Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s 24-year long ethnic conflict is a major cause of poverty in the country.

The conflict continues today, despite a ceasefire being signed in 2002. Added to this, Sri Lanka is still recovering from the December 2004 Tsunami, which left more than 30,000 dead and displaced approximately 500,000 homeless people along its northeast, south and southwest coastlines.

The YMCA has been present in Sri Lanka since 1882, and there are now 37 local YMCA associations and two YMCA branches in the country. Y Care International has been working in Sri Lanka since 1984, in partnership with the country's National Council of YMCAs. More recently, we have been supporting Tsunami relief and rehabilitation work which will continue in a long-term development phase.