Jan 26, Colombo: United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has funded a mechanics workshop for the fishermen in Kirinda, the fishing capital of the South.

USAID officially opened the Kirinda Harbor Mechanics Workshop at the base of the Kirinda Harbor in the south last Wednesday (23).

In an effort to improve the livelihood of the fisherman in the south, USAID funded the building of the mechanics workshop under its Transition Initiatives Program, which is aimed at strengthening the relationship between community members and their local government leaders. USAID funded another project to dredge the 2004 tsunami devastated Kirinda harbor. Most of people in the area is fishermen and depends on the harbor for their livelihoods.

USAID Mission Director Rebecca Cohn at the opening ceremony said it was clear that more than simply dredging needed to be done to ensure long-term sustainable economic growth at the harbor.

“When we saw the state of the mechanics workshop and found out that there was no other place to maintain and repair harbor equipment in the area we knew we could help,” Ms. Cohn said.

Asanga Abeyagoonesekara, Chairman of the Ceylon Fisheries Harbor Corporation (CFHC), G. Piyasena, Secretary to the Ministry of Fisheries and Water Resources also attended the opening.