SEVANATHA Urban Resource Centre has currently undertaken the project “Support to Improve Community Infrastructure of Communities Affected by Recent Floods in Kolonnawa Divisional Secretariat Division, Colombo District” funded by People In Need (PIN) which is a Non-Government Organization working in Sri Lanka and based in Czech Republic. The project was commenced on 1st September 2016 and is planned to complete by 31st December 2016.

The project is carried out mainly based in Kelanimulla Grama Niladhadi Division in Kolonnawa DSD. The main objective of the project is to upgrade community infrastructure of communities which were severely affected by the floods occurred in May 2016. The project is composed of two types of infrastructure improvements such as improvement of individual sanitation facilities and rehabilitation of damaged community infrastructure such as local roads, open drains and culverts. It is planned to reconstruct toilets with septic tanks for 30 families who were severely affected from the recent floods and to rehabilitate 2km of damaged open drains with road surface improvement and repairing of 10 numbers of damaged culverts.

The project is implemented adopting an approach named “CLUES” (Community-Led Urban Environmental Sanitation) Planning. CLUES is a multi-sector and multi-actor approach accounting for water supply, sanitation, solid waste management and storm drainage. It emphasizes the participation of all stakeholders from an early stage in the planning process. In this project SEVANATHA works closely with Kolonnawa Divisional Secretariat who acts as the main government body giving approvals and coordinating post flood rehabilitation work in the area.

SEVANATHA project team has already achieved substantial progress in the project works by identifying and obtaining DS’s approval for 30 beneficiary families, identification of damaged local roads, open drains and culverts. Construction of 14 number of individual toilets is completed and work on other 9 toilets are in progress. Preparation of plans and estimates for local roads related improvement work is also completed and it is expected to complete all the planned construction work by middle of December 2016.

It is important to emphasize that the strong participation and contribution of beneficiary families and the community enabled to move project activities more effectively. It is estimated that approximately 3000 number of persons will be directly and indirectly benefitted through this project which is implemented within a relatively shorter period of four months.

Following photographs highlight the events taken place during the project implementation.