The conditions endured by the IDPs, who spent almost decade without homes of their own, were extremely difficult. Temporary shelters provided inadequate protection from the elements and without land of their own they were unable to grow crops and generate incomes of their own.

The problems faced by internally displaced persons (IDPs) are well documented, however simple statistics are unable to convey the difficulty and distress faced by people who have been deprived of their homes for years.

Many IDPs have spent more than a decade in transitional shelters, constantly moved from one camp to another. Since its inception, Sewalanka has placed special emphasis on the care of IDPs. It has always looked beyond transitional and relief work to focus on moving people from temporary shelters to permanent homes.

The following case studies submitted by staff in the north illustrate the work done by Sewalanka and its partners to provide displaced people with permanent homes and sustainable communities.

Siruthoppu Relocation

For the last 15 years, more than 100 families have been living in transitional shelters at Pesalai in Jeevanagar, Kalimoddai and Katkidanthakulam. The camps accommodating families displaced by the ethnic conflict were maintained by the UNHCR, which provided semi-permanent shelters and ensured that the nutritional and educational requirements of the inhabitants were met.

However conditions in the shelters remained very basic and those residing in the camps were desperate for homes and land to call their own. The UNHCR has worked to provide new homes however the scarcity of available land in Mannar has impeded progress. After years without permanent homes, the IDPs had become increasingly demoralized. “Our dreams were beginning to fade,” said at one of the camp residents.

At this juncture, UNHCR and the Mannar Divisional Secretariat approached Sewalanka Foundation-Mannar to ask whether we were in a position to help by purchasing a suitable plot of land to relocate the refugees. After discussions between SLF headquarters and regional offices it was decided that the foundation would purchase 10 acres of land at Siruthoppu near Pesalai.

The land was purchased, cleared and leveled in a short period of time. UNHCR released the needed funds for reconstruction and selected SLF as the implementing partner for the project. Fifty families from the Pesalai welfare centre are now relocated in this new village which has yet to be named. Each family owns 20 perches of land with a semi-permanent house. In line with Sewalanka’s longstanding policy of encouraging community members to build financially stable and independent futures, those receiving houses will be asked to pay a nominal sum each month against Rs. 25 000.00 for the land value.

The UNDP has provided the new village with by-roads and a community centre, and the IOM has supplied water and sanitation facilities. The project has been extremely successful and resettled villagers are now able to earn a living working in the nearby fishing village of Pesalai. Some plots of land are still available and SLF hopes that a donor agency will support rehabilitation work for the refugees who remain in the community centers.

The new village offers them a future in homes of their own, where they will be able to take charge of their own lives.

Thampanaikulam Relocation

For several years UNHCR-run community centers housing over 200 IDPs have been situated at Jeevanagar, Kalimoddai and Katkidanthakulam in the Nanattan administrative division. Families in these camps were sharing shelters and living in extremely difficult conditions, however the government was able to grant the UNHCR land in the Madhu division for resettlement. UNHCR agreed to fund 82 semi-permanent houses while Necord offered to build 70 permanent houses. Both projects were handed over to Sewalanka Foundation-Mannar for implementation.

As the houses were an urgent requirement, Sewalanka Foundation worked hard to complete the project in the shortest possible time and families who spent years displaced and dispersed in community centers can now enjoy homes of their own.

Nanattan Relocation

Despite these successful examples of permanent resettlement, the fluid nature of Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict is such that temporary shelters continue to play a vital role in relief activities. The recent resumption of violence in the north prompted an exodus from Musali Administrative Division to schools and hospitals in the more stable Nanattan DS Division.

Refugees occupying these public buildings caused extensive disruption to the civil administration in Nanattan. To provide more suitable temporary accommodation, Sewalanka was given the task by UNHCR of constructing 200 temporary shelters to house the displaced. Construction work is currently in progress and OXFAM has offered to construct toilet blocks at the new sites. Sewalanka was selected to implement the project and looks forward to helping these IDPs reach a point where they can return to homes of their own.