Completed programme: Sri Lanka

After 26 years, international aid organisation ZOA closed its relief and recovery work on the island of Sri Lanka in April 2021. This year all projects were either completed or transferred. “Our mandate is emergency relief and the first phase of sustainable recovery. This is finished, and that’s a good sign,” says Edwin Visser, ZOA’s chief programme director. “But we are not abandoning Sri Lanka.”

recovery

A symbol of hope

The island was in the grip of a bloody, protracted civil war. Moreover, it was ravaged by natural disasters, like the tsunami of 2004. “We went back and forth from emergency relief to recovery and back again. The fact that we can now leave Sri Lanka with confidence is a miracle and a symbol of hope for all the countries with dead-end conflicts where we work,” says Visser.

Tsunami

Thanks not only to the massive backing of ZOA’s supporters but also of entrepreneurs and private equity funds, ZOA could make a difference in Sri Lanka. “The people have noticed that we are faithful. We did not run away when things got dangerous,” says Visser, referring to the feedback ZOA personnel received from the local population. When the devastating tsunami struck Asia in 2004, ZOA immediately sprung into action in Sri Lanka. Because ZOA’s team in Sri Lanka knew the culture and the people, the Dutch aid organisation could play a leading role in the relief and recovery after the tsunami.

Hand over to Woord en Daad

The fact that ZOA is leaving does not mean Sri Lanka has fully recovered. “Our work as an aid organisation is done. But many of the people of Sri Lanka still have a long way to go. That is why it is important that our projects continue. Recently, we were able to transfer them to local organisations that we usually trained ourselves and that are taking on many of our local personnel,” Visser explains. “We are also pleased that in Sri Lanka we could set up a great partnership with Woord en Daad. Woord en Daad will continue to support and guide some of the local organisations that originated with ZOA Sri Lanka.

Where does ZOA work?