Norwegian Embassy, UNDP provide support to 1,400 resettled households in North and East

Ambassador of Norway to Sri Lanka, Thorbjørn Gaustadsæther, recently visited the Tellipalai Divisional Secretariat area in the Jaffna District where communities have recently been resettled.

During this visit, the ambassador declared open and handed over completed economic infrastructure, namely the multi-purpose building which will ease the accessibility of the community to all Government-related services and the Myliddy harbour, which will support the fishing community in the resettled areas.

Implemented on the ground by the UNDP, the support extended to the newly-resettled areas in Tellipalai and Kopay in the Jaffna District and in Sampoor in the Trincomalee District is a result of funding from the Norwegian Government supporting over 1,400 households with a contribution of more than Rs. 300 million.

Addressing the community in the Palali East Tellipalai DS Division in Jaffna, Gaustadsæther stated: “It is very important for people to return to their original places and re-establish their lives. Therefore, from the time of the land release and start of the resettlement process, the Norwegian Government decided to financially support people to restart livelihood activities and promote the resettlement process….We have seen that our support has been an encouragement for displaced families to return to their origin and restore their lost livelihoods.”

The Ambassador also paid a visit to a young entrepreneur who now produces electronic panels and engages in all construction industry-related electrical work through training under the Youth Entrepreneurship Development Program supported by the Norwegian Government. Under this program a total of 196 young entrepreneurs have been trained and guided to start small-scale businesses to support their livelihood. 

UNDP Sri Lanka works with resettled communities with funding assistance from the Norwegian Embassy to uplift their livelihoods and revive the local economy in the area. The project also seeks to enhance access to government services whilst strengthening community organisations and networks.