“I was homeless you gave me a shelter” A report from the Diocese of Mannar

People from Mullikulam, Mannar who were part of Musali DS division, displaced from their homeland due to the civil war and even after the resettlement process initiated by the government and other agencies, they couldn’t get back to their own lands due to various reasons. Only in the recent past, the people were able to resettle in their own lands with the support of the Bishop of Mannar after years of gruesome advocacy process. These people faced enormous suffering in their day today life and they were in desperate need of a shelter to live in.

At this time Caritas Sri Lanka intervened with the support of Misereor to construct 50 permanent houses for them.  At the initial stage the plan was for 20 houses only. As at February 2021, 8 houses has been completely constructed, 2 houses have reached roof level completion, 7 houses at the lentil level and 3 houses with the foundation level.

The first stage of 20 house construction will be completed by the end of march 2021. The second stage of another 30 houses will be built and for which the selection process is still going on.

Beside, this permanent housing support for war-affected community in Mannar, there is another project for resettlement and reintegration of Sri Lankan families returning from India in the Diocese of Mannar. This intervention is being carried out by Caritas Sri Lanka with the help of Caritas Korea. One of the objectives of this project is to build 50 temporary shelters for the returnees. The baseline survey with the selection criteria has been completed at this time to select the most vulnerable families who are in desperate need of shelters stationed at different parts in the Diocese of Mannar.

Providing shelters to the people in desperation has been an enormous relief to them and in a way helped to uplift their dignity and status in the society rather than being called homeless by the other locals.

We take this opportunity to express our heartfelt appreciation to Misereor and Caritas Korea for their concern towards the people in need and for the continued journey and partnership with Caritas Sri Lanka.