Jaffna Internally Displaced People Camp Report from Paalam Project

At the end of June we received funding from many donors to assist the Paalam Project with aid into the Welfare Camps in the Jaffna District. Our aim was to assist the Kopay Camp in particular as the Paalam Project and New Living Flame Church has its main base in Kopay. In the Kopay camp we have been assisting the 200 families consisting of 483 individuals on a weekly basis.

Thanks to the funding from many donors we were able to provide bed sheets and towels to every person in the Kopay camp. We were also able to purchase clothing for each of the babies in the camp and clothes for the children and teenagers.

We are also working into the Kodikamam Camp where there are 389 families and 1,176 individuals whom we have provided sheets and towels to, along with clothing for the babies in the camp.

On our initial visits to the camps it had been very difficult to get permission to take teams into the camps. We had to write letters to the Government Agent (GA) at the main City Council office (Katcheri) in Jaffna and once we received their approval then take this to the Ministry of Defence for a clearance signature from the Brigadier. This was very time consuming and difficult with our requests often being turned down.

After we received the funding from our donors we went to the Kopay camp with all our permission letters and still we were told we could not distribute the goods needed in the camp. So we asked to speak to the person in charge of the camp. At first they were not willing but after much persuasion the officers put us through and our senior Pastor Jenny Sinnadurai spoke to the Colonel in charge of the camp, explaining that his staffs were not permitting us to enter the camp despite having received permission letters. The Colonel arranged with us to come back to the camp in two days time. That Tuesday we returned to the Camp where we were met by the Colonel who escorted our vehicle and team into the camp. The goods were checked by the army and then we were able to prepare to distribute them.

We had with us a team of 13 people consisting of two youths from our church in Switzerland, two youths from our church in Colombo, myself from New Zealand and others from our church in Kopay.

Our teams are visiting the camps on a weekly basis providing goods requested by the Ministry of Defence. We have been able to distribute these goods directly to those in need at the camps.

04 December · 16:00 - 19:00 @ the fox pub function hall, 413 green lanes, london n13 4jd

Fashion & Music for Cause. A late afternoon of family fashionable fun where you can enjoy the tunes, get some bargain clothes & enjoy a couple of shows.

Take a dive into the ring and as our bodies move to the music, we take a look into Urban Chic!

Catwalk | Jumble Battle | Music | Bar | Family | Raffles | Live Performances

All proceeds towards education in Sri Lanka | Kenya | UK

PCC was introduced to Sammy and Millie Nawali, a couple working together to help orphans in Nakuru, Kenya. We have visited their project a number of times over the past ten years and taken teams of people there from the UK and overseas.

Our desire is to educate people from Western countries to understand the needs of this community. In Nakuru town there are street kids addicted to glue sniffing, prostitution and homelessness. We also want people to be aware of the social needs of the very poor and starving. Sammy and Millie have embraced these needs through social action.

In the years we have been visiting them we have seen a self sustaining co-operative develop. They have provided shelter, care, education, water, transportation, employment and crops to children, young people and adults, to a section of the Kenya population that others would prefer to ignore.

They are witnessing people’s lives completely turnaround. Where there was despair there is now hope. People are being cared for, given back their self worth, sense of purpose, turning their back on their addictions and now giving back into their community.

There is room for growth and sponsorship. People arrive daily looking for help.

You can get involved  by joining one of our visiting teams and working in the project as a volunteer, or by giving financially. We would like your money because money can bring change but what we really want is your heart.