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Humanitarian mission to Sri Lanka completed 5.9.2005
International Humanity – a non-profit making, non-governmental organisation - has recently successfully completed another humanitarian mission in Sri Lanka. Currently, the situation in Sri Lanka is far from satisfactory. As a result of the Tsunami many people have not only lost their loved ones and homes, but now have to cope with the loss of their businesses, hotels, restaurants, shops, offices and other means of securing their incomes. Many people earned a living from the tourist industry, but the rapid and sudden decline in tourist numbers has brought a huge wave of unemployment causing thousands of families to live below the poverty line without any possibility of earning even a small amount of money and sadly many children are quite literally starving. Many children cannot go to school because the priority for their parents’ spending is for food from their meagre unearned incomes. There is no spare money to buy the necessary clothing, shoes and stationery needed by the children for school. Incidents of children fainting during their school classes due to hunger are becoming more and more frequent. Those who are ill and in need of health care postpone their visits to doctors because they cannot afford to pay for the transport to get there.

There are many “indirect” victims of the Tsunami, the plight of these people being frequently overlooked as they were not struck directly by the deadly waves but they are suffering from their after effects. These people include farmers whose rice paddy fields and irrigation lakes have been washed by salty sea water leaving their lands infertile, leading to loss of income and starvation, and there is no prospect of any improvement in the future for these people. These indirect victims often live some miles inland from the main coastal road and as a consequence of this, their sad plight escapes anyone’s attention. The fishing industry is not yet back to its pre-Tsunami state as many fishermen are still afraid to sail, especially at night time.

The Humanitarian Aid delivered by International Humanity consisted mainly of medical items and health-care materials for the hospitals of Habaraduwa, Ahangama, Dickwella, Matara and Hambantota, as well as food, medicines, shoes, clothes, hygienic items and stationery, all donated for the Tsunami affected inhabitants.

In selected Tsunami affected areas, International Humanity has established a library, a working tools rental centre, and a blood pressure self-monitoring station where people can take their own blood pressure by means of a digital automatic sphygnomanometer. Families of some of the tailors who lost their sewing machines in the Tsunami were provided with new machines that will enable them to make some money to improve their way of living in the future. More families were provided with new wooden beds. In order to improve the chance of Tsunami affected people being employed in the future, International Humanity has begun sponsoring for interested individuals 5-month long PC computer programmes and 6-month long tailoring programmes – the completion of both these courses will lead to a recognised qualification and certificates will be presented. Also, International Humanity has begun sponsoring some people on courses to enable them to obtain driving licences. International Humanity also financed the building of a wooden house for the poor family of a widowed woman with 4 children without any income begging for food and all sleeping on the floor in a single room of her mother’s house.

In order to enable local inhabitants to earn some money for living in the future and to improve quality of life for many, International Humanity plans to support the following projects by providing:---
1. Certified training courses for interested individuals to enhance their future employment prospects.
2. Sewing machines for tailoring families.
3. Coir machines for coir mat makers.
4. Bicycles for those who need to travel long distances to work and are unable to pay for their transport e.g. road workers.
5. School transport for very bright children with excellent school results who need to travel to a more distant school.
6. The renovation of Welikonda School in Hurumbalgoda, Habaraduwa
7. Supplies of medications (especially antibiotics and anti-asthmatics) and health-care materials to the hospitals in Habaraduwa, Matara and Hambantota.

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