IOM shelter project targets the displaced

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in the Sierra Leonean capital, Freetown, has begun providing shelter assistance to internally displaced persons (IDPs) and returnees in the Kono and Kailahun Districts of Eastern Province, and Koinadugu District in Northern Province.

Christopher Lom, spokesman for the IOM, told a media briefing on Tuesday that some 3,700 IDPs and returnees would benefit from the programme, which is being funded by the government of Ireland.

IOM staff were assisting in the construction of emergency shelters; providing materials and technical assistance for the rehabilitation of permanent shelters; and, training community leaders in the use of construction equipment, he said.

So far, more than 105 shelter assistance projects have been completed and another 28 are under way in Kailahun district, according to Lom. In Kono District, more than 66 shelter projects have been completed in Sewafe, Kayima Sandor and Nimiyama chiefdoms, he added.

Under a separate programme, IOM is providing support for the reconstruction of two primary schools to benefit some 1,400 children, one in Tankoro chiefdom and the other in Gbense chiefdom, both in Kono District.

The projects are part of the National Resettlement, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Programme for Sierra Leone, which is being implemented in coordination with the government's National Commission for Social Action.

The IOM has also provided a job training programme for 200 ex-combatants, which offers them six-month training courses in masonry and carpentry, Lom told journalists on Tuesday.

The organisation hopes to start additional courses in motor mechanics, soap making, tie-dyeing, plumbing, electrical work and tailoring, and has appealed for funds to extend its ex-combatant programmes into Kailahun District, he added.