Funded by: UN Human Security Trust Fund / Government of Japan; US $ 1,208,030

Locations:

• Jaffna
• Kilinochchi
• Batticoloa
• Kattankudy

Background

In the post-conflict North East Sri Lanka there are about 800,000 internally displaced people, needing to be resettled in areas where basic services and facilities are non existent or in a state of disorder. More than 350,000 houses are damaged or destroyed and over 50 per cent of the population is living in poverty.

Objectives

The project aims to restore the human dignity of the urban poor by improving small-scale infrastructure at neighbourhood level (water supply, sanitation, drainage, footpaths, street lighting) through the involvement of communities in selection, planning and implementation of the infrastructure works. In consultation with national and local authorities, UN-Habitat selected four towns, reaching out to about 40 poor neighbourhoods or 40,000 urban poor people to improve their living conditions. Project implementation has just started and will:

• Assist urban poor communities to improve their neighbourhoods through the rehabilitation of small-scale infrastructure (water supply, sanitation, drainage, footpaths, street lighting)
• Introduce innovative methods of community participation such as Community Action Planning and Community Construction Contracts, which have been successfully pioneered in other parts of Sri Lanka
• Activate local governments to be more responsive to the needs of the urban poor

Progress

• Forty CDCs have been established in the four cities. They have registered with the relevant local authorities and have opened bank accounts.
• A Training of Trainers workshop was conducted for the Community Facilitators of the four city offices in organizing and conducting CAP workshops for the CDCs. This is an empowerment activity.
• CAP workshops have been conducted and Community Action Plans prepared by 38 CDCs.
• Many small scale infrastructure development projects are under way.