{"id":3765,"date":"2021-04-26T02:24:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-25T20:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/3765\/renaissance-sri-lankas-emergency-food-assistance-project\/"},"modified":"2021-11-09T23:55:02","modified_gmt":"2021-11-09T18:25:02","slug":"renaissance-sri-lankas-emergency-food-assistance-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/fr\/3765\/renaissance-sri-lankas-emergency-food-assistance-project\/","title":{"rendered":"Renaissance Sri Lanka helps the hardest hit by the economic Crisis related to the Covid-19 Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The<strong> COVID-19 pandemic<\/strong> has caused unprecedented consequences all over the world. Sri Lanka as a <strong>developing country<\/strong> also experienced an adverse impact with the lockdown situation that has affected each social stratum. The impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on <strong>Sri Lanka\u2019s economy<\/strong> are already visible. The World Bank predicts Sri Lanka is heading for a <strong>major recession<\/strong>, with the economy contracting by up to three per cent in 2020. Seven per cent of the household heads totally lost their employment. Renaissance Sri Lanka\u2019s project for \u2018Emergency Food Assistance for Families affected by the COVID \u2013 19 Pandemic\u2019 was initiated to assist the families to mitigate the impacts of the crisis. <strong>Renaissance Sri Lanka helps the hardest hit by the economic Crisis related to the Covid-19 Pandemic<\/strong>. The first distribution started in March 2021.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><strong>Author:<\/strong> Shelomi Perera<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3752\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3752\" style=\"width: 995px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-3753\" src=\"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/IMG-20210321-WA0040.jpg\" alt=\"Beneficiaries emergency food packs \u00a9 COPYRIGHT. Renaissance Sri Lanka\" width=\"995\" height=\"746\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/IMG-20210321-WA0040.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/IMG-20210321-WA0040-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/IMG-20210321-WA0040-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/IMG-20210321-WA0040-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 995px) 100vw, 995px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3752\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Beneficiaries&rsquo; emergency food packs \u00a9 Renaissance Sri Lanka<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>How the COVID 19 pandemic impacted Sri Lanka<\/h2>\n<p>The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered unprecedented consequences on the functioning of economies all over the world. Sri Lanka as a developing country also experienced an adverse impact with the lockdown situation and was affected at each social stratum. At the outbreak, all facets of the Sri Lankan economy were hit, from uncertainties on international trade, liquidity shortage, employment loss, to the loss of livelihood of the people engaged in the informal sector.<br \/>\nThe direct health impact was comparatively low in Sri Lanka than in the other countries of the world, particularly in Asia. As of 23rd April 2021, there are 99,691 confirmed cases, with 634 fatalities.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3762\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3762\" style=\"width: 385px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-3763\" src=\"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/raissa-lara-lutolf-fasel-XPEP3tDgnlI-unsplash-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Sri Lankan market, man shopping. \u00a9 Raissa Lara L\u00fctolf (-Fasel)\" width=\"385\" height=\"577\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/raissa-lara-lutolf-fasel-XPEP3tDgnlI-unsplash-scaled.jpg 1707w, https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/raissa-lara-lutolf-fasel-XPEP3tDgnlI-unsplash-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/raissa-lara-lutolf-fasel-XPEP3tDgnlI-unsplash-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/raissa-lara-lutolf-fasel-XPEP3tDgnlI-unsplash-768x1152.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 385px) 100vw, 385px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3762\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sri Lankan market, man shopping. \u00a9 Raissa Lara L\u00fctolf (-Fasel)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The IMF (2020) estimates that the global economy will contract by three per cent, much worse than during the 2008\/09 financial crisis, and estimates will probably be revised down. Sri Lanka\u2019s economy is likely to be hit particularly hard due to a perfect storm of crises: demand for Sri Lanka\u2019s exports has fallen drastically; the tourism industry has collapsed; businesses are finding it more difficult to operate due to the impacts of the curfew and physical distancing measures; remittances are falling rapidly; and, the Rupee has depreciated by 4 per cent since early March 2020, increasing the costs of essential imports and servicing debt held in foreign currencies. Many businesses, across both the formal and informal economies, are in danger of either closing down or slashing their workforces. (UNESCAP 2020)<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3758\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3758\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-3759\" src=\"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/map.jpg\" alt=\"Depth of the loss of income per province - Source: UN Working Paper June 2020\" width=\"300\" height=\"540\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/map.jpg 485w, https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/map-167x300.jpg 167w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3758\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Depth of the loss of income per province &#8211; Source: UN Working Paper June 2020<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The hardest hit province in Sri Lanka, is the Western Province, the average income loss has fallen by 33 per cent according to the UN estimates.<br \/>\nThe current situation has caused an urgent need to assist the families affected by the economic impact.<\/p>\n<h2>Renaissance Sri Lanka\u2019s response to help the hardest hit families<\/h2>\n<p>Renaissance Sri Lanka\u2019s project \u2018Emergency Food Assistance Project for Families affected by the COVID \u2013 19 related economic crisis\u2019 was initiated to assist the troubled families and to mitigate the impacts of the crisis.<br \/>\nThe benefits of the project are significant. They help keep the individuals\u2019 food-security and well-nourishment, so that they are less likely to suffer from ill-health, including from the COVID-19 virus.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3748\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3748\" style=\"width: 506px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-3749\" src=\"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Food_Packs.jpg\" alt=\"Content of the food packs (rice, dahl, soya meat, spices, coconut, milk \u2026) \u00a9 Renaissance Sri Lanka\" width=\"506\" height=\"547\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Food_Packs.jpg 705w, https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Food_Packs-278x300.jpg 278w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 506px) 100vw, 506px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3748\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Content of the food packs (rice, dahl, soya meat, spices, coconut, milk \u2026) \u00a9 Renaissance Sri Lanka<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>The criteria used to select the families<\/h2>\n<p>Reliable Data and information for the selection was taken from the grass-root level government officials, the \u201cGrama Niladhari Officers\u201d.<br \/>\nThanks to the helpful contributions of the Grama Niladharis, three clusters of recipient families were selected in the first phase of the distribution in March 2021, within the Colombo district according to the severity of the impact.<br \/>\nRecipient families were selected, based on the loss of the primary income of the family affected by the COVID 19 pandemic, their income level, the number of dependent children and the presence of members with disabilities and the elderly.<\/p>\n<h2>Renaissance Sri Lanka delivered food packs and helped small-businesses<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4023\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4023\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4024 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/IMG-20210316-WA0000-1024x768.png\" alt=\"Car filled with commodity goods \u00a9 Renaissance Sri Lanka\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/IMG-20210316-WA0000-1024x768.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/IMG-20210316-WA0000-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/IMG-20210316-WA0000-768x576.png 768w, https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/IMG-20210316-WA0000.png 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4023\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Car filled with commodity goods \u00a9 Renaissance Sri Lanka<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The monthly evolvement was more than effective in terms of the initial scope of the month. The target number of 20 recipient families was increased to 24 families.<br \/>\nThe ambition in the coming months, is to increase the distribution to many hundreds of families.<\/p>\n<p>The goods were, in part, purchased directly from producers who had started new small-scale home productions after the pandemic, to alleviate financial difficulties. Renaissance Sri Lanka, therefore contributed to support these families as well.<\/p>\n<h2>The Food Packs were distributed in priority to women heads of family<\/h2>\n<p>The recipients thoroughly appreciated the receiving of emergency food packs in this moment of hardship at the time of the pandemic. The two Grama Niladhari officers who had engaged in the project in selecting recipients and distributing packs were eager about the success of the project and appreciated the effort. They expressed their interest to engage in future works.<br \/>\nWomen head of families being the ones that manage the resources of the households, the food packs were distributed in priority to them.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3754\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3754\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-3755\" src=\"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/IMG-20210321-WA0072.jpg\" alt=\"Beneficiaries sign receipt of distribution \u00a9 Renaissance Sri Lanka\" width=\"1034\" height=\"775\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/IMG-20210321-WA0072.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/IMG-20210321-WA0072-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/IMG-20210321-WA0072-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/IMG-20210321-WA0072-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1034px) 100vw, 1034px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3754\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Beneficiaries sign receipt of distribution \u00a9 Renaissance Sri Lanka<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Expanding for self-sustainability of communities<\/h2>\n<p>The expectation of the Renaissance Sri Lanka team is in the subsequent step to expand the wings beyond the mere distribution of emergency food packs to direct the communities to a sustainable long-term model of self-sufficiency.<\/p>\n<p>As an introductory and integrating step, we hope to go to the communities all around the country within the months ahead, especially in rural areas, starting with providing a pack of basic items. As a second step, we expect to identify the local resources of regional areas which can develop the self-employment businesses, for example, agriculture, production of spices, fruits, traditional industries and handicrafts.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3760\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3760\" style=\"width: 999px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-3761\" src=\"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/nick-fewings-ioNNsLBO8hE-unsplash-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Hope \u00a9 Nick Fewings\" width=\"999\" height=\"667\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/nick-fewings-ioNNsLBO8hE-unsplash-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/nick-fewings-ioNNsLBO8hE-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/nick-fewings-ioNNsLBO8hE-unsplash-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 999px) 100vw, 999px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3760\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hope \u00a9 Nick Fewings<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>March 2021 Distribution Financial Report<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3866\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3866\" style=\"width: 663px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3867\" src=\"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/reports-1024x968.png\" alt=\"Renaissance Sri Lanka March 2021 Covid 19 Food Packs Distribution Financial Report (LKR) \u00a9 Renaissance Sri Lanka\" width=\"663\" height=\"627\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/reports-1024x968.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/reports-300x284.png 300w, https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/reports-768x726.png 768w, https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/reports.png 1350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 663px) 100vw, 663px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3866\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Renaissance Sri Lanka March 2021 Covid 19 Food Packs Distribution Financial Report (LKR) \u00a9 Renaissance Sri Lanka<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"button-wrap icon-left has-icon\" style=\"\"><a href=\"\/donate\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"fundrize-button  solid custom\" style=\"background-color:#fcd824;border-color:#246d98;color:#246d98;border-radius:5px;\">\r\n\t\t<span style=\"\">DONATE NOW <span class=\"icon\" style=\"color:#246d98;font-size:18px;\"><i class=\"donation-icon-money\"><\/i><\/span><\/span>\r\n\t<\/a><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h5>References<\/h5>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Template:COVID-19_pandemic_data\"><strong>https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Template:COVID-19_pandemic_data<\/strong><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.imf.org\/en\/Publications\/WEO\/Issues\/2020\/09\/30\/world-economic-outlook-october-2020\"><strong>https:\/\/www.imf.org\/en\/Publications\/WEO\/Issues\/2020\/09\/30\/world-economic-outlook-october-2020<\/strong><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.unescap.org\/events\/asia-pacific-statistics-week-2020\"><strong>https:\/\/www.unescap.org\/events\/asia-pacific-statistics-week-2020<\/strong><\/a><br \/>\n<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unicef.org\/srilanka\/media\/1366\/file\/UN%20Brief%20Social%20Protection%20Response%20Sri%20Lanka%20Summary.pdf\">https:\/\/www.unicef.org\/srilanka\/media\/1366\/file\/UN%20Brief%20Social%20Protection%20Response%20Sri%20Lanka%20Summary.pdf<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented consequences all over the world. Sri Lanka as a developing country also experienced an adverse impact with the lockdown situation that has affected each social stratum. The impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on Sri Lanka\u2019s economy are already visible. The World Bank predicts Sri Lanka is heading for a&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3871,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[105],"tags":[373,115,374,116,375,117,118,376,377,378,119,120,379,380,121,122,381,80,123,382,664],"class_list":["post-3765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-our-success-stories-fr","tag-action-against-hunger-sri-lanka-fr","tag-covid-19-fr","tag-current-economic-situation-in-sri-lanka-fr","tag-economic-crisis-fr","tag-economy-fr","tag-food-fr","tag-food-distribution-fr","tag-food-insecurity-in-sri-lanka-fr","tag-food-security-sri-lanka-fr","tag-gender-equality-fr","tag-helping-the-needy-fr","tag-humanitarian-fr","tag-hunger-fr","tag-nonprofits-fr","tag-pandemic-fr","tag-renaissance-sri-lanka-fr","tag-renaissance-sri-lanka-action-against-hunger-fr","tag-sri-lanka-fr","tag-women-fr","tag-women-in-sri-lanka-fr","tag-womens-contribution-to-sri-lankan-economy-fr-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3765"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3765\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.renasl.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}