Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumratunga Badaraneyaka and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksha attended the opening ceremony for a building project in Sri Lanka for which the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is providing water.

ADRA will provide water to the 200 permanent houses that will be built on 78 acres of land provided by the Sri Lankan government. The development will be located in the Tangalle division of the Hambantota District of Sri Lanka, one of the areas hit the hardest by last December’s tsunami. Each house will be made with environmentally friendly heat resistant bricks, and will accommodate two bedrooms, a kitchen, dining room, veranda, and an outside connecting bathroom.

Conrad Vine, acting country director of ADRA Sri Lanka, and Julio Paula, ADRA project director for the Hambantota District, represented ADRA at the ceremony held March 15.

ADRA continues its relief efforts to tsunami survivors in Asia and Africa through projects such as the distribution of medicine, water purification systems and livelihood support.

ADRA is present in more than 120 countries providing individual and community development and disaster relief without regard to political or religious association, age or ethnicity. Additional information can be found at www.adra.org