USAID/OTI Sri Lanka Hot Topics June 2004
Multi-Ethnic Women Find Common Threads in Sewing Course
A six-month sewing course for a multi-ethnic group of women from the Trincomalee District is not only imparting marketable skills but also is connecting Sri Lankans previously divided by conflict. The Al-Hithaya Women’s Awareness Social Service Center conducts classes for sixty Tamil, Muslim and Sinhalese women in Muthur. In addition to their sewing training, the women have chosen to study non-traditional techniques together, such as fabric painting, embossing and embroidery work, a niche market in the area. They will hold an exhibit to display their products, supported entirely by the participants themselves. In addition, many of the women have established a Saturday morning routine of meeting up to visit important historical and cultural sites in the area, further cementing cross-community bonds. Supported by USAID/OTI, the sewing course has spawned new ways for local residents of different ethnic backgrounds to meet and find areas of common ground.
U.S. Government Supports Shelter and Wat-San Assistance for Jaffna IDPs
For the 10,000-plus internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Jaffna with property in the High Security Zones, it might be years before they return home if a negotiated settlement is ever reached. To improve their current living conditions, the U.S. Embassy and USAID/OTI are providing shelter and sanitation assistance to 450 IDP families. This USG support worth $120,000 is in conjunction with UNHCR assistance worth $15,000 and the Sri Lanka government’s shelter assistance policy on the Jaffna peninsula.
Through the flexible USAID/OTI procurement mechanism called SWIFT, CHF International is providing portable shelters and upgrading the water and sanitation infrastructure for some of the most marginalized IDPs in Jaffna. OTI is able to avoid high overheads while easing the burden of procurement for CHF. The $100,000 grant will provide transitional shelter for 212 families in four welfare centers and improve water-sanitation facilities for 450 families in those locations plus five others.
OTI-Sponsored Workshop Helps Diversify Journalist Society
Inspired by a three-day training on the role of the media in conflict transformation, a multi-ethnic group of reporters from the Ampara District – in the past segregated by language and mono-ethnic professional societies – has decided to form a new society comprised of Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim journalists. The workshop was conducted by the Center for Peacebuilding and Reconciliation, based in Colombo, supported by the predominantly Sinhalese Digamadulla Journalist Foundation (DJF), based in Ampara. During the last session of the workshop, the DJF decided to change its name – the Sinhala word for “Ampara” written phonetically in English -- and to encourage journalists from four other societies, predominantly Muslim and Tamil, to join. A multi-ethnic committee was formed to develop a new name and logo for the group that later will be printed on the field bags OTI provided to participants at the workshop. So impressed was a group of community leaders at the journalists’ vision for a multi-ethnic professional society that a local government official has offered to provide a block of land on which the new organization can build an office and training center. By continuing to reinforce the principle and practice of conflict-sensitive reporting, the diversified journalists’ society hopes to have a positive impact on peace building and coexistence in their communities in the future.
With New Income Generation, Farmers Apply for First Loans
Ten farmer organizations in Moneragala District that benefited from OTI support have applied for small business loans from Sri Lankan banking institutions for the first time in their existence. The organizations now have a steady income through the rental of agricultural equipment, supplied by OTI, to qualify for loan assistance. They have also demonstrated to the banks that their rental and accounting systems are managed in a transparent and professional manner. The farmer organizations have applied for bank loans to purchase two-wheel tractors for rental by their members; discussions regarding easy repayment schemes are already underway. The fact that the organizations have generated enough income for a deposit and loan repayment on the heavy equipment is a solid indicator that the assistance provided by OTI to the organizations has had a positive impact.
For further information, please contact:
In Washington, D.C.: Rachel Wax, Program Manager, 202-712-1243, rwax@usaid.gov
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