Committees

Various committees operate at camp, district and regional level to represent the social and developmental needs of camp citizens across Tamil Nadu. OfERR aims to strengthen and co-ordinate these committees, and link them with government officials and NGOs, to ensure that necessary improvements are felt within the refugee camps.

Camp Co-ordination Committees
Camp co-ordination committees are functional in 107 camps. Of these, 90% meet on a monthly basis. The camp committees take responsibility for bringing people together, identifying their needs and where necessary presenting those needs to higher levels in OfERR, the government and other NGOs. Camp committees provide a common forum in which all stakeholders can gather to discuss development issues. A figure of 1,700 meetings in the last year alone is witness to the current active nature of these groups and the willingness of the refugees to participate in their own development. OfERR is working towards establishing co-ordination committees in the camps currently lacking them; this process is linked to government decisions regarding the permanency of these camps.
 
District and Regional Steering Committees
The steering committees at district and regional level provide forums for camp committee members to discuss issues affecting refugees across the area. They facilitate greater unity and thus strength among the disparate camp communities. Steering committees are bodies which lobby and co-ordinate with the state and national governments and NGOs on issues relating to rehabilitation and development in the camps.

At present 18 district steering committees are functional and meet approximately every two months depending on the urgency of issues that arise locally. All camps are represented and a cross-section of the refugee community attends these meetings, encouraging a fair balance of views. OfERR is providing capacity-building programmes to help strengthen the district committees, and in turn these bodies have worked to reinvigorate those camp committees which were failing or had ceased to function for various reasons.

Regional steering committees are a recent development, but are now operating in three of the four regions in Tamil Nadu: Trichy, Erode and Tirunelveli.

Improving Basic Facilities

OfERR co-ordinates with the government and NGOs to identify and address basic needs within the camps. Maintenance and installation projects are ongoing, involving water points, toilets, electricity and solar power, common sheds and community centres, housing repairs, drainage, and so on. OfERR’s work supplements government assistance to ensure that basic improvements are carried out as soon as possible.

Activities geared towards supplementing government assistance and meeting basic requirements in the camps have been carried out. Last year’s work included the construction of 40 common sheds and 26 women’s common rooms, electrical repairs in 131 houses, the provision of 32 common grinding stones and the repair of 156 toilets, 79 soak pits, 57 bore wells, and 9 drainage systems.

Sports and Youth Groups

• This is another area of community organisation that OfERR supports within the camps. Many young Ceylon refugees are highly active and organised, participating in various community activities:

• Encouraging discontinued students to attend school through discussion and the provision of notebooks

• Repairing common sheds, cleaning wells, environmental work and participation in blood donation campaigns

• Assisting in festivals, funerals and helping residents with particular needs

• Organising sports events, including district, regional and state competitions

• Participating in communication and leadership training to develop valuable qualities for the future  

Sports groups and camp committees have collaborated to hold competitions for many refugee and local teams. Puthuppatti camp in Dindigul district conducted a cricket competition for 21 teams. Nattarasan Kottai camp in Sivaganga district held a cricket tournament for 16 teams. Keelputhupattu camp in Villupuram district organised another tournament for 12 teams. Lenavillakku camp in Puthukkottai district conducted a volleyball tournament for 32 teams.  

State Level Sports Competition in Trichy
Following a refugee youth meeting at state level, OfERR and the Department of Rehabilitation jointly organised a state-wide sports event to encourage young people to display their talents. Ministers of the Tamil Nadu State Assembly such as Mr. K.K.S.R. Ramachandran, Minister for Rehabilitation, Mr. K.N. Nehru, Minister for Transport, Mr. A. Selvaraj, Minister for Forests and Mr. Karpora Sundarapandian I.A.S., Special Commissioner and Commissioner for Rehabilitation, attended the event in Trichy. Also present were Mr. S.C. Chandrahasan, OfERR Chief Functionary and Treasurer, and Ms. S. Sooriyakumari, OfERR Secretary. The teams were chosen at the district level and the winning teams played at the regional level. Those who succeeded at regional level had the opportunity to compete in this prestigious state-wide event. Great enjoyment and wonderful talent were in evidence during this successful occasion.