European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) and Oxfam Support Communities to Recover from 2016 Floods and Landslides

Monday, Apr 03, 2017

ECHO and Oxfam supported 4372 people from Colombo, Gampaha, and Kegalle districts to get back to their lives at the earliest possible following the floods and landslides of May 2016. With the help of the project, the people received clean drinking water, cleaned their homes, and learned about how to be safer by preventing diseases.  

  • 2300 people received disinfection kits to clean their homes in Colombo and Gampaha.
  • 532 people received Cash for Work for cleaning key community facilities in their areas. The earnings helped them buy essential supplies and compensate for the loss of regular income during the disaster.
  • In Kegalle, 1120 people still in camps benefit from 60 semi-permanent toilets.
  • 1151 people have better hygiene with 83 garbage bins and 44500 garbage bags.
  • In Kegalle, 30 hand washing facilities (with water tanks, points, and soap) were installed benefitting 1120 people.
  • 232 people in Kegalle clean drinking water through water trucking.

  • Ashoka Piyaseela received a disinfection kit in Kolonnawa distribution point. The kits helped her and the community of Kolonnawa clean their homes that had been inundated for days. Photo: G. S. Fernando/ Oxfam

  • Ranjani Mallika Dias with the disinfection kits provided. The kits helped her and the community of Biyagama clean their homes that had been inundated for days. Photo: G. S. Fernando/ Oxfam

  • Water quality testing was provided to the Gampaha District Public Health Inspector by Oxfam. Photo: Cherisma Rajaratnam/ Oxfam 

  • In Kegalle, the camp dwellers cleaned their camp sites, and Cash for Work provided them with an income to meet their urgent needs.  Photo: Nimali Amarakoon/ Oxfam

  • An ECHO mission meets with Oxfam and Handicap International teams at the Halmessa camp in Kegalle. Photo: G. S. Fernando/ Oxfam

  • An ECHO, Oxfam, and Handicap International team meets the disaster affected people in Dompe, Gampaha. Photo: G. S. Fernando/ Oxfam

  • A public health awareness program underway at the Deyyanwala camp in Kegalle. Photo: Ananda Uyanwatte/ Oxfam