Plants for the Dry Zone

Oddusuddan is an area in the Mullaitivu District, Sri Lanka which is part of the dry zone where it faced 30 years of torturous civil war and many human interventions which triggered the shrinkage and fragmentation of natural forest cover. Lack of rain fall and the above factors have made the life of living beings in this area a very much harsh and difficult one. Hence to minimize the harshness and improve the quality of life in the area SriLankan government is developing a national plan to introduce a tree cover enhancement projects in this part of the country using SL Forest department and SL Army.

Hence as part of the SriLankan Cares, ‘the Village Heartbeat Project’, SriLankan environment unit also organized a plants distribution at their newly built community center. The hope would be to help the national cause by planting and distributing many plants as possible to the community. At the event few plants were symbolically planted at the community center premises while the rest were handed over to the community to be planted at various locations. This initiative was highly praised by the community and the SL Army as it was a timely need for the area. Also these plants were especially obtained from the Sri Lanka Forest departments’ nursery to be planted in this part of the country as they are endemic to the dry zone.

The Village Heartbeat Project, is also a timely need as it is with the intention of developing the lives of underprivileged and war beaten individuals of rural communities in Oddusuddan and Mulaitivu in Northern Province of the country. This joint project was initiated together with the SriLankan Cares, Charity Arm of SriLankan Airlines and the Foundation of Goodness. The community center was declared open by Mr.Pradeepa Kekulawala, SriLankan Airlines Head of Human Resources and Corporate Social Responsibility, and Mr Kushil Gunasekara, Founder/ Chief Trustee of Foundation of Goodness.