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2009-01-12
Provincial Director of Education, Government Agent of Batticaloa, Principal of Pulipanjakal School, students, parents, and community residents. I am pleased to be here today to represent the Government and the people of the United States of America as we officially start renovations on Pulipanjakal School.
Today we mark the beginning of a series of projects that the civilian and military arms of the US Government are undertaking together to help further our goal of helping to stabilize and develop Eastern Sri Lanka to help ensure that terrorism never takes root in this region again.
The U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, is the civilian component of our effort. It is helping communities in the East return to normalcy by strengthening important local institutions like schools and hospitals. USAID renovates these vital buildings because healthy and productive community life depends on access to good medical care for families and quality education for children.
Over the next week, USAID will be breaking ground on eight renovation projects here in the East. In Trincomalee District, we are rehabilitating five schools, repairing damaged classrooms and building new ones so more students can attend schools in their villages. In Batticaloa District, USAID is renovating a hospital and two schools, including Pulipanjakal.
All of these projects are funded by the U.S. Pacific Command, part of the U.S. Department of Defense, as part of its humanitarian outreach efforts to improve stability and quality of life in the Eastern region.
Here at the Pulipanjakal School, 700 primary school students in the western part of Kiran Division once attended classes here. But the conflict caused extensive damage to the school and forced many local residents to leave. Not all of them have returned to the area just yet, but we are hopeful that with upgrades to the school, more families will come back home to rebuild their lives. USAID will construct 10 new classrooms here. The expanded school will serve students from more than 12 primary schools in the surrounding area.
The U.S. Government also recognizes the importance of having medical care available locally, especially when patients need to stay in the hospital for treatment. At the Navatkadu Hospital in Manmunai West Division, facilities for in-patient care are extremely limited, making it difficult or impossible for community members to get the health care treatment they need close to home. To address this need, USAID is building three new patient wards that will provide 63 beds, so local residents will receive the inpatient care they need without traveling 25 kilometers to the nearest hospital.
I should say here that originally we planned to renovate and improve two hospitals in Batticaloa District. The needs at both Navatkadu and Karadiyanaru hospitals, however, exceed the resources initially allocated for these projects. So we will start here in Navatkadu with 2008 funding, ensuring a fully functional facility in line with the latest government standards. Karadiyanaru is at the top of our list for proposed projects with future funding, which we are hopeful of receiving. By postponing that renovation, we can more adequately address needs at both facilities over time.
At the Arasadithivu Vignesware Vidyalayam School, USAID is constructing a new two-storey building that will have 10 classrooms. And we are renovating five existing classrooms that were damaged by armed conflict and a cyclone. This is the only Advanced-Level school in the Paddipallai Division, and improving this facility will directly impact 850 students and 35 teaching staff.
Today’s ground breaking ceremony marks the beginning of some exciting changes at the school. I hope these changes will encourage more of your neighbors and relatives to return to the area, as the school expands and improves its services for local children. I hope these changes also will help increase stability, bring new opportunity to rebuild your lives and your communities in peace and prosperity, and help usher in an era of new hope for the Eastern region as a whole.
Thank you for having me here today. The American people wish all of you a future of peace and greater prosperity.
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