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Sri Lanka tsunami response: the Emergency Phase
Within hours of the 26 December 2004 tsunami reaching the shores of Sri Lanka, Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA's partner organisation Norwegian Peoples Aid (NPA) mobilised a joint relief effort in collaboration with the Humanitarian De-mining Unit (HDU) and the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO). This was possible due to the existing relationship between the organisations and the considerable human and organisational resources available.
In the immediate aftermath of the tsunami, a fleet of NPA/HDU vehicles supported the evacuation of survivors and their transportation to welfare centres at Pallai and Mullaittivo. 130 NPA/HDU de-miners provided labour power to assist camp management and to take care of victims. At the same time liaison with teams recovering bodies resulted in NPA providing protective clothing (2,000 rubber gloves and 2,000 face masks), decontamination stores, drinking water and washdown/shower facilities to recovery teams.
NPA in collaboration with German Workers Aid (ASB) coordinated with Task Force Offices at the Internally Displaced People (IDP) welfare centres and used NPA logistics channels to locally procure and deliver tonnes of supplies to address the immediate needs of the survivors. In addition, NPA dispersed relief supplies arriving from overseas using a fleet of NPA/HDU vehicles including trucks, water browsers, four wheel drives and pick-ups that provided clean water, food, shelter and medication to tsunami survivors.
Relief items to the camps included tonnes of rice, oil, and canned food; 20,000 candles, 30,000 items of clothing, 3,000 shoes, 5,000 bedsheets, 5,000, towels, 3,000 mosquito nets, 2,500 buckets and a full container of toys, books and puzzles for children - including orphans of the tsunami. Other items ranged from water filters, water tanks, cooking utensils, plastic sheeting to dustbins. In addition medical supplies were delivered outside of the camps - direct to health authorities supporting local clinics and hospitals.
Further to the support efforts in the Vanni Region in NE Sri Lanka, food supplies were delivered to Galle, Tangolle and Hambandota in the south of the country.
In January APHEDA sent funds to the Ceylon Teachers Service union to be used with an alliance of volunteers frmo a range of unions providing emergency medical and food support in the southern and eastern coastal regions.
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