Cablegate: Sri Lanka - Earthquake and Tsunamis:
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 COLOMBO 000826
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
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA - EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMIS:
USAID/DART SITREP #22 - VISIT TO SOUTH COAST
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Summary
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1. The USAID/Disaster Assistance Response Team
(DART) field officer (FO) and USAID/Colombo Project
Development Specialist (PDS) traveled to Hambantota
and Galle districts on Sri Lanka's south coast from
April 26 to 28 to monitor USAID/Office of U.S.
Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA)-funded programs
and review the progress of tsunami recovery
efforts. USAID staff met with representatives from
Sarvodaya, Christian Children's Fund (CCF), GOAL
and Arthacharya Foundation during the course of
this field visit. All of these agencies are
involved in tsunami clean-up projects, construction
of transitional housing, sanitation and hygiene
interventions or micro-credit initiatives.
Sarvodaya, GOAL and CCF are well into their cash
for work initiatives. All of these NGOs reported
good progress in debris clean-up, road repair,
latrine construction and other communal
infrastructure efforts. As in other tsunami-
affected areas of Sri Lanka, the issue of the
buffer zone and uncertainty over government intents
and government-issued entitlements has prevented
greater progress in the construction of
transitional shelter or permanent homes for those
displaced by the tsunami. In the area of micro-
credit, programs funded by USAID/OFDA are just
beginning to reach households in tsunami-affected
areas and seem to be having a positive impact. End
summary.
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Cash for Work on the South Coast
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2. Driving along Sri Lanka's southern coast
between Kirinda and Galle, USAID staff viewed
numerous cash-for-work projects sponsored by GOAL
and CCF with funding from USAID/OFDA. Men and
women clustered together in work groups making
basic repairs to the roads and digging drainage
culverts with hand tools provided by the NGOs.
3. GOAL reported that their first visit to the
village of Kirinda in Hambantota district just a
few days after the tsunami struck was jarring.
They saw few signs of life amidst the almost
complete destruction of the area. Using OFDA
funding, GOAL started cash-for-work projects that
helped bring Kirinda back to life. People came out
to participate in efforts to clean the local
temple, beaches, drainage system and roads. GOAL
employed more than 500 people from Kirinda over a
three-month period.
4. GOAL's local representative noted that they
are starting to review cash-for-work projects in
light of the changing environment along the
southern coast. A significant number of people are
now able to begin working in their pre-tsunami
professions (albeit on a minimal scale in many
cases). GOAL does not want cash-for-work projects
to serve as a disincentive for individuals to delay
rebuilding their former livelihoods. For the
future, GOAL will attempt to be more selective in
their criteria for participants in cash-for-work
projects. They will attempt to employ only those
individuals who cannot return to their previous
jobs or who cannot earn enough income for basic
subsistence.
5. CCF escorted OFDA staff to Malala lagoon near
the town of Udumalala in Hambantota district. CCF
has organized a cash-for-work project in
cooperation with local authorities to repair damage
to the road running through a local bird sanctuary
to a lagoon that is used by both rice farmers and
fisherman for their livelihoods. CCF has employed
a number of tsunami-affected individuals to fix the
road and create drainage culverts to decrease
flooding during the rainy season. One woman
interviewed on the work crew stated that she had
lost her sewing machine and shop to the tsunami.
She was hoping to save some income from the cash-
for-work project to re-start her small business.
6. CCF has also engaged local people to clear a
channel that runs from Malala lagoon to the ocean.
The channel had been partially blocked by the
tsunami, hampering the normal drainage of water
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from the lagoon to the ocean. This cash-for-work
project will restore the lagoon to pre-tsunami
levels. CCF is also using this opportunity to help
create a community-based organization (CBO)
composed of farmers who depend upon the lagoon for
irrigation for their rice fields and fisherman who
fish in the lagoon when rough seas prevent them
from going to the ocean. This newly-formed CBO
will work to monitor conditions in the lagoon and
help to establish water levels that suit both
fishermen and farmers. Previously, there has been
some conflict between farmers who want a lower
water level in the lagoon to avoid flooding of
their rice paddies and fishermen who want a higher
level in order to accommodate more fish in the
lagoon. It is hoped that this new CBO will help
with conflict resolution over this shared resource.
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Shelter Issues Along the South Coast
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7. The question of shelter remains a high
priority for relief agencies involved in the
tsunami recovery process along the south coast of
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Sri Lanka. Certainly, progress has been made. In
Kirinda, a private donor funded the construction of
27 permanent homes for families whose houses had
been destroyed by the tsunami on December 26, 2004.
The houses were already occupied by the inhabitants
at the time of the OFDA visit although minor work
still remained to be completed. The new concrete
houses are well beyond the 100 meter buffer zone
required by the GOSL. Additional permanent houses
are being built on a bluff nearby for the remaining
population of Kirinda that lost homes to the sea.
8. The issue of the buffer zone and the lack of
available land near the coast have stymied the
rapid construction of permanent homes in other
areas. However, NGOs have been able to put up
significant stock of transitional housing to
shelter people until a solution is found for
permanent housing. In the town of Ambalantota,
GOAL identified 140 families in need of replacement
housing. Since no immediate solution is likely for
permanent housing due to the decree against
building in the buffer zone and the lack of
available land in nearby areas, GOAL has planned
construction of 140 transitional homes and has
completed all but eight of these houses in
Ambalantota.
9. Driving the stretch of coastal road between
Galle and Hikkaduwa, USAID staff viewed a number of
tent settlements nestled in open spaces. Due to a
lack of time, USAID staff were not able to visit
these tent cities and interview their inhabitants
regarding their shelter situation. However,
discussions with several international and national
aid agencies on the topic of the tents shed some
light on the reason for continued use of these
tents.
10. UNHCR's shelter coordinator (Jo da Silva)
noted that great progress is being made in the
shelter sector and that a large number of
transitional shelters are being constructed along
the south coast of Sri Lanka for those displaced by
the tsunami. She noted that it is important to
recognize that the situation in the shelter sector
varies widely from location to location. The
progress or lack of progress is often dependent on
conditions that are particular to individual
districts or even individual communities. She is
currently working on a report that will identify
the particular constraints on greater progress in
the shelter sector in each of Sri Lanka's 11
tsunami-affected districts. This report will be
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completed in the next few weeks and will also
feature views on a way forward and a section
describing solutions for the particular problems
that confront the rebuilding process in each of the
varied districts.
11. One major determinant is the leadership of
local authorities. The attitude of GOSL officials
differs radically from one district to the next and
it is this divergent approach of the various
officials that has a major impact on efforts to
construct transitional or permanent shelters. For
example, government officials in Hambantota
district have exhibited little interest in the
concept of transitional housing. Government
officials in Hambantota prefer to focus on
permanent housing solutions leaving NGOs without a
partner in their attempts to get people out of
tents and into more suitable transitional homes
while they wait for permanent housing to be built.
12. Numbers of families displaced by the tsunami
remain in tents for a variety of reasons. Some
displaced persons wish to remain near their
villages of origin. In many cases, transitional
housing in many cases is being offered far from
their former homes that now exist in the government-
declared buffer zone. The tents allow them to
remain in the proximity of the former villages and
social networks. Some tsunami displaced persons
remain in tents fearing that they will lose their
entitlement to support from the GOSL if they move
into transitional housing. There appears to be no
basis for this rationale other than misinformation
circulating among the displaced. There are no
indications that the GOSL is withdrawing monthly
cash grants to displaced families occupying
transitional shelters.
13. Although many tent villages dot the road along
the southern coast, UNHCR's senior shelter advisor
cautioned that many of the tents are empty and only
serve as bases for the displaced to collect aid
distributions since many agencies are not reaching
displaced persons settled with host families.
There is also the problem of migration as displaced
persons move from one area to another in search of
employment or better conditions. As many of the
tents become unbearably hot during the day, a large
percentage of the displaced seek accommodation with
family, friends and neighbors until nightfall when
they return to the tents.
14. In sum, a large number of transitional
shelters for the tsunami-displaced population have
been erected in the southern districts of Sri
Lanka, but the supply has yet to meet the demand
for upgraded accommodation with many displaced
persons still in tents. The efforts to move
families into transitional shelters are complicated
by the buffer zone which has removed a large
portion of land from use in housing programs. In
addition, government authorities in Hambantota and
other districts have offered little support for
transitional housing, preferring instead to move
ahead with a focus on the construction of permanent
houses. The situation varies from district to
district, division to division and village to
village and there is not one single solution
applicable to all areas. Steps forward will have
to be tailored for differing areas by donors, UN
agencies, NGOs, local communities, the private
sector and the government in order to find a
suitable answer to meet the housing needs of
families displaced by the tsunami.
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USAID Micro-Credit Gets Moving
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15. Nathan Associates, Inc. received $10 million
from USAID/OFDA for post-tsunami recovery programs
in Sri Lanka. One of the principle components of
their program seeks to help tsunami-affected
individuals and families regain livelihoods that
were either lost or negatively-affected by the
disaster. During the visit to the south coast,
USAID staff visited two branches of the Arthacharya
Foundation, a local NGO that has partnered with
Nathan Associates to provide micro-credits to
tsunami-affected persons.
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16. During the month of April, the Arthacharya
Foundation's office in Galle received 1.2 million
Sri Lankan rupees (approximately US$ 12,000) and
dispersed the entire amount in the form of loans to
81 individuals. Their office in Hikkaduwa received
1.6 million Sri Lankan rupees (equivalent to
roughly US$ 16,000) and dispersed this amount in
the form of 161 loans to tsunami-affected
individuals.
17. Visits were made to four households that had
received loans from the Arthacharya Foundation with
funding provided by USAID/OFDA to Nathan
Associates. The first household's primary source
of income was the production of jewelry for the
tourist industry. The tsunami had hit their house
in the village of Gintota (near Galle). Although
the house suffered only minor damage, the water
swept away or destroyed many of their personal
belongings. The family lost all of their tools and
equipment for the production of jewelry. A loan of
35,000 rupees (US$ 350) has enabled them to
purchase new equipment and tools and begin
production for their home business.
18. The second household visited had a
communication center along the beach in Gintota.
The tsunami hit the building wiping out their
inventory of equipment including computers, fax
machine, and photo-copier. The Arthacharya
Foundation provided a loan of 15,000 rupees (US$
150) for the communication shop. The owners have
re-opened and are back in business.
19. The Arthacharya Foundation's office in
Hikkaduwa is working particularly with households
whose livelihoods were directly affected by the
tsunami. One family in the village of Udugalpitiya
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found itself in a difficult position as the head of
household who normally worked as a day laborer lost
opportunities for employment in the aftermath of
the tsunami. Using the loan of 5,000 rupees (US$
50) they purchased pots and pans to double the
household production of curd to enhance income.
Before the tsunami, they were only able to produce
20 pots of curd per day. With the new equipment
procured with the loan, they are now able to make
40 pots of curd per day and are considering the
purchase of a bicycle to help expand their market.
20. Another household in Udugalpitiya has fallen
upon hard times as the chief income earner lost his
carpentry tools to the tsunami. They have applied
for a loan to the Arthacharya Foundation through a
community-based organization and hope to purchase
new equipment to begin work again.
21. Neither of the USAID staff reviewing the micro-
credit program administered by Nathan Associates is
an expert in this field. They were only able to
make basic observations and a more thorough review
of the program by a subject matter expert would be
advised. It is clear, however, that money is
getting to people who need in it tsunami-affected
areas through the loan mechanisms. The Arthacharya
Foundation offices visited in Galle and Hikkaduwa
were staffed by energetic young managers who
clearly had strong ties with the surrounding
communities and a history of interventions with
community based groups.
ENTWISTLE