WFP Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific - 2016 SPRs RBB 2016 SPRs by country | Seite 787

Standard Project Report 2016
such as the elderly and disabled. The use of cash-based transfers enabled a reduction in the risk of overcrowding at
retailers and the burden and safety risks of carrying heavy loads of food.
Seventy-eight percent of beneficiaries interviewed during post-distribution surveys were female and the results
showed that 54 percent of the households were headed by women. The use of the cash assistance was mainly
decided jointly by the husband and wife. WFP paid particular attention to aspects such as the impact of cash-based
transfers on existing domestic and social tensions, distance between household and in-kind food distribution
locations and between communities and markets.
Mitigation measures were determined based on risks identified and in consultation with beneficiaries. For instance,
the location of the distribution points were chosen to minimise travel distances and diminish the possibility of safety
incidents travelling to or from distributions; while community and beneficiary sensitisation sessions targeted WFP
beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries to lessen the risk of social tensions before they arose.
The beneficiary feedback and complaint mechanism was set up using a toll free number both at the country office
and area office during the last quarter of 2016, and will be fully implemented in 2017. Awareness raising will be
implemented for beneficiaries regarding the availability of the system. WFP has encountered no exploitation or
abuse of women and children during the implementation of the project.
WFP raised awareness among cooperating partners concerning their legal and ethical responsibilities to
beneficiaries at national and field level at all times.
Assessments of protection issues and gender-based violence will be incorporated into the gender analysis.
Stories from the Field
Earlier displaced by internal conflict, Mrs. Poomalai and her family arrived in Sivapuram, their home village
bordering the Mannar district town in Northern Province with the intention to start a new life.
In 1990, the civil war spread to Mannar district, causing widespread displacement. The area renowned as the home
of pearl fishing is now being rebuilt after the end of the conflict in 2009. Land in Sivapuram, which used to be a high
security zone during the war, was released to rural farmers by the Government at the end of 2015 to resettle
families. Mannar is part of the dry zone in Sri Lanka, prone to drought and climate shocks.
Mrs. Poomalai and her family were displaced several times during the war and finally returned to their own village in
September 2009. Her family were rural farmers and it was difficult for them to feed their children since they had lost
their agricultural livelihood opportunities, especially given their limited access to water sources for agriculture
production.
In order to address the double burden of climate change and resettlement in Mannar in the Northern and
Trincomalee and Batticaloa in the Eastern Province, WFP supported resilience building activities for communities to
mitigate climate shocks through adaptation measures to improve food and nutrition security. From January to March
2016, WFP supported vulnerable resettled families such as Mrs. Poomalai’s to create and rehabilitate productive
assets using cash transfers as an incentive.
“Water for domestic use, gardening and agriculture are limited in this area and we women have to walk nearly two
kilometres to bring water to our homes,” said Mrs. Poomalai. With the community team leader, she and other
community members identified a need to rehabilitate the village’s water tank, which was functioning poorly and had
not been maintained for 20 years, as a solution to the water problem. She joined other resettled families in the asset
creation programme to rehabilitate it by removing shrubs, de-silting and increasing the tank's water volume capacity.
A road leading to the water tank was also rehabilitated during the resilience-building assistance.
The cash transfers provided through the food-for-asset creation programme allowed Mrs. Poomalai to purchase
food from the market to feed her children. Following the completion of the water tank, she no longer needed to
spend hours each day walking to fetch water and she is now cultivating chili and maize on the land provided by the
Government.
Mrs. Poomalai was also one of many resettled families in the Northern and Eastern Provinces supported by a WFP
resettlement package. In addition to cash transfers, she and other participants also received agricultural tools to
strengthen their livelihoods as part of WFP's resilience-building support.
Today, Mrs. Poomalai’s life has changed. She is proud of her accomplishments, especially her home garden
production which has been increasing. “I am going to invest in building a rain water harvesting and storage tank with
hosepipes to water the plants and also expand the garden. I am also going to sell excess vegetables as now I can
access the markets. Thanks to this support, I now have a viable livelihood to regain my life in Sivapuram,” she
added.
Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of (LK)
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