Sri Lanka is experiencing the catastrophic ripple effects of an unmitigated climate emergency. Cyclone Ditwah made landfall on the 28th of November and brought with it disastrous flooding and landslides that – as of the 5th of December – has claimed 486 lives, left 341 missing, displaced 171,778, and affected 1.5 million people, including the displacement of 232, 752 people.
At the forefront of this crisis are women, children, people with disabilities and the elderly – communities pushed to the edges of our economy and society, actively absorbing the shock. Their representation in emergency management structures is negligible, and systemic barriers continue to prevent their specific needs from being adequately reflected in disaster-response planning.
Entire neighbourhoods remain underwater; families are stranded without electricity; people with chronic illness and disabilities are cut off from essential medical care. And with monsoon rains incoming, conditions are worsening.
This is far from a ‘natural disaster.’ Rather, it is the violent outcome of climate injustice – with communities who have contributed the least to climate change, being on the receiving end of the sharpest consequences.
The Women and Media Collective is mobilising immediate, community-led relief: dry rations, essential medicines, bedding, sanitary products, cooking utensils, and disinfectants for when floodwaters recede.
How this works: your contribution will go directly to a wide network of community based women’s organisations located in the Western, Central, Uva and Northern provinces. These are trusted local women’s organisations that work in affected communities and know which households are affected, who needs medication replaced, whose home has been washed out, and who has nowhere safe to sleep.
Funds will be used locally and and distributed amongst these local organisation and in coordination with ongoing relief efforts on the ground. This means your contribution is not lost in bureaucracy and instead, becomes immediate, targeted support delivered by people who are already doing the work.
In moments like this, community-led action is practical as it is a deliberate counter to the ways in which women, people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups are pushed to the periphery of disaster planning. This is an invitation to extend your solidarity to people doing the hardest labour of survival: grassroots organisers, community-led relief structures, caregivers, and local responders who are stepping in where formal systems fall short.
We have a dedicated bank account to collect funds to provide relief to the women affected by floods. The bank details are given below:
Payee Name: Women and Media Collective
Account number: 01120995703
Bank code: 7038
Branch code: 005
Swift code: SCBLLKLX
Address: Standard Chartered Bank, 111, Maya Avenue, Colombo 6
Currency of the account: LKR
A public financial statement along with a record of purchased items and communities reached will be made publicly available to all contributors.