Standard Project Report 2016
beneficiaries ' Divineguma bank accounts to be freely redeemed as cash without any cost to the beneficiary. The proportion of assisted people who did not report experiencing safety problems travelling to and from or at the Divineguma bank exceeded the project target. However, some women reported encountering potentially threatening wildlife during their travels to the Divineguma bank.
The provision of food assistance prevented the majority of households from adopting severely negative coping mechanisms. Overall, there were no security incidents nor gender-based violence reported and beneficiaries did not encounter security risks during the emergency operation.
In partnership with the Divineguma development officers at the village clusters, sensitisation on the emergency relief assistance was carried out in the affected areas. However, it was found that only 80 percent of assisted people were informed about who was included in the programme, 64 percent were informed about their entitlement, and 30 percent knew about the complaint system. These results will be taken into account when WFP plans similar emergency operations in future in order to ensure that the population in the affected areas is fully aware of the criteria for inclusion in the assistance programme, entitlements, and complaint mechanisms.
The majority of calls received through the toll-free hotline were inquiries either from households or village clusters that were not targeted by the relief programme. WFP responded immediately to these inquiries. For other complaints from beneficiaries, it took on average four days for WFP to respond and take action due to the need for clarification with the government authorities at the district level.
Stories from the Field
Malini( 39) described her worries about securing food for her only child, baby Sujeevani—“ We had nothing, no home, no livelihood, and our future was ruined. At the beginning, we had cooked meals from the Government, but I was very worried about starvation when the relief assistance was discontinued, I couldn’ t let my child starve”.
Prior to the landslide, Malini and her husband Nimal( 48) had a stable life, as they owned a tea plantation of 2.5 acres that generated an income of USD 410 per month. The landslide destroyed their home, made them landless, killed their relatives and friends, and jeopardised Sajeevani’ s secure future. With no livelihood or income, the family was unable to meet their daily food needs.
For the first time in Sri Lanka, the Government accepted to temporarily include landslide-affected households like Malini’ s into the Divineguma banking network in order to receive WFP cash-based assistance at no cost to the families.
Government officials registered Malini and her family at the camp where they were living to receive WFP assistance and provided information on their entitlement and the use of cash-based transfers to meet their dietary and nutritional needs.
In September, Malini and Nimal received their WFP entitlement for food through the Divineguma bank near their camp.“ Now I can walk to the shop with my head held high and there is no need to beg for credit and buy sub-standard food like leftover vegetables. I can buy what we like to eat and can keep it in the tent”, said Malini.“ Food for my family is secure for three months. I will make use of this time to develop a livelihood and rebuild a home on the land provided by the Government to give my child a stable future”, said Nimal.
Video of WFP ' s EMOP response
Following the disbursement of the cash-based transfers, WFP produced a film on the emergency relief assistance operation, including interviews with beneficiaries and government agencies involved in the operation. The video enabled WFP to share lessons learned from the EMOP and the ongoing work to build a shock-agile response through the government safety net, Divineguma. The video was shared with the Government, donors, development partners such as the World Bank, and international and national non-governmental organizations working on cash-based transfers and emergencies.
Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of( LK) 20 Single Country EMOP- 200990