11th February 2000.
Dear Kalyani Rajeswaran (HCPPA Canada then secretary),
Thanks for your email letter dated 24th January 2000. Let me thank you for your efforts to consider the plight of the poor children in Vanni. In fact I returned from Vanni only last week. The pathetic situation cannot be expressed in words. Below I have mentioned about our organisation - 'HUDEC' stands for Human Development Centre (Caritas - Jaffna).
HUDEC is the social development arm of the Catholic Church in Jaffna which has been carrying out development and rehabilitation work for the last twenty-five years. In the past it implemented several relief, rehabilitation and community development projects for all citizens irrespective of caste, creed or language. The work of HUDEC has been decentralised at village level.
In the Jaffna peninsula it has successfully carried out and is carrying out several development and rehabilitation programmes. Before 1995 it involved in relief work such as providing dry rations, mild food and cadjans for roofing and shelter. It also assisted farmers to start cattle farming, goat rearing and poultry farming. Recently HUDEC started a joint venture with the HDL Development (Pvt.) Ltd. to produce low cost micro concrete roofing (MCR) tiles. A pre-school development programme has been undertaken by HUDEC with the assistance of Save the Children Norway (SCN). Three major programmes are implemented for the following sectors now:- 1. Fisheries, 2. Farmers, 3.Women.
In the Vanni district where the civil war is continued to be waged, HUDEC undertook relief work such as issuing dry rations etc. It also began shelter programme for the homeless but the main one was the nutritional programme in which HUDEC provides nutritional porridge to 12,500 school going students. Besides 107 volunteer teachers and 97 hospital minor staffs are also paid in the form of relief HUDEC. It is the intention of HUDEC to help everyone without the slightest trace of partially.
The estimate of the expenditure for a child for a month is SR 120.80 (This new budget is given because the prices have gone up due to severe ban in food items)
-Fr.Jayakumar
