agencies were allowed to enter the area. A UN convoy transported the 1000 dry food rations as far as they could and delivered the items to government agents who in turn handed over the goods to the Divisional Secretariat in Vaharei. The Divisional Secretariat distributed the supplies to the refugee camps.

Vaharai, 02 June 2006 - Alliance Development Trust provided food for 250 families that took refuge at the Kathiravely School. Among them are 218 students, 39 nursing mothers and 2 pregnant women. Dry ration were provided  for ten days for 80 families. The number of refugee families slowly increased to 270.

The families that are in the school have arrived from Katauarachan, Sampur, Peruvely, Manalchenai, Pardipuram, and Kalivaty. “It is not safe for us in to live there any more. A 24 year old man was killed by the army and another 28 year old was killed in our village and it might be us next so we have to move away” said one of the mothers.

When asked when they are planning to return, they said they did not know. “We do not know when to return. It is not safe there. We will return when things are back to normal and it is safe for us to live there” said a father carrying his baby boy on his shoulders. There are three toilets and one well at the site and the well provides water for the families for bathing and drinking.  I asked Mr. Mukthy from TRO if they have any plans of relocating the families somewhere and he said they have plans to do so but still they have not come up with any specific location. I also asked him if they have shelters etc ready for the families to move into. He said they do not have anything ready but would look to various agencies to help relocate the families. The first challenge, however, is to find  suitable land to relocate the families before the school starts.

The above information is what we collected when we visited the camps ourselves and talked to the people. We also talked to TRO who provided the initial relief to the Vaharai camp.
 

Kantale, 07 August 2006 - Since there was an urgent requirement of relief items for internally displaced families who had moved out to Kantale in Trincomalee from Muttur, ADT took a decisive step to send relief items on humanitarian grounds.

1000 relief packs, each containing rice (5kg), sugar, dhal (1kg), tea (200g), a packet of milk powder, biscuits, matches and a candle were given to 1000 displaced families in order to assist there immediate requirement of food for 1 week.

In addition, we prepared 250 gift packs to distribute to the children among the displaced families.

We reached Kantale at around 11:00 pm. We visited two camps where there were about 5000 Muslim refugees. We then handed over the goods to “AL MASJIDUL ILAHIYA”. The personnel there undertook the distribution of these items and gratefully acknowledged our contribution saying “It is very useful and timely”. The displaced families were overwhelmed by the "generosity and human kindness" shown by ADT.  
 

Udappu is a fishing village located in the Puttalam district, 30 Km away from Chilaw town. Around 1300 families live in this village, most of them are Tamils displaced from the North and the East in the 90s.

Udappu, 27 July 2006 - 47 families have been displaced from Thambalahamam, Parathipuram and Kanthala areas in the Trincomalee District because of the continuous killings and violence since April.
“We just left all of our belongings at our house. We live a very different life here without any basic facilities. We are cannot even provide food for our children” said a pregnant woman.

ADT distributed dry food rations to the families in Udappu. Each pack contained food sufficient for 1 week per family. Bed linnen was also distributed. School bags with books and gift boxes were given to 75 children.

Kebedigollawa, 13 July 2006 - 600 kitchen utensil sets were distributed among the displaced families from the recent Claymore attack in Kebedigollawa. These refugees are camped in temporary tents in a location where the water is salty, forcing them to go quite a distance to fetch fresh water. ADT provided clay cooking utensils.

Speaking at the distribution ceremony a Buddhist monk of the area said, “Christians are always helpful and friendly. They help us when we are in need. Once again the mix of Tamil and Sinhalese clergy got involved in this event.”