Rehabilitation and Recovery

Most of Sewalanka's rehabilitation and rural infrastructure development work is done with communities that have been displaced or directly affected by war or natural disasters. In these cases, the villagers have no financial resources to rebuild the homes, water and sanitation facilities, and community infrastructure they urgently need. Rehabilitation is part of the process of transitioning from relief to sustainable development.

Sewalanka has supported the resettlement and recovery of approximately 30,000 internally displaced (IDP) families in the conflict-affected areas of Trincomalee, Vavuniya, Mannar, Kilinochi, and Jaffna and approximately 11,000 tsunami-affected families in 11 coastal districts.

Under Rehabilitation and Recovery programs we:

Rebuilding infrastructure

  • Construct semi-permanent shelter. (In a few special cases, Sewalanka has also coordinated the construction of permanent housing.)

  • Establish adequate water and sanitation facilities and coordinate training programs on hygiene, disease prevention, and water management.

  • Develop community centers which can be used for preschool classes, community meetings, training programs, festivals and ceremonies and other common programs.

  • Rehabilitate community infrastructure like schools and access roads in coordination with government authorities.

  • Restore productive capacity through the rehabilitation of livelihood-related infrastructure, including agricultural facilities (e.g. minor irrigation tanks, canals, channels, sluices and agro-wells), fisheries facilities (e.g. coastal bunds, anchorage points, storage facilities for nets and motors) and marketing infrastructure (e.g. market centers, collection and storage facilities, mills, ice factories).

  • Support household food security and livelihood recovery by replacing lost and damaged assets (e.g. planting materials, livestock, agricultural tools, nets and engines, vocational equipment)

  • Facilitate community ecosystem restoration programs (e.g. mangrove nurseries and replanting, tank ecosystem restoration, reforestation)

Our Rehabilitation and Recovery programs are based on the following principles:

  • Ensure active community participation in assessing and prioritizing needs, planning, decision-making and implementation Encourage community contributions. Use the recovery process as an entry point for longer term development initiatives

  • Recognize and address the special recovery and infrastructure needs of vulnerable groups. Ensure that women, elderly and disabled people are included in the planning process.

  • Build local capacities and use local labor and materials whenever possible.

  • Coordinate all rehabilitation and infrastructure activities with the relevant line ministries and local authorities.

  • If a community identifies a rural infrastructure need that cannot be covered with existing resources, link them with the appropriate government officials, international agencies, other NGOs or private supporters.

  • Ensure that all interventions are conflict sensitive. Assess social dynamics and consider the needs and interests of neighboring communities.

  • Incorporate environmental best practices: use renewable local materials; minimize topsoil loss during construction; maintain vegetation and tree coverage; consider environmental impact when planning wells, drainage and latrines; support reforestation around homesteads, along bunds and channels, and along damaged coastlines

Contact our regional Field Directors north@sewalanka.org, east@sewalanka.org and south@sewalanka.org or visit our newsletter page to learn more about Sewalanka's rehabilitation work.