People in Need released 37,000 EUR to help the victims of floods in Sri Lanka and send emergency coordinator to the affected area
Published: Jun 23, 2017 Reading time: 3 minutes
Prague, Colombo (30th May 2017) - The south-asian island of Sri Lanka was hit by the worst floods since 2003. People in Need (PIN) released 37,000 EUR (1 000 000 CZK) from its humanitarian fund of the Club of Friends of People in Need to help the victims of those floods. Furthermore the local team of PIN will be supported by an experienced humanitarian worker who will set out for the country this week.
Storm rainfalls in Sri Lanka caused huge floods and landslides, which took 156 lives and left more than 100 people missing, according to the information given by UN OCHA. The situation is serious and according to Sunday estimates the floods affected about 503 560 people in 15 regions of Sri Lanka and at about 83 000 people had to leave their homes. Local police and rescue units are helping the victims of the floods.
PIN has decided to react as fast as possible. “This year the floods in Sri Lanka are the worst of a whole decade. The rains stopped, but the forecasts assume more rains in a next few days. Unfortunately the situation may get worse with time. We are sending a co-worker from a humanitarian team there, who will coordinate the provided help,” says Michaela Kupková, PIN Desk Officer for Sri Lanka.
“Thanks to the resources from the Club of Friends of People in Need we will be able to provide the necessary help to the residents of the most affected areas. We assume, that we could take part in clearing damage, financially support the poorest and most affected households and after a while help them with restoration of their livelihoods and local infrastructure, including sources of drinking water,” adds Michaela Kupková. PIN also plans a joint intervention in cooperation with its partner organizations within Alliance2015, which have been operating in Sri Lanka for a long time.
People in Need in Sri Lanka
PIN have been working in Sri Lanka since 2005, after the island was hit by a destructing tsunami. After a while PIN added other activities to its recovery projects - mostly long terms development projects, focused on renewal of sources of livelihood, agriculture or education. After the end of war in the east of the country PIN also helped in those war-affected areas. Lately PIN has been focused on propagation and introducing domestic bio plants as an effective source of renewable energy. In 2016 with the help of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic PIN started a project of renewal after floods last year, when in cooperation with a local partner they supported a rehabilitation of local infrastructure in Colombo. PIN helps in Sri Lanka also thanks to the generous help of Czech donors through The Real Gift and The Real Aid.
For more information please contact:
Michaela Kupková, PIN Desk Officer for Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Philippines +420 734435455, michaela.kupkova@peopleinneed.cz
