Jude
Perera walks around his soon to be completed house in the southern
Sri Lankan district of Kalutara. He talks with the head Red
Cross construction worker about the final touches needed to
the outside walls. He turns on the tap in the newly installed
kitchen sink to check if the water supply has been connected
and painstakingly measures the yard to one side of the building.
This particular house at the edge of the new settlement was
allocated to Jude for a specific reason; to give him a big enough
yard to erect a chicken coop which will be the start of his
new poultry farm. To meet his specific needs.
“My main business is selling Sri Lankan sweetmeats at
the local bus terminal. Rearing and selling chickens will give
me an extra income. This is what I did before the tsunami washed
away almost all of my chickens,” he explains.
At the bottom of the hill and at the other end of the settlement,
a carpenter David Fernando is inspecting the house allocated
to him. Fernando has been allocated this particular house as
it is adjoining a main road, which will help him to transport
timber and other material to a small workshop he hopes to set
up on the land next to his house.
Jude and David’s experiences illustrate the importance
of involving tsunami survivors in their own recovery –
in the need to listen to people about what they need.
According to Spanish Red Cross construction delegate Jose Ignacio
Millan, listening and communicating with beneficiaries when
planning post-tsunami housing in Sri Lanka is helping the Red
Cross to make a significant impact on the lives of affected
families.
“For these individuals, their families and the entire
community, these little details in our planning count for a
lot,” he says. “The aim is to build homes while
also helping people get their former livelihoods back on track.”
From the outset of the project the Spanish Red Cross has consulted
with the community. Community based committees comprising beneficiary
representatives were established and a Spanish Red Cross community
liaison was appointed. Consultations and discussions are held
regularly with the committees on various issues, including allocation
of homes, community infrastructure within the site, and inspection
visits by beneficiaries themselves.
The Red Cross works with the committees to also organize community
service projects known as “shramadhana campaigns”,
when beneficiaries help contractors build drainage systems or
help with other small scale construction activity.
“The entire process is structured to engage beneficiaries
in the construction process as a community so that they drive
the recovery effort and are happy with the result,” explains
Amila Suriyaratne, the Red Cross project officer in charge of
the project site.
Mr. Upashantha Perera, the head of one community committee sums
it up well when he says, “This has been a new experience
for all of us and we can be proud that we have been involved
in planning and building our homes as well as our community.”
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Jude
Perera explains the dimensions of his new chicken coop.
The Spanish Red Cross have consulted with beneficiaries
throughout the project, ensuring that their feedback is
taken into account at all stages, and that specific needs
of community members are met. (p14812)
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Houses
nearing completion at the site of Lagoswatte, where the
Spanish Red Cross has built new houses for 70 families
in Kalutara. From the outset of the project the Spanish
Red Cross has consulted with the community. Consultations
and discussions are held regularly on various issues,
including allocation of homes, community infrastructure
within the site, and inspection visits by beneficiaries
themselves. (p14813)
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| Marta
Alejano Monge, Spanish Red Cross delegate talking about
the donors to the Lagoswatte housing project in Kalutara.
This Spanish Red Cross housing project in Kalutara was
made possible by the generosity of Spanish citizens who
donated money to the Red Cross by sending text messages,
with Spanish mobile phone companies agreeing to donate
one euro per message. More than five million text messages
and more than five million euros later, the Spanish Red
Cross continues the recovery effort with this tsunami
affected community by using traditional face to face communications
in building new homes for 70 families. (p14811) |
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News
