Kathika Oct-Dec 13 English

8/13/2019 Kathika Oct-Dec 13 English

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he Kuragammana Causeway - a community participatoryproject implemented by World Vision through its Bibile

programme was commended as a project worthy ofemulation at the recent opening of the new bridge.

The present government has been doing so muchinfrastructure development during these years and we haveundertaken many in Bibile as well. But it should be notedthat this initiative of World Vision is an extraordinary effort.I will definitely suggest to the Chief Minister that ourdevelopment approach should align with this, said Gayan

Kapilasooriya - Coordinating Secretary to the Chief MinisterShasheendra Rajapaksa.

It is amazing how people are being awakened and this ismuch more sustainable as people will stand for what theyhave built. I think if we can carry out such initiatives withWorld Vision we can build two bridges with the amount wespend on one, he added.

The lack of a bridge or causeway hampered the dailyactivities of the people especially during the rainy season,which prevailed for upto five months a year.

The river running across the village overflowed, separatingthe village from the road and isolating the Kurugammanacommunity. School children and villagers crossed the riveron a tight rope-wire attached to trees across the river,risking their lives.

World Vision organized the community in a collaborationthat made it possible to complete the building of thecauseway within a short period of four months. World Visioncontributed technical knowledge, hardware, and skilled laborcharges for the construction while the community

contributed sand and unskilled labor throughout theprocess. World Vision invested Rs. 3 million and thecommunity contribution was approximately Rs. 2 milliontowards the project.

Commenting on the achievement, WVL National DirectorSuresh Bartlett said, The Bibile team has done atremendous job here by fulfilling an elementary need. I hopeit will enhance the quality of life and help protect thechildren and enable them to attend school and their parentsto continue their livelihood without interruption.

October - December 2013

Quarterly Newsletter of World Vision Lanka

Our Goal Fullness of Life for Every Child

Kurugammana Causeway

T

Kurugammana Causeway- "a model project worthy of emulation"


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EDITORIAL

Bridge building forvulnerable communities

Publication of handbook forPlantation Communities

The Editorial Team

Our cover story focuses on a very simple yetinnovative project that took place inKuragamanna in Bibile a rural village in Sri Lanka.

World Vision was able to mobilise the villagecommunity and together with the participationof the community the construction of a bridgewas completed in record time and with hugecost savings.

On this page we feature the publication of abook on the challenges faced by the plantationcommunities which was compiled as part of ourefforts to change some unjust policies whichhindered the progress of these vulnerablecommunities.

The story of little Rukshani and her choice of apen over more attractive goodies is a touchingreminder of how much we can learn fromchildren and their approach to life.

World Vision continues to reach out to otherwilling partners to join in our efforts to supportvulnerable communities and we have recordedthe views of two of our long standing supplierswho have been transformed after a recent visitto one of our projects in the field.

The stories of Arasaratnam the woodcutter whoturned dairy farmer and Manjula theday-labourer who became a grower ofagricultural food crops and the changes in theirfamily fortunes as a result of World Visionsinterventions are most heartening.

A book titled Service Delivery of Local Government Authorit ies for the Plantation Community in Sri Lanka: ARights based approach was launched in Hatton at a speciaceremony on 23rd November.

The publication was initiated and supported by World Vision incollaboration with the Estate Community Solidarity (ECS) agroup that works to support the plantation communities. It ishoped that the publication would be used by the governmentagencies and local stakeholders as the standard referencedocument for issues involving the plantation communities in thecountry.

Public service delivery is one of the key components in thedevelopment of the plantation communities. The book is theoutcome of discussions between the ECS members to forgegreater collaboration and capacity building in addressing theissues of the plantation community.

The initial publication was in the Tamil language and translation ofthe book into the English and Sinhala languages is alreadyunderway and these will be released shortly.

GE 02

Dion SchoormanHasanthi Jayamaha

Jayaweera KohombangeNadeesha RajakarunaNeomal WeerakoonNiroshini Fernando

comments: [email protected]

Help us to keep them smilingAt World Vision we are passionate abou

the well being of children and ensurithem life in all its fulln

If you are interested in learning moabout our work or would like t

join us in partnership in anyour programmes please ema

[email protected]


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ADP NEWS Updates from our area development programmes

PA

A gift of 150,000 pens arrived from Taiwan recently all because of a little girl who made an impression with a simplechoice she made. Rukshani, 12 was among the children who were inquisitively watching the group of visitors from WorldVision Taiwan who were observing World Visions development work in their community.

During their interaction with the children the World Vision Taiwan Marketing Director extended her pen to Rukshanias a gift. But another child was quick to take the extended pen. Rukshani started to cry and no matter how many sweetswere offered to console her, she could not be consoled until she was given a pen.

It really surprised and impressed me, said Hsiu-Ling Kuo, The Marketing Director, I have travelled to many countriesand usually the children would always choose sweets over anything else. Children cry over sweets never over pens. Thisis the first time Ive seen a child crying over a pen and would not accept sweets in place of it.

Inspired by this incident, World Vision Taiwan included pens as a gift choice for the donors and sponsors for Sri Lanka.Some schools in Taiwan too mobilized the campaign to share a pen with a student in Sri Lanka. The response f loodedWorld Vision Taiwan office with pens and they were all sent to Sri Lanka to be distributed among school children.

The pens were distributed among all World Vision Programmes across the country to be presented to school children.

Rukshanis choice of pen inspires gift of 150,000 more


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Transforming suppliers into enlightened partners

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A special kind of gift distribution took place in two ofWorld Vision Area Development Programmes (ADPs)recently with three World Vision Lanka (WVL) suppliersNipuna Lanka, NSB Enterprise and Tech Tools Integrated(Pvt) Ltd, taking an initiative to give their products as giftsto the children in our communities.

Nipuna Lanka owner M.H.M. Rizwi and NSB enterpriseowner Bandara travelled to the Giribawa ADP carryingschool bags and educational material and books for

preschool children of the 35 preschools, for 95 childrenwho had passed the scholarship exam and for children ofthe special education unit in Giribawa.

My company has supplied stationery to WVL for 6 years.I knew about their work but I didnt really know aboutthe tremendous impact it made on the children. I sawthat WVL serves everyone, without discrimination andthat it is an organization that truly addresses the needs ofthe people, said Rizwi. I was so happy to meet thesechildren in Giribawa and see how well they were doing in

their studies. Without hesitation, I would participate insuch a project again and would certainly urge othersuppliers to do the same, he continued.

This was a unique experience for me. I got theopportunity to personally meet some of the recipients ofour products and witness how it made a difference intheir lives, said Bandara, whose company NSB Enterprisehas been supplying stationery to WVL for six years. Ihope we can collaborate on more good work such asthis.

In another such event, the computer center ofMandalapura College, Neluwa, was equipped with sixmore computers with the suppor t of Tech ToolsIntegrated (Pvt) ltd a long term supplier of WVL.

We have been providing computer equipment to WVLfor about 12 years but we didnt have an idea of how itswork impacts the community. We are working with manylarge organizations but have never been invited to beinvolved in their work. We really appreciate that WVLfocuses not only on sponsoring a child but also the

development of the whole child including their families,economic condition and the community they live in, Ms.Nilusha Thalagala, Sales Manager of Tech Tools Integratedsaid sharing her thoughts of the programme.

After seeing the presentations and learning more aboutthe work of World Vision, I was moved to supportchildren who have limited opportunities to see the worldbeyond their little community and pledged to donate twocomputers to a project, she continued.

World Vision conducted an Orientation Programme forits partners recently to help them get a deeper insight tothe work of World Vision in the rural areas and thechildren and the communities we serve. The programmehas given these suppliers the opportunity to increasetheir engagement in caring for those in need and partnerwith rural communities in their journey towardssustainability.


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A gift of a garden

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Life was hard for Manjula Priyantha, his wife Thusharikaand their two young children. As a day labourer fromGanga Ihala Korale in the Kandy district, Manjula couldbarely make ends meet. Thusharika tried her best tosupplement their meagre income by plucking tea.

The little family resigned themselves to the reality thatthey would probably face even more hardships as theeducational needs of their children increased. WhenWorld Vision commenced its permaculture project inGanga Ihala Korale, Manjula was overjoyed to find out hewas identified as a beneficiary. He made up his mind to dothe best he can with this opportunity.

Soon, he was equipped with several training programmesand became a leader farmer in the project. Manjula thenbegan cultivating a vegetable garden in an unused plot ofland he owned. Earlier, I was not aware of farmingmethods and techniques. After completing the trainingson organic farming methods and pest management, I feltthat I obtained all the tools to face the difficulties offarming, said Manjula.

Manjula was determined to be the best farmer in thisproject. He was supported with seeds, home gardeningequipment and bee keeping boxes. Through thisassistance he was able to grow chemical free vegetables,fruits and medicinal plants.

I am so happy that now our family has nutritious foodand my children are safe from diseases and infections dueto this healthy diet. Now, instead of buying fruits andvegetables from the market, I am able to use that moneyfor my childrens education, says Manjula, beaming.

Farmers were also provided with skills in money and timemanagement through leadership and entrepreneurshiptraining.

Manjulas determination has been rewarded; he wasselected as the best farmer in the Permaculture project.I am very thankful to the World Vision Permaculture

project for encouraging me to be a successful farmer.What I was able to achieve in a relatively short period oftime was a real strength for the development of myfamily, says a grateful Manjula, with tears in his eyes.


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HEA NEWS updates from our relief and rehabilitation programmes

Child protection awareness programmes for safer communities

Following the end of the war, families returning to theirplace of origin face many issues in the process ofresuming their lives. In this context, child protection isone of the major issues which World Vision Lanka (WVL)

seeks to address under its Humanitarian EmergencyAffairs (HEA) programme in the North. WVLs childprotection/education program includes a mass awarenessand training campaign to increase the knowledge ofcommunities concerning the protection of their children.

The villages of Ilangopuram, Theravil and Valluvarpuram inthe Puthukudiyiruppu (PTK) DS Division, have beenselected for the implementation of this campaign. TheVillage Child Rights Vigilant Committees (VCRVC) andcommunity mobilisers have found several cases of child

abuse in these areas. In many households, both parentsare involved in labour work leaving their childrenvulnerable to abuse. WVL therefore collaborated withthe National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) andChild Protection Officers to conduct trainingprogrammes on child rights and prevention of abuse.

Following this intervention, a strong VCRVC volunteerbody has been formed to prevent cases of abuse and alsoto provide support to children and continued awarenessfor parents.

Vaithilingam Rajanikanth, District Child ProtectionOfficer for PTK, commented, WVL continuously assiststhe community with a special focus on schools. Whilechildren are the most vulnerable victims in any kind of

situation, they also should be given an equal oppor tunityto learn about their rights and to act against any kind ofabuse. By providing training and awareness programmeson child and women protection, sexual and gender basedviolence, disaster risk reduction, child rights and hygiene,WV gave them an opportunity to learn about their rightsand also about disaster risk reduction.

Village Child Rights Committees have also been formedand many men from the community are actively involvedin these committees. WV has also established childrens

clubs in these areas so that children can increase theirskills and confidence.

World Vision increased the capacity of governmentofficials including me, in the area of child casemanagement and even brought officials for an exposurevisit to other parts of the country so we can learn abouthow such cases are handled. Undoubtedly, we learnt a lotand it was a good experience for us. Thank you WorldVision and I hope you continue your unending supporttowards our communities, continues Rajanikanth.

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Life was a daily challenge for woodcutter Arasaratnamand his wife Damayanthi as they struggled to earn enoughincome to feed their four children. Things got so bad thatDamayanthi had to leave their home in the remote villageof Kayankuda, Eravur Pattu to seek employment overseasas a domestic worker to make ends meet.

The two youngest girls Atchana (15) and Dilukshana (13)were left in the care of their two elder sisters who had

to sadly drop out of school to look after their youngersisters. We were unhappy those days because some dayswe would come from school hungry and we didnt haveenough to eat. We hardly had fish with rice , says Atchana.

Arasaratnam feared that if their plight continued hisyounger daughters too would have to drop out of schoolas the household demands were increasing month bymonth.

It was at this time that World Vision began a development

programme in their village and the familys fortunes tooka turn for the better. Atchana and Dilukshana wereincluded in the sponsorship programme and the familyreceived livelihood support of a cow, a few goats andpoultry.

I didnt know much about rearing cows but we wereprovided with training and I learnt a lot. They taught ushow to care for the animals. They also gave us advice onhow to treat them and keep them healthy, saysArasaratnam.

We couldnt afford to give milk to our children but nowwe get 12-15 litres of milk per day for six months after acalf is born. We keep some of it to give our children andsell the balance for LKR 50/= (US 40 cents) per litre atthe milk board and get a very good income. Apart fromthis we sell the eggs from the poultry and earn an extraincome as well, Damayanthi adds with a smile.

Their lifestyle has undergone a complete change. Theincome has increased and each day looked brighter thanthe last. One of the greatest joys for the family was the

return of Damayanthi from Saudi Arabia and the childrenwere delighted to have their mothers arms around themonce again.

The children are healthy and now enjoy fresh milk andthree nutritious meals a day complete with fish or eggregularly on their plate. They have also received schoolstationery and other assistance and are encouraged tocontinue going to school.

We are very happy now because we have enough foodto fill our stomachs. We are very grateful to our sponsorsand enjoy keeping in touch with them and look forwardto their letters and cards, Atchana and her sister sayswith thankful hearts.

I do not have to go chop wood anymore. We now havea stable income and also have enough to save. No otherorganization has helped us like this, said Arasaratnam.


PA

Woodcutter turned dairy farmer savours change in fortunes


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Kathika Oct-Dec 13 English

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