Sri Lanka
Mercy Corps continues to help Sri Lanka "build back better" from the tsunami, and focus on the country's culinary staple — rice — as a way to lift farmers' incomes and protect families against global price shocks.
Most of coastal Sri Lanka hasn't had time to recover from the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami: even as rebulding began, violent conflict engulfed the area, plunging already-shaken families into further turmoil and uncertainty. Mercy Corps, which has helped more than 350,000 Sri Lankans since the tsunami struck, realized that its work had to adapt to meet the challenges posed by disaster recovery and an ongoing conflict.
In the two coastal areas hit hardest by the tsunami, Mercy Corps is helping job-rich industries recover, fighting a food crisis that threatens the most vulnerable families, and bringing together communities of different ethnicities and faiths to lay the groundwork for a peaceful Sri Lanka.
One Table: Farming Rice, Intensively ›
Topics: Agriculture, Food/Nutrition, Hunger, Rural, Women's Empowerment
Kanthi Weerasinghe is one of 160 farmers in the village of Yahangala East experimenting with a method of growing rice called SRI, which is short for System of Rice Intensification.
Sri Lanka's displaced grows to 265,000 ›
Topics: Conflict & War, Displacement, Marginalized Groups
In the country's north, our team is taking steps to help families uprooted to the Vavuniya district, home to the highest concentration of displacement camps.
Exodus of IDPs overwhelms northern Sri Lanka ›
Topics: Conflict & War, Displacement, Emergencies
Mercy Corps is marshaling a humanitarian response to the growing crisis in northern Sri Lanka, where more than 90,000 people have fled fighting between Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan army in the past week.
Financing Higher Yields ›
Topics: Agriculture
A farm family on the tsunami-battered coast spends a lot less time watering their farm thanks to a new motorized pump purchased with a Mercy Corps-financed loan.
Photo Essay: Rice and Recovery ›
Mercy Corps continues to help Sri Lanka "build back better" from the tsunami, and focus on the country's culinary staple — rice — as a way to lift farmers' incomes and protect families against global price shocks.
Recovery Amid Conflict ›
Topics: Civil Society, Economic Development
Mercy Corps is helping Sri Lankan families from different income levels and ethnic backgrounds to find gainful and sustainable employment.
Community Groups Helping Neighbors ›
Topics: Emergencies, Economic Development, Civil Society
Tsunami-affected communities are putting their rebuilding plans on hold to help families displaced by recent violence.
Q&A: Crisis Displaces Sri Lankan Families ›
Topics: Emergencies, Peaceful Change, Civil Society
Mercy Corps Sri Lanka Country Director Josh DeWald answers questions about the current crisis.
Sri Lankan Families Flee Violence ›
Topics: Emergencies
Fighting in northeastern Sri Lanka has forced an estimated 170,000 people from their homes.
Sri Lanka Emergency:
How You Can Help
Donate now to provide emergency assistance to families displaced by conflict between the Sri Lankan army and the Tamil Tiger rebels
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