The US is rehabilitating seven schools and a hospital in eastern Sri Lanka in a bid to improve the lives of people hit by the ethnic conflict, it was announced on Thursday.
This would be done through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US Pacific Command. Five of the schools are in Trincomalee district and the hospital and two schools are in Batticaloa district.
The chosen areas were once held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
An embassy statement said American officials joined national, provincial and local education and health officials, community leaders, school and hospital staff, students and their families, and local residents this week for the official groundbreaking ceremonies to mark the beginning of the renovation and expansion projects in Trincomalee and Batticaloa.
All projects are scheduled to be completed by July 2009.
The buildings chosen for renovation provide essential social services to civilians whose lives have been repeatedly disrupted by armed hostilities for as long as two decades, the statement said.