Feasibility study on a capital-based income generation scheme for ...

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
In detail, the outputs of the <strong>study</strong> are:
1. an ex-ante assessment of the feasibility of cash transfers for livelihood rehabilitation in
tsunami-affected areas of Trincomalee District, setting out modelling scenarios for
different livelihood groups
2. recommendations for cash-based interventions for the sustainable livelihood recovery of
specific livelihood groups
3. action plans that determine in detail the targeted beneficiaries, recommended financial
level of transfers, time scale, and targeting and delivery mechanisms for the
recommended interventions
4. a concept for monitoring outcomes, impact, and risks of the planned projects in order to
be able to assess the feasibility, cost-effectiveness, and comparative advantages and
disadvantages of using cash-based interventions for post-emergency rehabilitation and
recovery.
These outputs have been produced by a team consisting of Save the Children staff members
from the head office in Colombo, Save the Children staff members from the Trincomalee
office and two Overseas Development Institute (ODI) consultants, in the period 6
November to 7 December 2005.
The outputs will be used for Save the Children’s medium-term planning of tsunami related
interventions in Sri Lanka, and will also contribute to the Tsunami Cash Learning Project.
The aim of Save the Children’s interventions is to meet the immediate survival needs of the
affected children, families and communities and to contribute to the restoration of adequate
shelter, livelihoods, education, protection, as well as overall resilience to disaster for
vulnerable communities. Although Save the Children’s planning horizon is limited to the end
of 2007, the impact of the interventions should be sustainable. They should “preserve the
benefits of part of the tsunami relief for future years and enable a lasting uplift in local
capacity to ensure the welfare, rights and protection of children” (Save the Children UK,
2005b).
Taking these objectives and the specific mandate and mission of Save the Children into
account, the <strong>study</strong> gives special consideration to the needs of children and their caregivers.
The <strong>study</strong> also takes into account that tsunami-affected households are not homogenous. It
disaggregates the affected households into livelihood groups in order to ensure that gender,
age, caste and ethnic differences, as well as the specific circumstances of vulnerable groups,
are taken into account.
A special concern of Save the Children’s is “the increasing realisation that additional and, in
some cases, completely new ideas for supporting the rehabilitation of tsunami-affected
communities need to be developed and implemented” (Terms of Reference, see
Appendix 1). In other words: there is a window of opportunity to go beyond existing or
perceived traditions, beliefs, habits and limitations of past and ongoing emergency relief
concepts and interventions. The <strong>study</strong> is challenged to explore new avenues for empowering
and capacitating disaster-affected households in their struggle to rehabilitate their livelihoods
and to improve their well-being in a sustainable way.
The report starts with a review of government and donor responses to the tsunami
emergency and a review of the experience with cash transfers in Sri Lanka and in other
countries (Chapter 1).
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