A foundation ceremony for the China-Sri Lanka Red Cross Village was held Tuesday in Dadalla of Galle district, about 113 km south of Colombo, to house the displaced and the homeless due to last year's tsunami.
Addressing the ceremony, Guo Changjiang, vice president of Red Cross of China, said "all the Chinese people across the country have shown great care and much concern about the people in the tsunami-hit areas in Sri Lanka after the suddenly occurred tsunami which brought tremendous disasters to the people of Sri Lanka, causing heavy loss for people's lives and belongings."
He said people from all walks of life one after another have all voluntarily rendered donations in cash and kind with a view to relieving and reducing the suffering caused by the disasters. The fund collected by the Red Cross of China to built the village is also from Chinese civilian people.
"The Chinese Red Cross was one of the first Red Cross societies to come to the assistance of the tsunami affected in this country and who have been providing unstinting support to Sri Lanka Red Cross Society in our humanitarian endeavors after tsunami." Jagath Abeysinghe, President of Sri Lanka Red Cross, said.
"This village will be a beacon of hope, signifying the solidarity, strength and capacity of the Red Cross Movement for the vulnerable segments of society in any country in times of catastrophe, as we witnessed here one year ago," he said.
The Sri Lankan government will provide land for the construction of houses in the village, with one house costing about 20,000 US dollars.
The Red Cross of China has provided 3 million dollars to Sri Lanka for building 96 house in the village.
More than 30,000 people were killed and up to one million were displaced in the disaster which hit the island country in December 2004.
Source: Xinhua