Sri Lanka: National Workshop on the Care and Maintenance of Transitional Shelter Sites

A "National Workshop on the Care and Maintenance of Transitional Shelter Sites," was held 23 September at Colombo's Galle Face Hotel under the auspices of the Sri Lankan Government's Transitional Accommodation Project (TAP) and the United Nations and facilitated by the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The objective of the workshop was to enable the 100-plus participants, who included representatives from government ministries, UN agencies, NGOs and other organizations, as well as some people currently living in transitional shelter sites, to explore the best methods to care for and maintain the transitional shelters. Currently 52,383 transitional shelters, housing some 250,000 tsunami-displaced people, have been constructed since February on 492 sites. A total of 55,000 such shelters are expected to be completed by the end of September. The need for care and maintenance of such shelters has become increasingly important given the on-set of the monsoons in October and that permanent housing for all these displaced people is not expected to be completed sooner than a year-and a-half from now if not longer.

The workshop was opened with short addresses by Tilak Ranaviraja, Chairman of the Taskforce for Relief (TAFOR), under which TAP is administered, and by Miguel Bermeo, the UN Humanitarian and Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka. Mr. Ranaviraja stressed the importance of the workshop saying that a "methodical system" was needed to care and maintain these shelters for some time to come. He said that we were in "an uncertain period" suggesting that permanent housing would not be available "within nine months to a year" but more likely in a year-and-a-half or longer. The Chairman of TAFOR expressed high praise for the UN agencies NGOs and other actors who helped meet the government's goal in constructing a sufficient number of shelters. He added that "we now have to transform ourselves into the role of social workers and work day and night, and during weekends and holidays" to ensure the transitional accommodations and their facilities are well maintained and cared for.

In his introductory remarks Mr. Miguel Bermeo said, "what has been accomplished is remarkable" and provides a model both in tsunami reconstruction and in the way government, UN agencies, NGOs and other actors have worked effectively together in a joint effort to get the job done. He added that an equivalent spirit of cooperation between all actors, including government ministries and government agencies on the local level, will be needed in the months to come to ensure those tsunami survivors in transitional accommodation can regain a sense of normalcy in their lives and living conditions. "We are dealing with the lives of people and their basic needs," he stressed. "We can not leave their conditions and concerns to chance."

Workshop participants broke into three groups during the day to explore emerging problems in the shelter camps and appropriate, pro-active responses. The working groups examined issues related to "Access to Basic Services"; "Site Management"; and "Cross-Cutting Issues of Concern" and presented their recommendations and listed the key actors in implementing actions, at the conclusion of the conference. On "Access to Basic Services", they included the need to ensure safe and adequate supplies of water in the camps, access to quality education for children in the camps; the need to assess health needs in the camp and to identify gaps in health care assistance. They also suggested that assessments be made to ensure adequate power supply to all shelter camps and to supply generators and even solar power where necessary and appropriate. They also addressed concerns regarding a shortage of toilets and inadequate procedures for disposal of waste, suggesting that it was particularly important to accelerate toilet construction and ensure adequate sanitation procedures before the onset of the monsoon. On the issue of "Site Management", they suggested the need to identify where "Welfare Societies" and Site Officers exist in camps and, in what form, and to help ensure they are established in all camps. It was also suggested that additional training of site officers be carried out. On the need for general maintenance and structural repairs of transitional accommodation, it was stressed that, to the maximum extent possible, the camp communities themselves should be involved, as they will take on more responsibility with the passage of time. The need for better communication and information flow in the process of the maintenance and care of shelters was repeatedly mentioned including communication between the central government and local government and information flow to beneficiaries about their entitlements and new programmes and initiatives. On safety and security in the camps, it was suggested that welfare societies themselves take the lead in this area and, with the support of government, NGOs and other actors, devise evacuation and safety schemes. The "Cross Cutting Themes" group noted the need for physical security against crime and gender violence and stressed the need for fair and equal treatment for all beneficiaries including the freedom of choice as to where they want to live and a policy of clarity in what exactly are the range of their entitlements. They also cited the need to protect vulnerable groups, particularly against trafficking, substance abuse and sexually transmitted diseases.

Conference participants agreed that it was critical that they move ahead quickly in implementation of their proposals regarding care of and maintenance of the shelters, particularly given the onset of the monsoons. One key initiative that has been agreed upon is that two zonal conferences - one in the south and one in the northeast will be organized by mid-October for the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), assisted by OCHA, to train site managers of the transitional accommodation housing camps