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| Sunday, 24 April 2005 |
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Transitional shelters in the NE by Rohan Mathes reporting from Thirukkovil ZOA Refugee Care Netherlands celebrated its 2000th 'Transitional Shelter' Project at Thirukkovil last Tuesday, as part of their integral program of constructing 5000 movable 'transitional shelters' for tsunami victims in the North East. They are of the view that the affected families themselves should have the option of deciding where they should begin their shattered lives and their livelihoods following the natural calamity. "The families themselves are in charge of building their shelters. It could be set up at any location the refugee families so desires, among their friends, relatives or even within their original villages, subject however, to the relevant laws imposed by the Government", the ZOA Country Director David Verboom noted. These 'transitional shelters' are built at a cost of Rs.32,252 per shelter, which approximately c overs an area of 278 square feet (11X16). This includes a 9X11 room and a 7X11 verandah area as a first phase. They intend to extend it by a small kitchenette as well as a second stage. In instances where the land is owned by the families themselves, they could upgrade the shelter or even commence building a permanent house adjacent to it at a later date. Nevertheless, there is reasonable flexibility in the choice of materials used in the construction of the shelters, as bits and pieces salvaged from their battered houses have also been utilised in some shelters. The standard and more general items used range from galvanised sheets, tar sheets, jutazin or gunny material to cement, sand and bricks. ZOA has also taken up the task of building toilets and the provision of water to the re-settled families. To assist the re-settlement process, ZOA also offers a re-settlement shopping list inclusive of 30 optional items, to the value of Rs.6500. Once the families are re-settled in their compounds, ZOA plans to assist the communities and their leaders further by solving their needs such as permanent housing, livelihoods, water, sanitation and psycho-social assistance among others. ZOA Refugee Care Sri Lanka also maintains an Emergency Preparedness Capacity that could be activated in response to any natural or man-made disaster. |
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