Sri Lanka
The long-running war between the Sri Lankan State and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ended in 2009 and Sri Lanka now faces huge challenges in resettlement, rehabilitation and reconciliation between and within ethnic communities. Your support is helping to deliver preventative and curative healthcare services to Sri Lankan refugees living in camps in Tamil Nadu, India. You’re also helping to provide protection and other services to newly returned refugees in Sri Lanka to support them through the difficult reintegration process.
The long-running war between the Sri Lankan State and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ended in 2009 and Sri Lanka now faces huge challenges in resettlement, rehabilitation and reconciliation between and within ethnic communities. Your support is helping to deliver preventative and curative healthcare services to Sri Lankan refugees living in camps in Tamil Nadu, India. You’re also helping to provide protection and other services to newly returned refugees in Sri Lanka to support them through the difficult reintegration process.
How you’re helping
With your help, Act for Peace’s partner, the Organisation for Eelam Refugees Rehabilitation (OfERR), is providing support services to assist refugees who have returned to Sri Lanka and creating a supportive environment for returnees by raising awareness at the community-level for the difficulties refugees face upon return.
Through community meetings called ‘Welcome Groups’, you’re helping individuals and families learn to solve problems as a community and providing refugees with the knowledge and skills they need to access essential government services. For many returning Sri Lankans, this interaction provides a sense of belonging, a role in the community and an opportunity to rebuild their nation.
In addition to helping refugees overcome the challenges they face returning to Sri Lanka, you’re also supporting Sri Lankan refugees living in camps in Tamil Nadu, India through the delivery of essential healthcare services, nutrition support and personal development programs, and documentation services.
OfERR trains healthcare workers to screen and treat refugees, provides financial assistance for patients requiring urgent hospital care, and delivers a wide range of health education sessions across the camps to help prevent further illness. The program places a special focus on the most vulnerable groups, including children and pregnant women, as well as special assistance to persons living with a disability.
Your support is also working to provide refugees with the information and knowledge needed to help facilitate their safe return as well as the expertise, including livelihood skills that will empower them through the challenges of the repatriation process.