The house warming ceremony was held in Lunama, but there were people from all Ambalantota, in Hambantota district. A music parade, songs, dancing and a drama. More than two hundred people from this southern division joined last week this event to celebrate 22 families in Ambalantota starting a new life.

ActionAid International Sri Lanka, in partnership with WKMS, a local organisation, has funded this housing project for these 22 families, identified as "very poor and marginalized in their communities" by the village committees formed by WKMS.

WKMS is a federation of more than 4,000 women in Ambalantota division. Supported by ActionAid to work on the recovery of tsunami affected communities in Ambalantota, WKMS field officers and volunteers facilitated the process of supporting these families to start a new life. In this particular case, 22 families, despite of not being "directly affected by the tsunami", were equally facing deep poverty and exclusion in the society.

"Even though ActionAid's major focus is on tsunami affected peoples rehabilitation, we are also working with most vulnerable and excluded people who are not affected by tsunami in the tsunami affected areas. They do also need support to rebuild their lives.  As an organisation committed to eradicate poverty, ActionAid supports these families to rebuild their lives," says Vivek CK, Programme Manager of ActionAid in South.

The people who really need support in the communities are identified by so called "village committees". Elected by the community members and volunteers from the local partner, these committees promote community participation in the entire process developing their role as rightful key players and not just helpless recipients of aid.

Of these 22 families, 6 of the breadwinners are widows. ActionAid and WKMS, to promote women's role and status in these areas and strengthen their capacities, have decided to register the new houses on womens name. "The ownership itself gives women more involvement in decision making process, makes them more independent and increases their status both in family and society, as we see in our experiences," says G. Hettiarachchi, coordinator of WKMS

All of them, except Dayarathne, who came to the ceremony to collect the keys of their new houses, were women. Dayarathne's wife died a month ago of cancer and now he takes care, more than ever, of his three children.

"Today is the first day of a new life of my kids and me. Now, they have a place to grow up happily. I am really thankful to ActionAid and WKMS because I could never have dreamt of having a house like this on my own," asserts Dayarathne with a big smile on his face.

Before his wife Ranjanis death, Dayarathne, sometimes, worked as a day labourer in paddy fields. "I worked not more than 10-12 days a month. I can work more because there is no more work in the area and also I suffer from asthma," he says about his hard time of his life. Rs.400 a day for ten hours of work, "not enough money to take care of my family."

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His village committee identified Dayarathnes case as a special case due to his vulnerable situation: wage labour (with a maximum income of Rs.4000 per month), asthma preventing him from doing any other hard job, living in a small hut with three children. The decision was unanimous, the community decided to construct a permanent house for his family.

Dayarathne has participated in the process of building the house since the beginning. "I planned my house with the DS (Divisional Secretariat) engineer and I chose the materials with WKMS." To enhance the transparency and accountability in the process, all the information regarding expenditures on the building has been shared with the community through a transparency board displayed in the facade of all the 22 houses.

The community can see how much money has been spent on materials and labour from this transparency board. For example, it shows how much was spent to buy bricks, sand, cement, tiles, or how much was spent for material transportation, etc. "My house has cost Rs.545,448, much more money than I could save in my entire life. Now, I don have to worry anymore about housing."

Dayarathne has also got a bike from WKMS to start a new livelihood. "Some years ago, I worked in a small mobile business selling fish and I think I can do it again. From now, I can use my whole income to provide my children with a better education and a brighter future... Yes, my childrens future is bright."