MORE than £40,000 has been donated by the oversees aid committee to charities helping the victims of flooding in Sri Lanka.
More than one million people have been affected by the flooding and more than 320,000 have been forced into temporary shelters.
Recently the country has experienced renewed flooding.
The committee - which is a committee of the Council of Ministers - has donated £41,360 to two charities seeking to help those most affected by the crisis - Y Care International, the YMCA's international relief and development agency, and Care International UK.
Together, the projects aim to help more than 20,000 people by providing food and other essential items such as bedding, soap and mosquito nets and they support the cleanup of affected areas to protect against waterborne diseases.
The overseas aid committee has also donated £8,640 to UNICEF to support refugees from the Ivory Coast where political turmoil has led to more than 38,000 people fleeing into neighbouring Liberia which is itself recovering from years of conflict.
UNICEF's objectives include providing food and treatment for malnutrition to children in both the refugee and host communities, reaching vulnerable populations with water, sanitation and hygiene facilities and services and re-establishing schooling.
Overseas aid committee chairman Phil Gawne MHK said: "The emergency aid donated by the overseas aid committee will have a real effect on the ground in Sri Lanka and in Liberia and we are pleased to support the work of these three charities."
