Western Australia’s Armadale City Council is providing much needed technical assistance and expertise to Sri Lanka’s tsunami devastated communities. The City of Armadale is paying for one of its senior planning staff to work with Sri Lanka’s Urban Development Authority.
Sri Lankan born Senior Planning Officer, Erin Perera, has been at work with Sri Lanka’s Urban Development Authority since early January helping with the work needed to reconstruct areas struck by the deadly tidal wave. A qualified town planner, Erin Perera is fluent in all three of the locally spoken languages, and was in Colombo when the Tsunami struck. She was given permission to offer her assistance to the Sri Lankan authorities and the City has agreed to fund her stay for six months.
The State Government, through local MP Alannah MacTiernan, has also pledged up to $20,000 in matching funding to help support the City’s initiative.
Mayor Linton Reynolds said that Council saw the initiative as a way of providing practical support to one of the areas that had been hit hard by the tsunami.
“This was a means for us to provide help in a very hands on way to those affected by this terrible tragedy,” Councillor Reynolds said. “When Erin approached the Urban Development Authority they were delighted by the City’s offer, and asked her to start immediately,” he said. “I understand she has already toured the stricken east coast. Before reconstruction gets underway, the planning work has to be done to ensure that the rebuilding efforts meet the needs of local communities and provides a solid base for long term recovery.”
Before coming to Australia, Erin Perera had worked for Sri Lanka’s Urban Development Authority for five years, so she was uniquely qualified to assist with the reconstruction effort.
Erin started work with the City of Armadale in June 1988 and has been with the City’s Planning Department for the past 15 years. Erin Perera qualified as a town planner with a Master of Science degree in Town and Country Planning and a Post Graduate Diploma in Urban Development from the University of Maratuwa in Sri Lanka. She worked as a planning officer for the Urban Development Authority in Sri Lanka between 1982 and 1987.
