Renaissance Sri Lanka to help victims of X-Press Pearl disaster

Renaissance Sri Lanka has come forward to the rescue of more than 4,000 families in the severely affected Sri Lankan fishing communities following burning and sinking of the Xpress Pearl.

Renaissance Sri Lanka will distribute kits composed of food and basic necessities to the estimated 4000 fishing community families who are no longer able to fish and are therefore totally deprived of income, and also to all the other families dependent on the fishing industry. 

Indeed, in addition to the directly hit fishing community, 28 other industries are indirectly hit: wholesale and retail vendors, seafood processing and export industries, fish storage and transport services. The once flourishing resort industry on this stretch is worse hit in addition to the pandemic restrictions. 

Renaissance Sri Lanka is a French non-profit organisation, registered in France, on 31st December 2020, under the ‘Association loi 1901’. It is a non-governmental, apolitical, non-denominational, non-profit, humanitarian organization that wishes to support the Sri Lankan population and impulse ethical change in Sri Lanka, to improve the overall livelihood and happiness of the population, in harmony with the identity, culture and values of its Society.

Ashinsa Bopearachchi Cavalié, Paris-based President of Renaissance Sri Lanka, declared: “We decided to launch a campaign to help the families hit by the pollution of fishing waters by the X-Press Pearl cargo ship.”

Neville Weerasinghe, co-founder, added: “Renaissance Sri Lanka will work with our numerous partners in Sri Lanka to distribute this aid efficiently and quickly. We have already successfully distributed food packs to victims of the COVID-19 related economic crisis.”