Press Releases
USAID and HELLENIC AID Join Together to Help Tsunami-Affected Trincomalee
Colombo – April 8, 2008: The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and HELLENIC AID, the development agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece, inaugurated the newly rebuilt Anuradhapura Junction Public Market in Trincomalee on Friday, April 4. Officials from the two donor agencies, which jointly funded the project, were joined at the event by Trincomalee District Government Agent, Major General T. T. R. DeSilva and Trincomalee Urban Council Chairman G. Mugunthan.
The joint $700,000 grant funded the rebuilding and expansion of the dilapidated market, one of the main markets in Trincomalee town. As the last component of the grant, implementing partner People in Need (PIN) will now provide training to vendors and local authorities on market management and maintenance and hygiene promotion.
"We hope that the rebuilding of this market will be a symbol of the revitalization of Trincomalee and serve as a foundation for renewed economic activity and social interaction in Trincomalee,” said USAID Mission Director, Rebecca Cohn. “USAID is committed to helping restore peace, prosperity and good local governance to the people of the East. This market is just one of many investments that we have made and will continue to make to help the East benefit from and contribute to the economic growth that Sri Lanka as a whole is experiencing."
USAID will be completing its $134.5 million tsunami recovery efforts in Sri Lanka in 2008. This work includes the construction of a new bridge over Arugam Bay; a water supply system in Pottuvil; the upgrading of fishing harbors in Hikkaduwa, Mirissa and Dondra; the construction of 87 children’s playgrounds in tsunami-affected communities; and the construction and repair of schools, libraries and vocational education training centers throughout the tsunami-affected zone.
“We expect that this very promising market project will contribute to the stable and peaceful cooperation of the entire community of Trincomalee,” said George Filippeos, Minister Counselor for Development Cooperation and Head of HELLENIC AID Special Mission to Colombo of the Embassy of Greece in New Delhi. “The accomplishment of this project shows that donor partnerships give very tangible results and contribute decisively in generating new incomes for the people and have spillover effects for the harmonious social and economic development of the whole Trincomalee area.”
HELLENIC AID is currently financing the implementation of several tsunami reconstruction projects in Sri Lanka’s East, including a psychiatric ward in the Valaichchenai Base Hospital, two Gramodaya C-type Health Centers in the Batticaloa area, the extension of classroom buildings in 17 schools in Trincomalee and Ampara’s coastal area for internally displaced persons, and the installation of solar panels in 60 schools and 400 houses in Moneragala.
PIN has been working on relief, rehabilitation and development projects in Trincomalee since 2005. Throughout the planning and construction process, PIN has involved the local community and local government to ensure that the market meets their needs and will benefit all. This process has helped to bring hope and a sense of unity to a conflict- and tsunami-affected community, while improving local livelihood opportunities.