CARE Canada

Published purpose

The decades-long conflict between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and Sri Lankan government forces ended in May 2009. Approximately 300,000 civilians were displaced in the final stages of the conflict, and most were placed in government-controlled camps. These internally displaced people (IDPs) are now returning to their home areas and are starting to rebuild their lives. However, they continue to require humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs. In addition, a number of IDPs remain in the camps, where they are completely dependent upon assistance. CIDA's contribution is supporting CARE to meet the basic needs of returnees in northern Sri Lanka. Project activities include the provision of essential non-food items and transitional shelter to returnee households, repairing and rehabilitating community wells, repairing and constructing latrines, and working with local authorities to ensure that returnees receive legal documents that were lost or destroyed during the conflict.