The Thiraimadu shelter in the eastern Batticaloa district of Sri Lanka houses more than fifty families that lived in what was known as the ‘Dutch Bar’ before the tsunami. While, two years after the tsunami most of these Dutch descendent families have received new houses, getting back their livelihoods has been a lot harder.

Delicia Wilson, a 44-year-old small enterpriser, says that before she received a grant from the Working Women’s Development Foundation (WWDF), an ActionAid partner, she had been ignored by other organisations because she was a single woman with no family to support.

“Before the tsunami I used to make chilli powder, chutneys, ‘stringhoppers’ and ‘pittu’ (traditional foods) for sale, but all I had was washed away and I had no resources to buy the molds or the ingredients to start it up at the camp again,” she said.

“The WWDF were the only ones to give an Rs 50,000 (about US$464) which helped me get most of my equipment and items.”

Delicia is back on her feet again doing the usual ‘pittu’ and ‘stringhoppers’ business in the mornings while she packets chilli powder and bottles of chutney for sale throughout most of the year.

“My sister and I do it together and at the moment it is the wet season and the prices for goods are high so we are not making chutney until January,” she smiled.

“I have received a proper house at Thannamunai (a nearby village) at the moment and I come to the camp to do my work.”

Sixteen other women had received grants from WWDF to start up small businesses as well.

“We have created a society together and collect Rs 100 from each one a month for our purposes,” she said adding that she has her own savings as well.

In order to increase their business knowledge, WWDF has also held training programmes.

“That really helped us to understand how to save our money as low income earners and also how to face competition,” Delicia says.

© Azi Mohamed / ActionAid