(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Peninsula
Doha: Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) has completed a project to establish a residential village for 800 internally displaced people (IDPs) in Sri Lanka.
At a total cost of $486,619 (nearly QR1.8), donated by a Qatari benevolent person who requested anonymity, the new village is located in Riditenna, Valaichchenai Province, eastern Sri Lanka.
It comprises 56 housing units of 2-bedrooms, hall and kitchen each with a 250-liter water tank. Also, there is a mosque, a public school, a health unit, and two shops. An artesian water well was dug and equipped with a solar-powered pump and a 10,000-liter tank. Done in cooperation with Serendib Foundation for Relief and Development, the project provides a convenient environment for the populations that were displaced due to armed conflict. Now, they can return to their home villages, after years of displacement
In February 2018, a delegation from QRCS held the groundbreaking ceremony for the project. It was attended by the Minister of Rehabilitation and Resettlement, Mayor of Batticaloa, head of municipality, local community leaders, and the project's manager.
Under a public tender, the winning construction company was awarded the contract. To ensure more transparency, onsite supervisors were appointed, and weekly follow-up visits were made by QRCS personnel and the partners. The houses, the mosque, and the school were fully furnished, and the health unit has all the needed medical equipment. After the end of operation, the health facility will be handed over to the government, to ensure its sustainability.
Sri Lanka suffered an armed conflict that displaced thousands of people to neighboring provinces, where they lived in makeshift shelters. As the conflict came to an end, they started returning home, just to find totally destroyed houses and public utilities. An integrated repatriation scheme was adopted by the government to reconstruct the damaged areas, rehabilitate infrastructure, and support livelihoods.
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