Continuing to support the welfare and safety for those still in disaster relief camps due to cyclone Ditwah is a responsibility that we as a country cannot neglect. Presently there are several disaster relief camps operating within the Aranayaka Pradeshiya Sabha area which offer shelter for hundreds of displaced people. Under the coordination of the Climate Change and Disaster Management Committee of the Aranayake Pradeshiya Sabha, we facilitated a workshop in one such disaster relief camp located in the Welimanna Sri Wijayasundararamaya Temple, along with support from the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society. The camp has been providing shelter for nearly 100 displaced persons for two months, and mostly shelters communities around Mount Samasara. These families and individuals were brought here due to damaged homes, unsafe conditions and destroyed access to roads.
In order to empower these individuals to have knowledge on performing life saving measures during an emergency, our aim was to conduct a first aid training program. Thus a training was provided on the correct provision of first aid in the event of a disaster, with resource people from the Kegalle branch of the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society.
This program was facilitated by the Federation of Sri Lankan Local Government Authorities (FSLGA) under the Direct Aid Program of the Australian High Commission in Sri Lanka.
