for Sri Lankan tsunami victims
This is the site on which the houses for the tsunami victims will be built.
TRAC helping to build 100 houses
for Sri Lankan tsunami victims
This is the site on which the houses for the tsunami
victims will be built.
STORY BY JULIETTE ARULRAJAH
PICTURES BY JOSEPH LEE
OF PENTECOST METHODIST CHURCH
TRINITY Annual Conference (TRAC)
of The Methodist Church in Singapore is partnering The Methodist
Church in Sri Lanka (MCSL) to build 100 new houses in the Batticaloa
district of East Sri Lanka for those affected by the devastating
tsunami of Dec 26, 2004.
Eighty per cent of the total project cost of $1,059,008 comes
from the Tidal Waves Asia Fund (donations from the people of Singapore),
which is being administered by the Singapore Red Cross on behalf
of the Tsunami Reconstruction Facilitation Committee. The remaining
20 per cent comes from the congregations of our TRAC churches.
A Memorandum of Understanding for the project was signed between
TRAC and the Tsunami Reconstruction Facilitation Committee on
March 21, 2006 although the in-principle approval for the project
was given in June 2005.
From Jan 2, 2005, TRAC had sought to work alongside MCSL to bring
relief especially in the Kiran, Batticaloa area through sending
several teams to help with medical relief, children's ministry,
debris cleaning, trauma counselling, training of counsellors,
providing resources such as food and other relief items as well
as facilitating the livelihood of 16 fishing communities through
the provision of boats, nets and other related items.
For several months now, both TRAC and MCSL have worked diligently
to get all the appropriate approvals and necessary documentation
from relevant authorities to facilitate the building of 44 and
56 of these 500 sq ft permanent houses in the 2 GN divisions (villages)
of Koralaipattu and Koralaipattu South respectively in the Kalmadhu
area, Valaichennai, Batticaloa.
On a recent trip in late February this year, a TRAC team led by
its President, the Rev Wee Boon Hup, met the Divisional Secretaries
of the two GN divisions, Mrs K. Pathmarajah and Mr V. Thavarajah.
Both these government leaders highlighted the urgent needs and
plight of those affected by the tsunami, many of whom are still
living in temporary shelters in very uncomfortable circumstances.
Besides visiting the construction sites, the team also interacted
with some of the potential beneficiaries whose faces lighted up
with the hope that they would finally be getting a two-bedroom
timber frame concrete permanent home with tiled roof within the
next few months.
Construction work began in March this year with the laying of
the foundation stone and is scheduled to be completed by July.
The current temporary
shelters which house the tsunami victims.
The Rev Juliette Arulrajah is the TRAC Crisis Relief Coordinator.