In February Mr. Monerawela, Ms. Amanda Monerawela Hughes and the Honoury
Consul for Sri Lanka in Ireland Dr. Aelred Samarakoon and his wife Cathy
travelled to Sri Lanka again to visit the boat yards and the Shelbourne Park
Village site. The Prime Minister of Sri Lanka invited them to his residence
where the Billy Reilly boat was handed over to a local fisherman.
With the huge generosity of the people of Ireland 1010 one-day
fishing boats complete with engines and nets have been sponsored.
Of these, 950 are already out at sea with the remainder to be
completed by end of May 2006. Each of these boats bears the
name of the sponsor and comes with a 15/25hp Yahama Outboard
engine as well as ten nets which vary depending on the part
of the island being fished.
As well as the Shelbourne Park Village, the Fund has also been involved in 3 other major building projects
which are the Irish Village Project, the Galle Project and the Carpentry and Technical School Project.
Ms. Ann Holmes from the Department of Foreign Affairs, travelled to Sri
Lanka in November 2005 to visited the Irish Village site with Mr. Monerawela. This village
contains 28 houses and again will be fully furnished.
Since January 2005, Mr. Monerawela has made 8 trips to Sri Lanka to
supervise the distribution of boats and to oversee the building projects.
Ms. Amanda Monerawela Hughes has also made 6 trips and most recently, at the
end of November, she travelled with Ms. Mary Regan who is secretary of the
Trust Fund. They covered the entire coastline from Colombo to Hambantota and
then travelled to Trincomalee to check on the boats and the progress made on
the Shelbourne Park and the Irish Village building projects.
Shelbourne Park Village consists of 32 houses, built to a very high specification by local standards. Roofs
have been tiled instead of using standard asbestos, floors have been tiled throughout, water is
mains supplied instead of an outside well, the rooms are fully furnished and cooking utensils are provided.
There is also a community centre as well as a children's playground provided.
In the Irish Village Project, following a request in February
2005 from the President of Sri Lanka for more NGO assistance,
money has been spent on landscaping, water and electricity and
28 houses will have been provided by May 2006.
In Galle, hundreds of lives were lost at a bus depot when the tsunami stuck. 10 houses are being built there
on land purchased by the Fund and these will be ready by end of June/early July. A Carpentry and Technical School
is also being funded in Galle and this is currently under development.
Other projects have also been supported by the Fund such as the Rotary Club Schools Project and the Orphanage in
Negombo.
In total, over €4.1 million has been raised by the Fund which has benefitted 4,000 families through the Boats Project
and 70 families through the Housing Projects.
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