Six months after tsunami: Red Cross Movement remembers and looks forward

THE day is an opportunity to remember the tragedy, take stock of the operation, which is the largest Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement operation in the world, and plan for the future, Jagath Abeysinghe, President of the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS) said on Friday.

He made these comments at a briefing organised to reflect upon the post- tsunami rehabilitation activities of the Red Cross Movement after six months since the killer wave struck the country.

Within the first few hours following the disaster, Sri Lanka Red Cross Society volunteers were in the field saving lives, evacuating the wounded and dead and providing assistance to survivors.

Throughout the emergency phase, the SLRCS and its Red Cross and Red Crescent partner Societies administered first aid, provided safe water and sanitation in welfare centers in affected areas, distributed non-food relief items and shelter material, and helped survivors to re-establish contacts with their families.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (International Federation) and many National Societies around the world support the SLRCS in its post-tsunami reconstruction work. It is estimated that the operation would cost US$ 375 million over six years.

SLRCS volunteers so far have provided food, shelter, sleeping mats, mosquito nets and other goods to more than 250,000 people, gave out more than 110,000 items of clothing including school uniforms, produced more than three million litres of safe drinking water a week and gave health care to more than 100,000 people.

The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement has pledged to construct over 15,000 houses for tsunami-displaced people in all districts of the country.

The SLRCS has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Health for the rehabilitation of over 34 medical facilities in all affected districts in the island.

SLRCS and the International Federation are seeking to improve community resilience through support to traditional and alternative livelihood activities, including providing training and equipment for carpenters and tailors, and support for fishermen and their families.

Vocational Training in carpentry, masonry and house wiring for tsunami affected youth in south already commenced last month.

More than 20 Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies from around the world are currently active in Sri Lanka providing material and expertise to the tsunami relief and reconstruction efforts in all the affected regions of the island.