Oxfam Canada signs huge deal with CIDA for Sri Lanka reconstruction

A year of
careful planning has paid off for Oxfam Canada, Oxfam Quebec and
most importantly, the tsunami survivors of Sri Lanka. The Canadian
International Development Agency (CIDA) has agreed to give matching
funds for a $4.6 million project aimed at helping the reconstruction
efforts of small-scale fishers and agricultural workers in Ampara,
one of the worst-hit regions of the 2004 tsunami. CIDA workers
in Sri Lanka called Oxfam's plan "the best proposal by far"
for tsunami reconstruction.

The Ampara
Integrated Rehabilitation and Development Project, as it is officially
known, will focus heavily on improving the livelihoods of women
and help them become better prepared to survive future disasters.
In the 2004 tsunami, 38,000 people perished in the poor coastal
communities of north and east Sri Lanka. A disproportionate percentage
of those victims were women.

Oxfam's project
aims to diversify women's roles in the Ampara region, improve
their access to markets, provide high-quality water and build
permanent shelters. Up to 50,000 Sri Lankans will benefit from
this "reconstruction-plus" program, which will take
about three years to complete.

Ampara district
lies in the southern part of the island and is largely dependent
on agriculture and fishing. The population of about 600,000 is
ethnically mixed (approximately 41% Muslims, 39% Sinhalese and
19% Tamils). Muslim and Tamil people live on the coast and were
hardest hit by the tsunami.

Ampara district
was the most severely affected by the tsunami in Sri Lanka. Eleven
out of 20 divisions in the district were directly affected, and
more than 10,000 people died. Some 38,000 families were displaced.

Oxfam Canada
and Oxfam Quebec will work closely on this project with Oxfam
Great Britain, which has been working in Sri Lanka for over 20
years. The next step for Oxfam in its tsunami reconstruction plans
is to secure CIDA approval for a similar initiative in Somalia.