Sri Lanka

Since late 2008, the armed conflict in Sri Lanka has been intensified as the Government Forces launched heavy offensives against the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam) in the Vanni, the area which was held by the LTTE in northern Sri Lanka. The latest figues from UNOCHA state that at least 150,000 to 190,000 people are displaced and trapped in the diminishing LTTE controlled areas.

Save the Children is working with the thousands of displaced people who are fleeing the no-fire zone and are currently being housed in government-run camps in Vavuniya and Mannar. There is currently no access for international non-government organisations to the displaced people in the Vanni.

Caught in the conflict: Saruwan

Saruwan, 6 (photo on right), lives in a welfare camp set up in the playground of Gamini Vidyalaya, a school in Vavuniya town, Sri Lanka. Saruwan's family used to live in Udayangar, Kilinochchi, in the north of the country, which has been held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) for over two decades. The family had to leave their village and were displaced five times before the Sri Lankan military provided them with cooked meals and, on 12 February, transported them and many others in buses to Vavuniya. The camp is home to 650 families living in tents provided by humanitarian agencies. Save the Children has set up temporary learning centres within the camps and has provided children with play things like volleyballs and board games to keep a sense of normality during the displacement.

Donate now to help children caught up in the conflict in Sri Lanka

• $14 will buy a child a pair of shoes
• $25 will provide two primary school age children with essential learning materials such as exercise books, a school bag, pencils and pens
• $115 will provide ten families with hygiene kits containing essentials such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, nappies, soap, baby powder and baby potties