Sri Lanka

Our strategy

The Mercy Corps country program in Sri Lanka closed on January 15, 2012. Over seven years we implemented 22 programs worth $22 million in Sri Lanka, improving the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and leaving a strong legacy.

The context

After seven years of working with communities across the country, we decided to close our operations in light of high taxation and visa difficulties for international organisations, government bans on assistance in post-conflict areas and the decline in available funding. Given these circumstances, as well as Sri Lanka’s socio-economic development levels in relation to the rest of South Asia, we felt we could not continue to work in Sri Lanka and make the kind of impact we would hope.

Our work

Emergency response: Provided basic supplies, spurred clean-up and helped restart community tourism jobs in the wake of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
Economic opportunity: Supported business recovery and created 1,500 jobs; piloted microfinance and insurance programs that have expanded to other Mercy Corps programs around the world