Tamil youth in Nayaru, Mullaitivu district, began to receive training in water-related disaster management as part of a program funded by USAID, America’s agency for international development.
The two-day training session kicked off on Tuesday in the Nayaru naval base with inauguration by Mullaitivu district Government Agent K.Vimalanathan. The program is being implemented by a local organisation called Sarvodaya.
Participants in the training session included a total of 65 boys and girls from Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi and Vavuniya districts.
Given Nayaru’s, and much of the rest of the Tamil homeland’s, proximity to the sea and other water bodies, it is particularly vulnerable to natural disasters caused or exacerbated by the sea. The trainees were taught to administer first aid to those who are affected in times of flash-flooding and other disasters.
Participants will be imparted training in other resilience techniques until Wednesday when the program is scheduled to end.
The North-East is frequently ravaged by storms and cyclones, aggrieving a community that is highly dependent on fishing and other sea-related activities. The tsunami that struck much of South-East Asia and parts of South Asia in late 2004 took an enormous toll in the Tamil homeland.