Caritas boosts food aid in former war zone

Caritas Sri Lanka recently increased its food aid to war victims with supplies for another 10,000 displaced civilians confined to camps in the country´s war-torn north.

Father Christopher George Jayakumar with beneficiaries of a vocational training center –- Photo courtesy of Caritas’ Human Development Center (HUDEC)

Officials of the Ministry of Disaster Relief Services had originally asked the Caritas team to boost food supply for 44,000 extra people. Although the Church´s social action arm found it difficult to do so, it started its program of increasing food aid on Aug. 2.

Caritas already provides food for 73,700 of the 300,000 Tamil civilians held in 30 military camps in the districts of Mannar, Jaffna, Vavuniya and Trincomalee. The organization presently provides drinking water and cooked food for at least one meal a day.

Father Damian Fernando, national director of Caritas Sri Lanka, said he was moved to do all he could after seeing how people had to queue for food in the camps. He added that the financing of the additional aid would be taken from the 1 million euros (US$1.4 mullion) that the Italian bishop´s conference had donated to war victims.

Although most humanitarian agencies are still banned from entering the refugee camps, the government has turned to Caritas as it is having trouble coping with the food demands.

“There has been tremendous support from parishioners,” Father Fernando told UCA News. Catholics in various dioceses, including school children, have donated food and other items, including school supplies.

Father Christopher George Jayakumar, who heads the Jaffna branch of Caritas said that food supply to the camps has increased but other pressing problems remain.

“There are hardly any job opportunities here and the large numbers of school dropouts is a big burden on families,” he said.

In a bid to ease the problem, Caritas-Jaffna has opened three vocational training centers in Sandilipay, Mathagal and Illavalai villages on July 30. The centers cater for around 100 school-leavers who will be trained in sewing, tailoring, computer skills, outboard motor maintenance and repair for boats, and marketing.

Caritas has imported 185,000 rupees (US$1,800) worth of sewing machines for use at the centers.

The total number unemployed in the country out of a population of 20 million has risen by 40,000 to 450,000 in little over a year, with the problem most acute in the north.