The third phase of the Gammadda Rebuild programme began in Badulla District on Thursday, targeting families whose livelihoods were disrupted by Cyclone Ditwah. The two-day initiative will run through Friday across the district.
NewsFirst reported the programme is being implemented with the support of Australia’s Minderoo Foundation. Participants will receive basic training in garment manufacturing, carpentry, masonry, electrical work, plumbing and welding, alongside the equipment needed to begin work in their chosen trade.
The training is delivered with the assistance of the National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority (NAITA), and participants will be awarded NAITA-accredited certificates on completion — a credential intended to ease re-entry into the formal labour market.
The Badulla rollout follows two earlier district programmes: Phase 1 in Nuwara Eliya launched on May 7 and Phase 2 in Kandy on May 23. Together the three phases form the vocational pillar of the Gammadda response, sitting alongside the earlier Gammadda Relief programme of essential aid and the Gammadda Care and Dare initiative for household supplies.
Badulla is one of the districts repeatedly named in recovery coordination meetings — President Anura Kumara Dissanayake set a June deadline for completing key works in the district during his May 13 visit, and central reconstruction funding has been flagged at zero disbursement by COPF as recently as June 3, raising the stakes on private and donor-backed schemes like Gammadda.
Update — June 5 (Day 2): Beneficiaries at the Badulla Technical College received certificates and toolkits on Friday after completing the two-day vocational programme, NewsFirst reported. The day also added two new components: laptops were distributed to university students in the Badulla District affected by the cyclone, and sessions were held on digital literacy and using social media for small-business development. Badulla District Secretary Sunil Galagama, NAITA Assistant Director S.S.M. Peramunugama and NAITA Badulla District Manager Chathuranga Abeywardena attended alongside News First Digital Media Director K. Mayooran, New Media Director Janitha Mendis and Gammadda General Secretary Prasanna Athukorala. The programme has now run through three phases — an emergency relief response in the first 24 hours after Ditwah, the Gammadda Care and Dare distribution drive, and the current Gammadda Rebuild vocational pillar.
