![U.S. Ambassador Michele J. Sison with Minister of Water Supply & Drainage Dinesh Gunawardena congratulate key water conservation experts at the Lanka Rainwater Harvesting Forum symposium U.S. Ambassador Michele J. Sison with Minister of Water Supply & Drainage Dinesh Gunawardena congratulate key water conservation](https://2012-2017.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/styles/square_thumbnail/public/pressreleases/U.S.%20Ambassador%20Michele%20J.%20Sison%20with%20Minister%20of%20Water%20Supply%20%26%20Drainage%20Dinesh%20Gunawardena%20congratulate%20key%20water%20conservation%20experts%20at%20the%20Lanka%20Rainwater%20Harvesting%20Forum%20symposium.jpg?itok=-BifErKr)
Lanka Rainwater Harvesting Forum held its 11th annual symposium last Friday, September 5, 2014. The symposium brought together experts in the field of water conservation and provided a platform to present research findings and discuss best practices and key challenges related to rainwater harvesting in Sri Lanka and other countries. U.S. Ambassador Michele J. Sison and Dinesh Gunawardena, Sri Lanka Minister for Water Supply & Drainage, attended and spoke in support of the event.
Like most places that have experienced conflict throughout the world, women were deeply affected by Sri Lanka’s 26-year conflict. For most women who lived in the Indian Ocean island’s conflict zones, displacement, destruction, violence, harassment and loss were part of their everyday life. The conflict ended in 2009, leaving many women traumatized and in need of psychosocial care, without belongings or livelihoods, and after the loss of their spouses, as heads of households. Several USAID initiatives continue to support these women by integrating them into society and bringing normalcy b
I am so happy to be back on my own land, raising my children in the same surroundings I grew up in. This is something I’ve been dreaming about for years,” beams Anusha Jeyapraba, from Sri Lanka’s war torn North. For a major part of her life, 39-year-old Anusha knew nothing but violence, bloodshed, loss, displacement and destruction.
![U.S. Ambassador Michele Sison and USAID Mission Director Sherry F. Carlin with local fishermen U.S. Ambassador Michele Sison and USAID Mission Director Sherry F. Carlin with local fishermen](https://2012-2017.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/styles/square_thumbnail/public/pressreleases/Sevalanka-2014-1.jpg?itok=SZ8BM23S)
Today the United States Embassy in Colombo, through its development arm, the U.S. Agency for International Development, announced a new program to revive the fishery community in the Maradankerny Division of Jaffna. This initiative is part of a significant USAID livelihoods project worth $1.5 million USD (approximately SLR196 million) that focuses on empowering economic opportunities and accelerating permanent resettlement for many displaced families in the North.
![Ambassador Michele Sison and the President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, Mr Upul Jayasuriya at the MoU signing ceremony USAID signs MoU with Bar Association of Sri Lanka](https://2012-2017.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/styles/square_thumbnail/public/pressreleases/BarAssociationMoUsigning.jpg?itok=p-NTNx9P)
Today the United States Embassy in Colombo, through its development arm, the U.S. Agency for International Development, announced its new program to support the Bar Association of Sri Lanka. With the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, USAID will sponsor a Bar Association program entitled “Civil Society Initiatives to Support the Rule of Law.”
Comment
Make a general inquiry or suggest an improvement.