The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) dispatched a Japan Disaster Relief (JDR) medical team to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Sri Lanka) under an order from the Minister of Foreign Affairs in response to the cyclone damage in the country. The team left Haneda Airport on December 3 (Wed.), completed 12 days of support activities in the heavily damaged midwestern town of Chirau, Sri Lanka, and returned home safely on December 16 (Tue.), all 31 members of the team having been dispatched.
At the mission’s dismissal ceremony held at Narita Airport, Kiichiro Iwase, head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said, “It was very impressive to see patients with serious expressions on their faces standing in line in the morning, but leaving with smiles on their faces after the treatment. We believe that we were able to contribute to the promotion of understanding of Japan in the local community of Thilau and to the deepening of relations between Japan and Sri Lanka. From December 4 to December 14, 1,255 medical treatments were conducted in the area. The temperature inside the clinic tents sometimes exceeded 40 degrees Celsius, and the activities were conducted under harsh conditions, including extreme heat and sudden heavy rains that flooded the tents.
This time, the Sri Lankan government requested the Japanese government to deploy to Sri Lanka at an early stage when the cyclone was still in its early stages. In response, Manabu Iimura, Executive Director of JICA’s International Emergency Assistance Volunteers Secretariat, said, “Looking back, the JICA has deployed to Sri Lanka three times in the past. Sri Lanka also extended a helping hand to Japan in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake, and we cooperated with each other in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake in January 2010, so I thought we had deep ties in humanitarian assistance. We had the option of dispatching a follow-on team this time, but since the local medical system is recovering, we have decided to end our support by the JCMT for now.
Pivithul Janak Kumarasinghe, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka to Japan, who was present at the disbandment ceremony, said, “I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the unwavering support you have shown during the most difficult period in our recent history. The work of the International Emergency Relief Team is a testament to the deep friendship and trust between our two island nations, Japan and Sri Lanka, who share the experience of overcoming many disasters and are bound by mutual assistance. The people of Sri Lanka will long remember the kindness and professionalism of your team members,” he said.
© Source JICA