The fertility clinic located in the District Hospital in Mullaitivu has now opened its doors to patients! Tamil Diaspora Alliance is funding the IUI (intrauterine insemination) procedures at the clinic for couples to seek treatment. The war chemicals used in the conflict in the North and East could have played an important role in the rising rates of male infertility, which continues to be a substantial problem. Intrauterine insemination is the most affordable and efficient mode of treatment for our population, compared to In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) which is very costly and not widely available. In the past, a lack of IUI facilities in Mullaitivu compelled patients to be referred to Jaffna hospitals for treatment. However, due to financial constraints and difficulty travelling, many couples did not move forward with this treatment option. Opening up this IUI facility in Mullaitivu was crucial and the Alliance hopes that through this initiative many couples will be blessed with children.

Tamil Diaspora Alliance is opening a new fertility clinic in the District General Hospital in Mannar in December 2021. 20% of the population in Mannar lives below the poverty line. This District General Hospital is a multi-speciality tertiary care with 350 beds, catering to a population of over 180,000 under five divisional secretariats. It serves as the main referral center for more than twenty health care institutions including base and divisional hospitals in the Mannar district. Establishing a fertility center with IUI (intrauterine insemination) facilities is one of the most important necessities at this time. Until now, a lack of infrastructure served as one of the major drawbacks that adversely affected outcomes in the field of subfertility treatment. Tamil Diaspora Alliance will be funding the opening of a new facility to establish an intrauterine insemination center to benefit the whole population of the Mannar District and increase the fertility rate to maintain population growth at a steady pace.

The services that will be offered in the fertility clinic include:

KEY FACTS

The Cost:

• 1^st Phase to cover 1050 Farmers (2 acres per family): $50,000 USD

Timeline:

•  September 2021-March 2022

 Five-Year Plan (based on need assessment): $515,000 (USD)

• Working with “The Co-operative Society of Netherlands for Humanitarian Activities” (CSNHA), who successfully established cooperatives (co-ops) in the Northern Province and with the Thrift & Credit Cooperative Societies Union (TCCSU) in the Eastern Province.
• Farmers were selected in consultation with “The Grama Niladhari” of the villagers and agriculture extension officers.
• Beneficiaries were chosen based on their land and irrigation availability, interest/experience in agriculture, family’s financial situation, and recommendation by officials.

“The Alliance” is helping by providing farmers with the initial capital needed to cultivate their lands through interest-free loans and that through a cooperative (co-op) system, so they are not forced to resettle to the cities to seek other forms of employment and sustain life. Villagers, through their own will, have joined together in their respective villages to form sangams to support one another financially. Through the co-op system, funds will be provided as grants to the co-op’s administrative board, who will oversee and monitor fund disbursement to families in need. This will help the farmers develop their own lands and prevent them from resettling. These funds will be given as interest-free loans to the farmers who will pay back the amount to the cooperative system within a period of 2-3 months. These funds will then be disbursed to the next set of families in need of assistance.

Through this method, the capital will stay within the cooperative society and increase the GDP of the Eastern Province. Rather than provide funds directly to individuals, Tamil Diaspora Alliance believes in providing funds only to organizations that are responsible for monitoring and accounting for these funds. Progress will be tracked at regular intervals and adjustments will be made as seen fit. The farmers should be the primary determinants of their own futures and the Alliance will empower them to take the driver’s seat. Through this, the agriculture industry is sustained and the people of the homeland will be economically empowered. This first phase exists as part of a larger five-year plan set forth by the Alliance.

A school for 6^th, 7^th and 8^th standard students in Oddusuddan (town in the Mullaitivu District) unfortunately burned now leaving the children with no place to go and attend classes. Tamil Diaspora Alliance has made arrangements to rebuild the school which will be ready for students to attend classes starting January 2022.

“A new baby is like the beginning of all things- wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities.”

The intrauterine insemination (IUI) procedure is a treatment used by many couples who wish to improve their chances of fertilization. Obstetricians and gynecologists working in infertility clinics in government hospitals reached out to the Alliance for help in procuring some chemicals and catheters needed to perform these procedures. Due to a lack of funds, doctors were not able to purchase the materials needed to perform IUIs, which left couples with no choice but to either delay treatment or find a way to the main city or Colombo, if they could afford to do so. Tamil Diaspora Alliance is arranging for the necessary items to be purchased to help as many infertile couples as possible in their native towns, so that they do not need to travel far for treatment. Government hospitals that are often overlooked by the Tamil Diaspora will be the Alliance’s focus for aid.

“The earth will not continue to offer its harvest, except with faithful stewardship. We cannot say we love the land and then take steps to destroy it for use by future generations.”

Tamil Diaspora Alliance plans to start planting Palmera trees throughout Jaffna starting in November. The environmental benefits of these trees are well known and the positive impact they have on preserving underground water levels are the reason why the Alliance chose the palmera tree in this first step of the larger Climathon initiative.

After 30 years of being internally displaced, the families originally from Mullaitivu are looking to return back to their homes. However, because of a lack of infrastructure, employment opportunities, facilities such as bathrooms and wells, and resources to clear the fields to regain access to their homes, this initiative is at a standstill. Of the 750 families trying to return back to their native villages, 250 of them are led by single mothers.

Tamil Diaspora Alliance is now in the process of conducting case studies to understand what steps need to be taken and in what order to ensure success for these families, particularly those that are led by women, as they are trying to resettle in Mullaitivu. Over the course of the next two to three years, these families will be given the right resources and aid to move back into their homes and employment opportunities for them to thrive in these villages.

Tamil Diaspora Alliance wishes to build “Community Study Centers” in every village in the North and East that will offer opportunities for the less fortunate to network and engage with the global market. Individuals will have to access to Information Technology (IT) courses and volunteers will be trained on how to teach the community to use the latest technology. Students will be coached in English, IT, and other necessary subjects that are required to pass secondary school exams to enter higher administrative positions in society. In addition, entrepreneurship-focused courses, co-operative training, and other vocational training courses will be offered to less privileged students. Let’s use technology to connect our people on the world stage.

An individual/family sponsoring a community studies center in a town will have the center named after him/her/ in the homeland