Engaging Communities: Post-Tsunami – The Case of Sri Lanka

Wijesinghe D¹*

1. Cabinet Office, Sri Lankan Government, Colombo, Sri Lanka

On Boxing Day 2004, 62% of coastal area of Sri Lanka, was knocked out by a high scale ‘tsunami. With 100,000 buildings damaged or destroyed; roads and railways washed away; common utilities dislocated; and, above all, 40,000 lives lost and double that number injured, it was an unprecedented calamity and an un-matched challenge to citizenry and public services. Lack of early warning and un-preparedness made rescue and recovery a daunting task.

Still, the community responded: individuals braved the waves to rescue total strangers; families opened doors to the stranded; vehicles ferried injured with no fare; places of worship, converted into temporary dwellings, took in all comers, with no distinction of faith. Community organizations joined hands with state agencies to co-ordinate these dispersed efforts. Thus, relief and restoration became a tri-partite effort, engaging the community, its organizations (NGOO) and the state.

This paper examines measures taken, from early individual efforts, through co-operative endeavour to institutionalized activity. It also sets out the extents affected; relief provided; reconstruction and rehabilitation taken in hand and results so far achieved. In all this, focus will be on engagement of community. In the presentation, they will be appropriately illustrated. Reference will be made to failures and draw-backs, too.

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