SRI LANKA

PROJECT NAME: Child Protection Programme – Pahamune Rehabilitation Centre

PROJECT AREA: KURUNEGALA, NORTH WEST PROVINCE

MAP

CONTEXT OF PROJECT

Sri Lanka and Indonesia suffered the most from the tsunami generated by the Indian Ocean earthquake of 26th December 2004 which left a trail of destruction and human loss in almost all the coastal areas of the region. In Sri Lanka the deadly waves left five of the country’s provinces in ruins and affected 13 districts in all. A total of 38,000 people are reported dead, some 15,250 reported as injured and around 6,000 listed as missing.

201,959 families have directly been affected by this disaster. 84,141 families were displaced and the total number of displaced persons stands at 555,298. These people are now either living in welfare centres set up in a network of schools, churches, temples and mosques or with relatives and friends. The majority are currently cramped into welfare centres/camps which total about 430 throughout the five provinces.

Apart from the irrecoverable loss of life, the properties and livelihoods of people have also been affected severely by the tsunami. Currently over 90,000 properties have been declared irreparably damaged and some 41,960 houses categorised as partially damaged. Most of the properties described as partially damaged have suffered major structural damage and might not prove to be fit for occupation. It has also been estimated that 80% of the country’s fishing fleet has been affected which is a major setback for the affected population, most of whom rely heavily on fishing as their source of livelihood.

Children have suffered immensely. In Sri Lanka alone, about 14,000 children are believed to have died which is almost 45% of the known dead. Some 1,300 have been orphaned and around 9,000 have lost one parent. The safe, secure and familiar environment they once lived in has been stripped away in an instant leaving an entire generation of children scarred by the immense upheaval and trauma they have experienced.

Unaccompanied children’s centres providing shelter, protection and education, could provide the ideal solution to the current crisis for many children. Such centres have been the Sri Lankan Government’s least preferred option for dealing with orphaned children during the 20 years of war with the Tamil independence movement. However, the preferred options of fostering or adoption have led to significant trade in children and there are many documented cases where they have been sold into hard manual labour or prostitution under conditions that constitute slavery, or sold for adoption overseas. Moreover the sheer numbers of orphaned children requiring immediate help makes the slower process of fostering or adoption less viable.

RESPONSE INTERNATIONAL’S PROJECT

Response International (RI) has embarked on a project that offers an integrated package for unaccompanied children by combining the benefits of a centre (shelter, protection and education) with a comprehensive programme of psychological support (see below) provided by local staff trained by RI experts.

The building for this project, called Pahamune House, has been donated by the A M M Sahabdeen Trust Foundation. This Foundation, which is incorporated under an Act of Parliament, was in the process of establishing a 40,000 ft 2 vocational training facility in Kurunegala in the North West Province of Sri Lanka which had not yet opened when the tsunami struck. With support from RI (over £150,000 has already been raised through private donations and the generous support of the Headmaster’s Committee Appeal), the Foundation has now re-established the facility as the Pahamune Rehabilitation Centre (PRC) to provide for the long term resettlement and education of children temporarily housed in schools, churches, mosques and temples.

Subject to the success of further fundraising efforts both in the UK and Sri Lanka, 300 boys and girls aged between 6 and 18 years will ultimately be housed at Pahamune House. Children belonging to any religious or ethnic groups are welcomed. 50 children arrived on 17 th of January 2005 and a further 42 on 14 th of February making a total of 92 at present all of whom have been placed in local schools. A further 100 are expected in the coming months.

The legal requirements involved in setting up such a facility in Sri Lanka are complex, not least because this is the first such multi-ethnic centre in the country with accommodation for both boys and girls. That the Foundation has established the PRC in full compliance with existing legal requirements, in accordance with UNICEF and other agency guidelines, and has obtained approval from the National Child Protection Agency (NCPA) in such a short time is a major, commendable achievement.


PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORT

Like most affected by the tsunami, the children in PRC are, to varying degrees, traumatised. General medical care will be provided by local hospitals, of which there are three in the near vicinity, and RI will provide for the expert assessment of each child’s wider needs. This care will be provided by local staff, with training and direction supplied by Professors Pat Blakeney (clinical psychologist) and Dan Creson (psychiatrist) from the University of Texas, both of whom have worked extensively with RI on previous projects and have established enviable reputations in the psychosocial support of post conflict/natural disaster communities.

The clinical approach favoured avoids the learned helplessness and dependency that accompanies many disease models. It aims to:

• Normalise responses and reactions. This means defining the child’s response as a normal reaction to the terrible trauma they have suffered
• Legitimise the emotions the child has experienced
• Provide information. The more the child knows the more they experience a sense of control
• Using traditional activities from their own culture(s), e.g. games, songs, dances, to assist children in regaining a sense of stability and hope
• Identify those children displaying evidence of more profound psychological distress requiring specialist input

This approach has previously been successfully implemented by Professors Blakeney and Creson in Bosnia, Kosovo, East Timor, and West Africa, in addition to their work in the USA.

SPONSORS AND PARTNERS

The major partner for this project is the A M M Sahabdeen Trust Foundation which provided Pahamune House and caters for the daily welfare of the children. All the project’s activities are carried out in conjunction with the National Child Protection Agency (NCPA) and other stakeholders with concurrent interests in this area of work, and with full compliance from local authorities and UNICEF.

Response International is extremely grateful for the ongoing donations of the Headmasters’ Conference in the UK to support this project. Other private donations have also been received.

FUTURE DIRECTION

This is an ongoing project as many of the children will require years of protection, schooling and counselling.