EU Funding Will Boost Incomes in Tsunami-Affected East - Poor
communities in Ampara, an eastern district of Sri Lanka affected by
two decades of violence and the 2004 tsunami, can look forward to
greater income security, following a new agreement signed today
between the European Commission (EC) and IOM.



The EC will provide EUR 9.9 million over four years to fund an IOM
Community Livelihood Support project that will directly benefit
about 100,000 people in Ampara, where some 10,000 people died in
the tsunami.



The project will help communities and local authorities to
construct and renovate critical productive and social
infrastructure, such as rice mills and fish processing and
packaging facilities. It will also improve vital social services
such as health clinics and vocational training centres.



“One important goal of the project is to enhance the
profitability of small and medium enterprises through training. We
need to teach people how to manage businesses efficiently, how to
add value to local products and how to reach more lucrative
markets,” says IOM Sri Lanka Chief of Mission, Christopher
Gascon.



The project will also encourage women and young people to develop
marketable skills through training, backed up by recognized
certification and work experience. It will also identify job
opportunities and potential employers.



It will also work with government and commercial banks to train
entrepreneurs in business planning, in order to increase community
access to credit.



IOM has been working in Ampara and throughout Sri Lanka with
families displaced by the conflict since 2002. Following the
tsunami, it constructed emergency and transitional shelters,
provided water and sanitation facilities, and replaced tools and
equipment to help affected families generate income and restart
their lives.

For more information, please contact:

Annie E. Scarborough

IOM Sri Lanka

Tel: +0773 020 399

E-mail: "mailto:annies@iomsrilanka.org" target="" title=
"">annies@iomsrilanka.org