By Sarah Maraschky | Communications Associate
Peace Winds would like to thank everyone who has donated to support the people of Sri Lanka so far. On September 13, 2022, our teams in Sri Lanka distributed food packages to 225 households in Mangaiyuttu Village, one of the poorest and most vulnerable communities in Trincomalee District. Food kits included rice, flour, sugar, tea, lentils, noodles, dried fish, and nutritional supplements.
A local official in charge of public assistance told us: “Many people in the village make their living by working as day laborers. Due to the economic crisis, many construction projects stopped, and the number of jobs decreased, resulting in a sharp drop in income. People here are forced to live a hard life. Last month, three women from the village left their children behind and went to work in the Middle East. We are very grateful for the food assistance provided by Peace Winds. I am truly grateful to all of you.”
Below is the voice of another local Sri Lankan, Mrs. Rohini (39) who received food assistance from Peace Winds.
“I live with my husband, a four-year-old daughter, and two sons, ages eight and 13. My husband works as a day laborer to support our family. In the past, he worked about 20 days a month, but since the economic crisis, he works about 10 days a month.
“My husband’s income used to be around 30,000 rupees ($82), but now it is only 18,000 rupees ($49). Prices are going up day by day, and now we can only buy cheap groceries such as green beans and small, dried fish. I can't remember the last time I bought fish or meat.
“We receive 3,500 rupees ($10) in cash a month from the government as welfare, but now that prices are soaring, even with my husband’s income, it is very difficult to live. Our family is very grateful. Thank you to everyone at Peace Winds.”
About six months have passed since the government declared bankruptcy, but there are still fuel shortages and power blackouts. The rate of price increases for goods like food, fuel, and medication hits a record high every month, reaching 64.3% as of August 2022. The price increase for food products in particular rose to 93.7%.
The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) says that about 6.3 million people in Sri Lanka do not have enough food, and without further assistance, the crisis will only worsen. The condition of the lives of those affected has seen no improvement since the crisis began.
As we continue to receive donations, Peace Winds provide further assistance to the people of Trincomalee who are suffering from the economic crisis. Thank you for your generous support.
Links:
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
