USAID project in Trincomalee

Last month saw the beginning of a new relationship between Sewalanka Foundation and the international donor, USAID/OTI (Office of Transition Initiatives) in Trincomalee District. The project aims to address basic water, sanitation and access needs in Thanganagar Village, a resettlement community in Thampalakamam Divisional Secretariat Division.

Currently the village is home for approximately 162 families from all ethnic backgrounds. In 1990, approximately 175 families were displaced due to the ethnic conflict. Most of the families went to welfare centres in Trincomalee and the Vanni.

The project arose through meetings with existing womens’ organisations in the village, who identified the following issues:

-	lack of toilet facilities is forcing the forest to be used for sanitary purposes, which affects the community’s women as they have a feeling of being watched by patrolling army and police personnel.
-	lack of functioning wells in the village, and the water in some of the wells is saline, which is caused by insufficient depth of the well. In order to get fresh water, people tap fresh water at places where the water pipeline is leaking; for bathing and washing water the people use an irrigation canal, which contains enough water only during limited times in the year.
-	main access road to the paddy fields is damaged in such a way that it is difficult for the farmers to use the road with their ox-carts and tractors. There where the road crosses the irrigation canal, the road surface and roadside are heavily damaged and partly gone.

Through the project it is confident that the sanitation level of the village can be raised and access to the paddy fields improved so that eventually the welfare of the whole community is raised.

This partnership will test a new implementation model for the donor body. As the donor will directly purchase the goods, services and intellectual products from individuals or companies and arrange delivery to the implementing partner at the project site on time. This represents a closer working relationship between the Sewalanka as the implementing partner and the donor agency.