Sri Lanka crisis
An escalation in the conflict in Northern Sri Lanka forced 250,000 people to flee their homes in 2009. With your help, we provided food, essentials and schooling to thousands of children and their families.
Rajeshwari, 44, who lost her son in a shell attack a year before, fled the fighting to a camp in northern Sri Lanka. We built latrines and provided essentials to help improve the lives of people living there.
The latest conflict marked an escalation in the ongoing conflict since the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam began fighting for an independent state in the country in 1983. In May 2009 Sri Lanka's government declared victory in its 26-year war with Tamil Tiger rebels who were fighting for a separate homeland, leaving hundreds of thousands of homeless people living in camps.
We spent £51,000 from our Children’s Emergency Fund, which allows us to respond immediately to a crisis, and launched our appeal. Through your generosity we raised £103,432.
What we did with your support
- 24, 321 children played with their friends and got away from the daily reality of the conflict in our child-friendly spaces in the camps
- Many families fled the conflict with just the clothing on their backs. We gave clothing to 39, 421 children living in the camps.
- We also worked in Vavuniya district in the north of the country, which was heavily affected by the conflict, providing food to over 30,000 children and women and setting up temporary schools providing over 16,000 children with a safe place to learn.
Even though this appeal has now closed, you can help us reach other children in emergencies by supporting our Children’s Emergency Fund.
Thank you.
Photo story of our response
Devamalar and her family at a temporary camp in Gamini Maha, Vavuniya, in the north-east of Sri Lanka. The intensification of conflict between the government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam had forced them to flee their home to escape the fighting.
Once at the camp, Devamalar's family received essential household items, such as mosquito nets, bed sheets and clothing from Save the Children.
"I didn't go to school for two months because of the war," said Nalin, 13. "My favourite subject is maths." Both Nalin and his brother Janagan, 8, attended a temporary school, set up by Save the Children, in the camp where they were living. "The teachers are helping us," he said.
"I like to play badminton," Janagan, 8, said. He and his brother Nalin could temporarily forget about the conflict by playing with sports equipment and toys provided by Save the Children. They played together with their friends after going to school.