When Cyclone Ditwah brought heavy rains and flooding to Puttalam district, Nethusha was living with his grandmother Lalitha, while his mother worked overseas, sending home every hard-earned rupee to support her family.As the waters rose, Lalitha took Nethusha to higher ground, hoping that their home would still be standing when they returned. Days later, they discovered that the water had taken everything.“When we came back, we saw that the house had been destroyed,” Lalitha recalled.In the days that followed, Nethusha grew quiet and withdrawn. He spoke less, spending long moments staring at the remains of what had once been his home. The sudden loss of his house, his routines and his sense of safety, weighed heavily on him. “When the water came, I felt so sad and scared without my mother.” he wrote in his notebook.When Lalitha later read his words, she realized how deeply the shock had affected him.   “When I read what Nethusha had written, I realized how much pain he was carrying,” she said. “Especially because his mother is not here during such a difficult time.”For Nethusha, the flood did not just wash away walls and belongings. It took away his sense of safety, and with it, his mother’s dream of a home built through sacrifice and love. Puttalam: among the hardest-hit districtsPuttalam district, where Lalitha and Nethusha live, is among the areas most severely affected by Cyclone Ditwah. More than half of the district’s population has been impacted, with floodwaters damaging homes, schools, roads and livelihoods. Recently planted paddy fields were destroyed, putting immediate pressure on food security for farming families.   Many households are still displaced. Homes have been swept away or left structurally unsafe, forcing families to remain in temporary shelters and tents while waiting for support to rebuild.“The walls of the house are cracked, and it is very risky to stay here,” Lalitha explained. “For now, a temporary tent is all we have.”   In the immediate aftermath, communities showed remarkable solidarity—sharing food, clothing and water. However, the needs remain urgent, particularly for safe shelter, education and psychosocial support.“There are very generous and supportive people in our country,” Lalitha said. “But we still don’t have a place to live.” Helping children cope after loss and disruptionChildren have been among those hardest hit by the cyclone, facing sudden displacement, interrupted schooling and emotional distress.   Through UNICEF, the United Nations in Sri Lanka is supporting children and families in Puttalam and other affected districts with learning kits, psychosocial support and temporary learning spaces. These interventions help children regain routines, process their experiences and return to learning, even as recovery continues.For Nethusha, this critical support offers stability at a time when so much remains uncertain.   A coordinated UN response on the groundThrough a coordinated response, UN agencies are supporting families with food assistance, temporary shelter and essential household items, health services and protection support, including dignity kits and psychosocial care. Support for livelihoods, early recovery and employment is also underway.   All assistance is guided by rapid needs assessments and delivered in close coordination with national and district authorities, ensuring support reaches those most in need.   Responding to urgent needsTo meet the scale of needs following Cyclone Ditwah, the United Nations and humanitarian partners launched a Humanitarian Priorities Plan, calling for US$35.3 million to support the most vulnerable people affected by the cyclone.The plan focuses on immediate, life-saving assistance, including shelter, food, health, education and protection, while supporting early recovery for families like Nethusha’s, who are still living with the consequences of the floods.As communities begin to recover, continued support is essential to ensure children can return to school, families can rebuild safely, and no one is left behind.  

“Our home was right by the stream,” she recalls. “When the waters rose, everything was washed away.” Now living in a temporary shelter with her mother and young children, she describes the daily struggle to meet even the most basic needs.“My children have no schoolbooks, no clothes. Even the birth certificate of my youngest is gone. There are 32 families here. We have all lost everything overnight.”Like thousands of others across Sri Lanka, Poornima’s family is navigating unimaginable loss while trying to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah, which made landfall in on 28 November.   The Impact of Cyclone DitwahCyclone Ditwah has left Sri Lanka facing one of the most challenging moments in its recent history. Torrential rains, landslides, and severe flooding swept across all 25 districts, disrupting essential services, damaging infrastructure. More than 600 lives have been lost, and thousands of families have seen their homes severely damaged or destroyed.Communities continue to face a heightened risk of renewed flooding and landslides, complicating recovery efforts and increasing the urgency of coordinated humanitarian support.   Scaling Up Urgent, Life-Saving SupportAcross the country, the United Nations and humanitarian partners are supporting national authorities in meeting the most urgent needs. Teams are providing essential non-food items, food assistance, safe drinking water, sanitation support, and emergency health services to affected communities.   Protection services, including support for women, children, and vulnerable groups, are ongoing in shelters, while early recovery efforts such as damage assessments and technical support for shelter repairs are underway.   The UN continues to work closely with government counterparts, civil society, and local responders to ensure assistance reaches the hardest-hit areas as quickly as possible.   Launch of the Humanitarian Priorities PlanIn response to the rapidly evolving needs, the United Nations and humanitarian partners are launching the Sri Lanka Humanitarian Priorities Plan (HPP) to guide relief efforts from mid-December through April 2026.   The plan identifies 1.2 million people in need, focusing on providing life-saving assistance to an especially vulnerable target population of 658,000 people across priority sectors including education; food security; agriculture and nutrition; health (including sexual and reproductive health); protection; shelter and non-food items; water and sanitation; and early recovery.   The HPP is focused, time-bound, and grounded in needs identified through the Joint Rapid Needs Assessment and other joint assessments. To help jump-start the most urgent interventions, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has already allocated US$4 million, contributing to the overall US$35 million required to implement the plan. As a collective framework, the HPP aims to ensure that families like Poornima’s receive timely, coordinated, and dignified support as they begin the long road to recovery.   

 As a final-year law student at the University of Colombo, Asindu Munasinghe never imagined a single programme could change his views on the legal profession. Despite his strong grasp of legal theory, the practical side of the profession felt remote until he signed up for his first legal aid camp.Asindu’s passion for justice grew from a young age after witnessing his father’s numerous land disputes. “I saw firsthand the struggles ordinary people faced within the legal system. When I heard about the legal aid camps, I realised this was my chance to do something meaningful,” Asindu recalls.   In an effort to promote legal awareness and access to justice, the University of Colombo Law Faculty, in collaboration with partners, organised multiple legal aid camps across the country.  The initiative was part of the Support to Justice Sector Project (JURE), a multi-year programme initiated in 2022, which aims to build a more efficient, inclusive and accountable justice sector. Funded by the European Union and jointly implemented by UNDP and UNICEF Sri Lanka, in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice, JURE brings together stakeholders across state institutions, independent commissions, academic institutions and civil society to drive a national effort in justice sector reform. The legal aid initiative seamlessly integrates two key objectives of the JURE programme: improving access to justice for marginalised communities while providing law undergraduates with hands-on legal experience.In recognition of the increased strain on Sri Lanka's legal aid system due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing economic crisis, the initiative offers an innovative approach that expands and inculcates pro bono service provision while fostering partnerships between civil society, law students, and the private sector to ensure access to justice for vulnerable communities.    Going beyond the classroomThe legal aid camps were organised under the University’s Legal Aid Unit in partnership with JURE and the Legal Aid Commission. They aimed to provide disadvantaged groups with access to justice while equipping law students with much-needed practical exposure. Between 2023 and 2024, 14 legal aid camps were held across 8 districts. These camps provided essential legal support to more than 4,600 individuals struggling with longstanding justice barriers, including land disputes, domestic violence, and labour rights violations. With 925 law students and about 35 pro bono lawyers guiding vulnerable communities through a complex legal system, these camps became a lifeline. Specialised clinics were held for vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities, the LGBTIQA+ community, fishing communities, and Free Trade Zone workers, among other targeted outreach initiatives. These clinics ensured those with unique legal challenges had access to the support they needed.   For law undergraduates like Asindu, this was a rare opportunity to put their skills into practice, gaining invaluable experience in client interaction while deepening their understanding of client sensitivity, ethics, and the role of community engagement in the legal profession.Asindu quickly became deeply involved and took a leading role in organising the legal camps with his peers. This entailed identifying geographic areas in need, securing the support of the Bar Association lawyers, collaborating with the Legal Aid Commission for case handling, and engaging government stakeholders to ensure continued assistance and support. Before each camp, the university students would undergo triage training, learning how to assess cases, maintain confidentiality, and interact sensitively with vulnerable clients. “The first thing I learned was that legal knowledge alone is not enough. Many people who come to us have already been let down by the system. They are frustrated, tired, and often desperate. Our job is not just to advise them but to support them with empathy,” Asindu explained.At legal aid camps, a triage system directs civil cases to lawyers, while law students assist with consultations, case debriefs, and legal documentation, with complicated cases escalated for further legal action and guidance.One of the most impactful moments for Asindu came during a camp held in the Katunayake Free Trade Zone, where a woman, clearly in distress, was reluctant to approach the lawyers with her complaint. As Asindu and his peers quietly reassured her and made her feel more at ease, she finally revealed that she had been sexually harassed by a senior officer at her workplace and coerced into signing a legal agreement. With the help of the criminal lawyer she met at the camp, the officer was subsequently demoted and transferred, and she was reassigned to a safer environment.“Through this experience, I’ve realised that being a lawyer is much more than winning cases - we have to stand with those who have no voice and help them feel heard,” Asindu reflects.    Restoring faith in the justice sector
 The legal aid camps had an immediate impact on the thousands who attended. Through the collaboration of legal professionals and community members, the camps helped create a network of support while empowering beneficiaries with legal knowledge to protect themselves and seek redress. Many, like a programme beneficiary from Kandy, made determined efforts to seek legal assistance. “I skipped lunch to participate in this clinic after hearing about it at my local temple. I am very upset over a property issue, and I can’t afford to pay for legal advice while also caring for my sick family member. Programmes like these are very valuable,” a participant shared.The initiative has significantly increased awareness of legal rights, enhanced access to legal services and promoted improved trust in the justice sector, especially for those who had given up hope. The camps were a critical resource in empowering communities to protect themselves, challenge misinformation, comprehend legal processes, and gain access to mediation. Recognising that many beneficiaries were daily wage earners unable to afford legal assistance, this intervention directly addressed pressing legal aid needs, ensuring that vulnerable individuals can make informed decisions about their cases.    Creating a new generation of lawyersThe initiative also had a profound impact on the students themselves. Witnessing the struggles faced by vulnerable communities, Asindu and his peers have committed to working one day of every month pro bono to provide legal aid services to deserving clients. For Asindu, the experience has strengthened his commitment to working in an ethical and empathetic manner. “I am determined that in my career, I will never earn a rupee the wrong way. Where I charge for my services, I will give my clients the best possible support. And where I can serve for free, I will—because justice should never be a privilege,” he says.As Asindu prepares to graduate, he recognises that his legal journey will go beyond building a career. He is determined to continue to be part of this movement to ensure justice for those who need it most. 

The waters surrounding Trincomalee are well-stocked with ocean life. This area is a boon to those involved in the fisheries industry, giving rise to the Kalaimahal Fisheries Cooperative Society. This society worked towards the welfare of the fishermen in the area, until the civil conflict began on the island with far-reaching negative impacts on the lives of the fishermen and many others.    The President of the Kalaimahal Fisheries Cooperative Society, Senthilnathan Ponnathorai, can attest to this experience. 45-year-old Senthilnathan resides in Alas Garden, Trincomalee, with his wife and four children. Established in 2003, the Kalaimahal Fisheries Cooperative Society has 43 members and 18 boats. During the conflict, most of the society members went to India in 2006; they returned to the island in 2009 and resettled. Once resettled in Sri Lanka, the members reorganised the society in 2011.   Speaking on their struggles during the conflict, Senthilnathan said, "We had to obtain a pass from the Sri Lanka Navy each time we went out to sea. Our minds were never at ease as the situation within the country was difficult and tumultuous."Even though Sri Lanka was our motherland, we felt as if we were living on rent in our own country”.Even though Sri Lanka was our motherland, we felt as if we were living on rent in our own country”, said Senthilnathan Ponnathora   Catching A Break
With the support of two projects, Kalaimahal Fisheries Cooperative Society has been able to bear the weather.UNDP Sri Lanka's flagship portfolio on SDG16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, funded by the Royal Norwegian Embassy (RNE) and other partners, supports the resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and refugee returnees across Batticaloa and Trincomalee districts, providing them with durable resettlement opportunities including access to essential basic services, sustainable livelihoods and income generation opportunities.   The Support for Durable Resettlement (SDR) project has also helped many, similar to Senthilnathan, to re-establish their lives in the aftermath of the civil conflict. Intending to bring societal peace, the SDR project supports the resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and refugee returnees, providing them with durable resettlement opportunities including access to essential basic services, sustainable livelihoods and income generation opportunities.The SDR project is implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sri Lanka and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Sri Lanka together with the Government of Sri Lanka with funding from the Sri Lanka SDG Fund, which is funded by Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Canada across the Batticaloa and Trincomalee districts.