On Tuesday, December 21, Mr. Entwistle laid the foundation stone for a new addition to the Trincomalee Technical College. This building will be used for teaching masonry and plumbing skills to Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim youth. Following this, Mr. Entwistle visited with youth from all three communities in Murugapuri division and unveiled a signboard carrying a peace message at a burial site for Hindus, Christians and Buddhists. The signboard signifies the completion of a clean-up program that comes as part of more than six months of language and conflict mitigation training and volunteer work in Trincomalee town. Mr. Entwistle then traveled to Trincomalee's Morawewa division to officially inaugurate a community center that marks the completion of a rehabilitation project in Namalwatta village. This rehabilitation project included water deliveries, well construction, tank rehabilitation and the construction of a community center for Muslim, Tamil and Sinhalese persons returning to their homes after years of displacement. Mr. Entwistle also unveiled a billboard that displays peace messages been designed by local residents of the division. The first in a series, these billboards will be erected on the Horowupatana road leading from Trincomalee District to Vavuniya District, effectively linking the East with the North Central part of the country.

On Wednesday, December 22, Mr. Entwistle traveled to Kantale to launch two new peace projects. One project supports youth who are active in peace building and are receiving U.S. assistance to express peace-oriented messages through mural painting on public buildings. Another project, through a local women's federation, involves conflict mitigation workshops for local government and civil society leaders.

"These projects, worth over one hundred thousand dollars, represent the commitment the United States government is making to increase support for a negotiated settlement. This assistance represents an investment in the present peace building efforts in Trincomalee for a peaceful and prosperous future for the nation of Sri Lanka," said Mr. Entwistle. "The absence of war has made these initiatives possible," he continued. "Now more than ever it is important to continue to work for peace."

USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) supports efforts to end the long-standing conflict in Sri Lanka by increasing support for a negotiated settlement. Since USAID initiated the program March 2003, OTI has signed 260 grant agreements -- mostly with local organizations -- totaling over U.S.$6.3 million.