Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka has still not fully recovered from the tsunami that hit South Asia in 2004. There are still people who live in temporary accommodation, and thousands of others have also been displaced by the resumed armed conflict.
- We've enabled 130,000 primary and secondary pupils to return to school
- We've reunited 229 children recruited by armed groups with their families
- We've distributed food and other items to more than 85,000 adults and children affected by the renewed fighting
Save the Children in Sri Lanka
We've worked in Sri Lanka for more than 30 years. We've focused on education and child protection, but since December 2004 much of our work has been in response to the tsunami — helping people rebuild their homes, communities and their livelihoods, as well as to be prepared for any future emergency.
We're supporting children's education
Save the Children has built or repaired early childhood development centres (ECDCs), many of which had been damaged by the tsunami, benefiting 4,500 children. We've held workshops for 2,998 teachers at these centres across the country, to help them devise children's activities.
Our international Rewrite the Future campaign focuses on providing quality education for children out of school because of conflict. In Sri Lanka we're aiming to reduce by at least 30% the number of children not enrolled in and not completing basic education in the areas where we work.
We're reuniting children with their families
Together with UNICEF, we're working to help children recruited by the armed groups. So far, we've helped reunite 3,219 children with their families. During 2007 alone, we reunited 467 former child soldiers with their families. We plan to work to reduce the recruitment of children in the areas in which we're working.
We're reducing the effects of future disasters
We're working with children and their communities to reduce the impact of any future disasters.
We've trained 200 teachers from 100 schools in 'Disaster Risk Reduction and Hazard Mapping'. These schools now have people who can provide leadership in emergencies. We've held 90 community meetings, with 1,235 participants, and three workshops for 83 village committee members to discuss hazards they may face, such as floods, cyclones or conflict.
We're helping children affected by conflict
Fighting in the north and east began again and became more intense throughout 2006 and 2007. More than 300,000 have been forced to flee their homes.
Save the Children has distributed food and other items to more than 85,000 adults and children. We set up temporary schools in the camps where the people who have fled their homes are living. We've also found places for children in schools nearby.
Find out more
- Download the full Sri Lanka country brief (PDF 89KB).
- Read about Katie Melua's trip to Sri Lanka to meet children affected by the tsunami.
- Find out how we're helping children who have been fighting someone else's war.
Sri Lanka related news stories
- Wednesday 1 October 2008 Save the Children instructed to withdraw from Tamil Tigers stronghold in Sri Lanka
- Deadline for international aid agencies to quit the Northern parts of Sri Lanka expires.
- Thursday 10 January 2008 70,000 children affected by floods in eastern Sri Lanka
- Five days' torrential rain in Ampara and Batticaloa districts of Sri Lanka has forced more than 28,000 people to flee their homes. We're already helping families affected by the flooding.
- Thursday 15 March 2007 Children at risk as Sri Lanka fighting worsens
- As fighting between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE intensifies, the lives of hundreds of children in Batticaloa are being put at risk as heavy shelling sent from the main army camp in Batticaloa town is dangerously close to school buildings.
