Contact: Lynn Ludford, Tel: 01252-796270, e-mail [email protected]

1. Introduction

1.1 This report describes the lessons learnt from the second three week trip to Hambantota undertaken by a team of six Social Workers from Hampshire County Council Children's Services and Adult Service's Departments(and two Social Workers from Southampton City Council) in September and October 2005 and makes recommendations for future support to this region of Sri Lanka.

1.2 A list of team members and their current job titles is set out in Appendix 1.

1.3 The programme for the three weeks is set out in Appendix 2

1.4 A statement of expenditure is set out in Appendix 3

2. Summary

2.1 This initiative formed part of Hampshire County Council's response to the Tsunami in South East Asia which occurred on 26^th December 2004.

2.2 In March 2005 the Emergency Planning Officer for Hampshire County Council visited Hambantota, Sri Lanka to assess the needs of the local community after the Tsunami.

2.3 He returned with a clear brief from the chairman of the Urban Council, who wanted workshops run by Social Workers experienced in dealing with the effects of bereavement, and the issues associated with separation and loss.

2.4 In March 2005 Hampshire County Council's Cabinet agreed that a team of six Social Workers should be sent to Hambantota for a three week visit to offer support.

2.5 In April 2005 6 Social Workers were selected from over 100 who volunteered from the Children's Services and Adult Service's Department .

2.6 On April 27^{th 2005} the first team flew out to Sri Lanka and returned on 19^th May

2005 having successfully completed their objectives. It ran 4 workshops for up to 150 people and did some "one- to- one" counselling work.

2.7 On 27^th June 2005 a report was presented to Cabinet outlining the work of the team. The report asked the Cabinet to decide if a further team should be sent out to evaluate and refine the work already done according to the changing needs of the people. Cabinet agreed that further teams should be sent to Hambantota.

2.8 In July 2005 the Southern Consortium agreed that two Social Workers from Southampton City council should join six Social Workers from Hampshire County Council thus increasing the size of the team to eight Social Workers.

2.9 In August 2005 the eight Social Workers were selected from volunteers from both the Children's Services and Adult's Services Departments of Hampshire County Council and the corresponding Departments in Southampton City Council.

2.10 On September 14^th 2005 this team flew out to Colombo and travelled to Hambantota the following day. They stayed in Hambantota for just under three weeks and in that time designed and ran six workshops for some 180 people. They also did some limited "one- to- one" counselling of people whom they had made contact with in April/May 2005 and acted as consultants to a number of non-governmental organisations (NGO's) and other key organisations in Hambantota.

3. Background

3.1 The Southern Consortium of UK Local Authorities were allocated Hambantota District, Sri Lanka to support after the Tsunami. Other Local Authorities were allocated areas in Sri Lanka for example Leeds (Colombo) and Suffolk (Matara).

3.2 As a member of the Southern Consortium Hampshire County Council was given discretion to support the region as it deemed appropriate.

3.3 The Hambantota District was severely affected by the Tsunami. In the District 15,000 people were killed, 2,500 of them in the town of Hambantota. 1,500 people are still missing in the town, 5,000 in total from the district. Some 500 children lost both parents and 600 children lost one parent. Previously the population of Hambantota District was 500,000. 1250 families and 6342 people were displaced and the number of houses destroyed or partially damaged was 1250. (Figures provided by The Hambantota City Development Fund May 2005).

3.4 In the town of Hambantota those who lost their homes are living in two camps. These camps are well organised and initially comprised of tents with separate washing and cooking facilities, plus a meeting and play area. Since the team's first visit in May 2005 the tents have now given way to wooden huts on concrete hard standing and many families have relocated to other parts of Sri Lanka or have moved into new housing 5 kms from town.

4. Selection and Preparation

4.1 As stated previously a decision was taken on 27^th June 2005 to send a further team of Social Workers to Sri Lanka. The recommendation was that some of the original team should return in order to lend continuity.

4.2 At a meeting of the Southern Consortium in early July 2005 it was agreed that Southampton City Council would join with Hampshire County Council and would provide two of the eight Social Workers.

4.3 In August eight Social Workers were selected.

4.4 The final selection of Social Workers included three of the original team . It was agreed with Southampton County Council that the management of the trip would be provided by Hampshire County Council.

5. Re-establishing links in Hambantota

5.1 On arrival in Hambantota the team were welcomed by those who remembered them from May. Hambantota residents were very pleased that Hampshire County Council had sent a second team

5.2 This reaction was to prevail wherever the team went in the first few days. The people in the camps, those who were still there , remembered them too and although their situation was different with tents having given way to semi permanent huts' were very keen to talk about their losses and their futures.

5.3 The team learnt that work done in April/May had been used and in some cases had been developed. The team attended a cultural show and discovered that one of the exhibits was a memory "walk" as described in one of the team's workshops in May. The water play games had been used at pre-school groups and by NGO's and were still being used with enthusiasm by many. Not only had the play benefits of these games been remembered but so had the therapeutic explanation of their use; thus the water balloons were still being used to familiarise children with the taste and smell of the sea water that they feared.

5.4 The written pack that the team had left behind had been used extensively by World Vision and had been used in a limited way by other organisations.

5.5 The team again made contact with all the NGO's in Hambantota. This included World Vision, The Christian Children's Foundation ( CCF) and the Buddhist Foundation of Taiwan. It also contacted the Chairman of the Urban Council, and made new contacts with the Women's Development Federation (WDF) and The Children's Resource Centre in Hambantota.

5.6 There were two main requests for workshops from the WDF and the Children's Resource Centre plus a request to for a half day workshop for World Vision volunteers

6. The Workshops

6.1 The team ran three half day workshops for the Women's Development Federation .WDF wanted workshops for volunteers and parents on parenting skills. Many of their volunteers had lost partners, children and family in the Tsunami themselves and were supporting families displaced by and affected by the disaster.

6.2 The Team were also asked to design and deliver workshops for the Children's Resource centre in Hambantota. The centre had opened in August 2005 and provided a valuable resource for the orphaned children of the district. Two full days of training were provided and covered topics such as team building, assessment, early childhood development, direct work with children, parenting skills, child protection, records management, health and safety and management issues.

6.3 Of particular importance was the introduction of this team to direct work with children. The staff group were given instruction on how to use time lines, genograms, eco maps and Life Story books, all crucially important when working with children who had lost their parents and could very quickly forget where they "came from".

6.4 As stated previously the team were also asked to provide a half day workshop designed for World Vision introducing new concepts of innovative play with children and some "one- to- one" work with a new staff member specifically recruited to assess the needs of orphaned children living in outlying rural districts and their extended families.

7. Other Work

7.1 As stated previously the team was asked to act as consultants to CCF and the Buddhist Foundation of Taiwan.

7.2 CCF had recently joined forces with UNICEF and were about to embark on a new two year programme mentoring those volunteers working with orphaned children in Hambantota district. The Southern District Manager consulted with the team about a extensive range of issues including records management, child protection, assessment, early childhood development and direct work with children who have been orphaned.

7.3 The Buddhist Foundation of Taiwan had been a key NGO in Hambantota since the Tsunami arriving the day after to set up a medical centre and provide tents for those made homeless. They were currently engaged on building some of the new houses on the edge of town and were considering building a community centre, a medical centre, schools and places of worship. They were particularly interested in discussing the team's view about their intention to build an orphanage on this new site.

8. Evaluation

8.1 The first objective was to evaluate work of the original team. As can be seen in section 5 it became clear that the issues the team had covered in the workshops delivered in April/May 2005 had been absorbed into the community.

8.2 The second objective was to refine and develop this work in accordance with the changing needs of the people of Hambantota. It was clear that the key agencies working in Hambantota wanted to use the skills and expertise of the team. The community had moved on since the first visit in May and the need, in September, was to assess the needs of those children orphaned living with extended family and re house those displaced by the Tsunami.

8.3 The content of the workshops that took place with the recurring themes of assessment, early childhood development , direct work with children and parenting skills were a result of responding to those changing needs.

8.4 A third, and most important objective was to give those supporting the children and families affected by the Tsunami in Hambantota the skills and knowledge to carry on this work themselves. The team used many of the resources that they took with them and trained local NGO's and volunteers how to use them effectively when working with children and families.

9. Conclusion

9.1 As can be seen from above the second team did meet its objectives. The team delivered six workshops to approximately 180 participants and acted as consultants to two other large and well respected NGO's in Hambantota. Moreover the fact that a second team returned did much to enhance the capability of this team to achieve its objectives.

9.2 Hampshire County Council acted in advance of other Local Authorities in the

UK and was the first to send such a team to a Tsunami affected area. The decision to send another team to carry on the work of the first has meant that Hambantota district has had the benefit of considerable Social Work expertise and experience. Approximately 300 people have been reached through the workshops and it has been clear that the work shared with community workers, volunteers and carers has been absorbed and is being used locally. The project has been very successful in achieving positive outcomes for the people of Hambantota and has surpassed initial expectations.

9.3 The practice of all eleven Social Workers who have been members of the first and second teams has been enhanced as a result of working with the people of Hambantota. They have been able to share this unique experience with their colleagues in both Hampshire and Southampton and have been sought after to make presentations to other Local Authorities, the Local Government International Bureau and interested organisations. Moreover Hampshire County Council has recently won the prestigious Guardian Public Service Award in the Emergency and Reservists category for its work in responding to the Asian Tsunami.

9.4 At this first anniversary of the Asian Tsunami it would be appropriate for

Hampshire County Council to consider both wider and longer term support to

Hambantota.

9.4 A number of options have been considered. Many good relationships have

been made and consultation via email is already occurring. Longer term relationships between some Hampshire and Hambantota Schools may be developed and there is also an opportunity to influence Social Work teaching in Sri Lanka through partnerships with universities in the South of England. As stated previously Hampshire County Council is a member of the Southern Consortium of Local Authorities which is considering the type of support which would best aid the physical regeneration of the area.

10. Recommendations

That the Cabinet considers:

· The appointment of a member of the Social Work team to become an active member of the Southern Consortium. This multi-authority team of representatives from emergency planning, public and environmental health and from the water industry will continue to assess Hambantota's need for further advice and support in 2006.

· By agreeing to a representative from the Social Work team from Hampshire County Council joining the Consortium, already established relationships in Hambantota will be built upon and enhanced. This, together with the other initiatives identified in 9.3,would be an appropriate model to provide ongoing support to Hambantota in the future.

Section 100D - Local Government Act 1972 - background papers

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