As the fifth anniversary of the Asian tsunami approaches, a group
of 25 tsunami-affected families from a small community north of the
Sri Lanka capital, Colombo, will be moving into permanent new homes
built through a government-IOM initiative.

More than 35,000 people in Sri Lanka alone were killed and more
than half a million displaced when an earthquake off the Indonesian
coast on 26 December 2004 triggered a series of devastating tsunami
along coastlines in the Indian Ocean.

The homes, built with funding from the Dutch government, are
part of a larger IOM tsunami recovery programme that has built
about 8,570 emergency and transitional shelters and 570 permanent
homes for tsunami-affected communities along the southern and
eastern coast of the island nation. About 43,000 people have
benefitted.

"Permanent housing has been one of the greatest recovery needs
for most of the tsunami survivors and communities. Without a
permanent home, it is difficult for people to rebuild their lives
and livelihoods," says Takuya Ono, Head of IOM Sri Lanka’s
Engineering Services.

The aim of the programme is to provide safe housing with
improved living conditions to the last of tsunami-affected
displaced families who chose to relocate to another area.

The design and construction of the permanent houses on
relocation sites have been carried out in consultation with the
tsunami-affected communities. The government has provided cash
grants to purchase land and to start construction of the homes. In
addition to building the homes with decent sanitation, electricity
and access to water, IOM improves the land on which they are built
through proper drainage and the construction of internal roads.

The Organization also facilitates community discussions between
those receiving the homes and other families in the host community
to guarantee a smooth and sustainable relocation process. 

"Soon after the tsunami struck, we found refuge in a nearby
church after which we moved to a tsunami camp and then to
transitional shelters. After five years we are finally moving to
permanent houses which are 100,000 times better than the camp where
we stayed before and this has helped us get our lives back to
normality," says Elsy, tsunami survivor and community leader who
has advocated strongly for permanent housing.

For more information contact:

Passanna Gunasekera

IOM Sri Lanka

E-mail: "mailto:pgunasekera@iom.int">pgunasekera@iom.int

or

Stacey Winston

E-mail: "mailto:swinston@iom.int">swinston@iom.int