Sri Lanka: UNICEF chief visits school rebuilt in east

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) chief Ann Veneman has visited the children at a temporary school that the Fund built in eastern Sri Lanka, one of nearly 100 it constructed across the island after last December's tsunami disaster.

Ms. Veneman and Deputy Executive Director Toshiyuki Niwa were greeted by smiling schoolchildren at the Kukalmadam School, UNICEF said.

"It is wonderful to see the enthusiasm on the part of the children and the fact that they were back at school and were able to thrive even in this environment," Ms. Veneman said last Friday.

At nearby Arayampathy East camp, which houses 500 survivors, UNICEF has provided clean water, bathing facilities and latrines and has also set up a special safe play area for the children living in the camp. It built a "homework corner," where the displaced children can focus on their school assignments.

The tsunami left over 72,000 Sri Lankan children without schools, killed 30,000 people, injured or displaced thousands of children, women and men, and destroyed homes and schools across the southern and eastern regions.

Ms. Veneman later went on to the capital, Colombo, for a meeting with Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to discuss tsunami recovery efforts.