Eachchilampatai (Sri Lanka), March 11, 2008 - The Czech humanitarian and development agency, People In Need (PIN), accompanied by local government representatives, school principals and students, handed over ninety two bicycles to students of T/Sri Shapaha Maha Vidalayam School in Eachchilampatai, in Trincomalee district. Thanks to donations made by the Czech people through public collection "SOS Sri Lanka", these students can once again get to school easily.

"In the past, the students did have their own bicycles or if a bus were available they could have used it, but when they returned to their houses after fleeing the conflict in spring and summer in 2006, bicycles as well as other stuff was missing or destroyed," said Ondrej Zapletal, Head of Operations of PIN.

"For some of these students, school is at least three to five kilometers away, and while this help may seem small, it is of great help to the students", mentioned Mr. Umamahaswaran, Assistant Government Agent in Eachchilampatai. "People In Need is a remarkable organization working in the Eachchilampatai area", he added.

One of the students is Saritha. She lives with two sisters and her widowed mother. During the conflict they escaped to their relatives' home in Batticaloa and after returning in July 2007 all of their bicycles were missing. "My sister and I were walking five kilometers every day from my village Muttuchenai to school and five back, but it is very hot and I felt so tired and was not able to concentrate on my studies. My mum is working doing manual work and it is very hard to earn a living for all of us. We have no spare money to buy three new bicycles," says Saritha.

Each of the students still had to contribute 500 rupees to have one of the bicycles. "The money is given to their school to buy more books and other materials for library and class work," added Zapletal.

PIN has been working in Sri Lanka since January 2005 to assist people affected by the Tsunami in Trincomalee district. "A large part of our current activities are in the educational sector. Improving the level of education means improving the standard of living in the district. In Sri Lanka we are mainly focusing on preschools, the school sector and of course vocational training," says Matej Novak, Head of Mission of PIN.

PIN has built 21 new schools and pre-schools and reconstructed many. Currently, another school is being built in Kalmunai, Ampara district, which will accommodate 200 school children. PIN's other education-related activities include vocational training, development of the school and pre-school sectors and English teacher training. All projects are funded from the public collection called "SOS Sri Lanka" launched in the Czech Republic just days after the Tsunami hit, during which the inhabitants of this small European country donated more than 5 million dollars.

Veronika Dvorackova, People In Need

For more information about People in Need activities visit www.peopleinneed.cz.