Drought Relief in Polonnaruwa and Monaragala

The Foundation of Goodness donated water and water tanks in an effort to alleviate the struggles of villagers suffering from severe drought.

According to the Polonnaruwa Disaster Management Centre, the absence of the yearly monsoon rains aggravated drought conditions that have prevailed in the past two years, which resulted in the severe depletion of the water levels in inland waterways, leaving over 200,000 people affected by the water shortage. As the people are unable to access drinking water, it is supplied daily by the Disaster Management Centre. Unfortunately, many of the people lack the means to store the water which is provided.

We received a request from the Polonnaruwa GA who used to be a resident of Seenigama, and was therefore well acquainted with the Foundation of Goodness. He informed us of the need for water storage units which would allow the people of Polonnaruwa to store the water that was delivered to use through the day for cooking and drinking purposes.

Acting quickly to respond to this urgent need, the Foundation was able to mobilize our loyal donor base and organize twenty 1000 liter water tanks to be delivered to the Dimbulagala Divisional Secretariat. These tanks were split between two villages and were handed over along with 50 liter water containers.

All of the villagers arrived on the day of the hand over and we were deeply moved to see all the young children and elderly crowding around for an opportunity to have fresh water. It was a wake up call to realize that so many people had to struggle without access to their most basic necessities, and we were motivated to continue to help these villages.

As a result of the drought, areas in Monaragala have also been severely affected. The requests from these areas have been for dry rations, as the people also struggle to find food. The main source of income in these areas are farming, and without water, their crops have failed and the villagers have been left without an income and no means to purchase food to feed their families. In the upcoming days, the Foundation of Goodness will deliver dry rations to villages in Monaragala to bring relief to the people.

09th September 2014