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by Don Asoka Wijewardena

Around forty-one tsunami-survivor families in Bandaragama will receive houses on December 21, built by Marks and Spencer, Care and MAS Holdings.

The complex consists of houses, a playground, sports field, a community meeting hall, a medical room, a library and three shop units, said MAS Holdings Chairman Mahesh Amalean at a media conference on partnership to rebuild the community at the Hotel Trans Asia on Wednesday. Amalean said that the total cost of the project was Rs. 60 million and the cost had been borne by the partners in a truly joint effort. Marks and Spencer and Care had contributed approximately 60 per cent and MAS Holdings contributed 40 per cent.

Referring to the families, Amalean said that one member of each family was an employee of MAS Holdings at its Unichela factory in Panadura and added that from the Marks and Spencer perspective, this humanitarian aid project with Care and MAS had represented a continuation of the company's long-term involvement in Sri Lanka.

Amalean said that following the tsunami devastation, MAS Holdings set up a MAS Tsunami Relief Trust Fund with an initial contribution of 500,000 US Dollars and appealed to all its partners,associates and other well-wishers to contribute towards the reconstruction effort. He said that the MAS Tsunami Relief Trust Fund had funded to repair and construct 173 housing units, reconstruct and expand two schools and a rural hospital.

Marks and Spencer Project Director Abi Rushton said that Marks and Spencer wanted to do something that would not only help rebuild homes for tsunami-affected people but also help them rebuild their lives.

She also said that besides the Bandaragama project, Marks and Spencer and Care were jointly building houses for tsunami survivors in the Galle district where thirty-five houses were under construction.

Care Humanitarian Assistance Co-ordinator Chris Necker said that Care had worked with poor communities in Sri Lanka since 1956 to find a lasting solution to poverty, and had engaged in tsunami reconstruction projects in nine districts in the country. He said that so far around 160,000 tsunami survivors had received Care aid.

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