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Development Initiatives
of PRDA |
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Establishing CBOs |
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PRDA has mobilized rural communities particularly
the low income women to come together and form their own
community based organizations aiming at collective action for
addressing poverty and deprivation. This has resulted in the
establishment of women based CBOs in the districts of Puttalam,
Gampaha, Matara and Hambantota. |
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The CBOs in the Gampha and Puttalam districts are in a
state of advanced maturity compared to the CBOs in the
two southern districts which were formed after PRDA
interventions in tsunami rehabilitation and
reconstruction. The 16 CBOs in the Gampaha district and
another 17 in the Puttalam district with a total of 33
CBOs have developed and consolidated their institutional
capacities and leadership by working together and
undergoing capacity building training conducted over the
years. |
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Beneficiaries
participating in a planning session |
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CBO leaders in their monthly meeting |
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The 33 CBOs are linked to each other through an
established network named as Rural Women’s Forum for
Economic Development (RUWOFED). The network which
comprises the leaders of CBOs meets once a month at the
PRDA Training Centre in Chilaw to discuss their problems
and issues as well as to plan their future strategies. |
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The CBOs in all the four districts are guided and
supported by trained facilitators of PRDA. |
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Capacity Building |
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Capacity building training programmes are
regularly conducted for members and leaders of the CBO. These training
programmes include micro level community based planning,
community need identification, entrepreneurship
development, financial management, product development
and marketing, institutional development, leadership
development and participatory monitoring and evaluation. Training programmes are conducted by both PRDA’s
own staff as well as by external resource persons. |
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Members of
the CBO and their leadership are also trained to engage in
monitoring and evaluation of the performance of their respective
CBOs using a set of standard criteria. A monitoring and
evaluation system developed in consultation with CBO membership
is actively and regularly adopted by CBOs and performance
related reviews are conducted in their monthly CBO meetings. |
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Women participants at a training
programme |
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Furthermore, strategies and mechanisms have been introduced to CBOs to assure proper participation of members in
decision-making processes and sustaining accountability and
transparency in all their transactions. The membership is
trained on the adoption of these strategies and mechanisms. |
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Social
audit is a vibrant mechanism introduced to CBOs. All financial
transactions on community work and beneficiary lists are
displayed in public places and decisions are made collectively
and in public forums such as village gatherings and CBO
meetings. |
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Women in a
participatory assessment |
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In November 2007, 15 staff members of PRDA selected from among
its Mirissa field office (10), Gampaha field office (2) and the
head office (3) participated in an experience-sharing visit to
Tamil Nadu and Kerala states in India. This visit was jointly
supported by Actionaid Sri Lanka and PRDA. (Read
more in news) |
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Revolving Funds at Community Level |
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All CBOs, except the relatively more recent ones
in the Matara and Hambantota districts manage dynamic savings
and credit programmes at village level evolved around Revolving
Funds set up partly with member savings and partly with
financial grants provided by PRDA. These Revolving Funds
facilitate credit for CBO members to initiate income-generating
activities as well as to satisfy their social development needs.
The total value of the revolving funds exceeds
Rs.30,000,000. |
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Money saved in family tills deposited in the Revolving
Fund |
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Linking Entrepreneurs with Commercial Banks |
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PRDA with its affiliated CBOs has negotiated with
leading commercial banks in the country to introduce potential
entrepreneurs emerging from CBOs to those banks so that the
latter could facilitate comparatively bigger loans to those
entrepreneurs to strengthen their on-going economic activities. The loans
accessed by entrepreneurs ranged from Rs.50, 000 to Rs.200,000. |
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Enterprise Promotion Trust (EPT) |
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The Enterprise Promotion Trust (EPT) is an
innovative and indigenous financial mechanism supported by PRDA.
Established in November 2004 with an initial investment of
Rs.1.5 million jointly pooled by both PRDA and its affiliated
CBOs, the EPT facilitates bigger loans for emerging
entrepreneurs whose financial needs for productive activities
cannot be met through comparatively small loans provided by
village based revolving funds as well as to those who cannot
meet the rigid eligibility criteria adopted by commercial banks.
The CBOs have now begun to increase their shares in the EPT
which in turn increases their loan portfolio and reduces their
dependency on external institutions for credit and the time
spent on rigorous procedures adopted by formal credit
institutions. The loans
issued by EPT range from Rs. 50, 000 to Rs.300, 000 and they are
exclusively targeted at economic activities. The EPT is jointly
managed by a Board of Trustees constituted by representatives
elected by the CBOs and two representatives from PRDA. |
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Rural Enterprise Development |
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PRDA has supported and strengthened more than
1000 rural micro and small entrepreneurs running a range of
economic activities. These enterprises include agri-business,
fishery
and fishery related products, food processing and preparation,
animal husbandry, petty trade, handicrafts, service centers,
production
of construction materials, garments etc. Support services required by these rural
entrepreneurs such as access to credit, technology, training,
information, markets etc. are facilitated through linking the
entrepreneurs with relevant support service organizations. These
micro and small entrepreneurs who are primarily the women are
now able to supplementary incomes to their families which range
from Rs.2000 to Rs.10,000 a month. |
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Rural
Housing |
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PRDA’s entry into rural housing began after the
tsunami devastation in 2004. With support from aid agencies,
PRDA was able to construct altogether 117 houses for the
families who lost their houses in the tsunami. Of them 52 houses
were constructed in the southern coastal village of Mirissa in
the Matara district and another 65 in Mawella, a village located
in the coastal belt of the Hambantota district of the Southern
Province. Community participation was mobilized for designing,
planning and construction of these houses. Beneficiaries of
these houses were primarily the women headed households,
families with disabled members and the poor families who did not
have a stable source of income or else who have lost their
livelihood sources and related assets in the tsunami. The total
investment in this housing programme exceeded US Dollars 600,000. |
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A house built at Mawella |
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Handing
over a new house |
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Rural
Pre-Schools for Early Childhood Development |
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At a time when Pre-Schools of acceptable standard
and affordable to poor villagers were not found in the rural
communities of the Puttalam and Gampaha districts, PRDA took the
initiative to set up well-equipped Pre-Schools with quality
standards. Necessary furniture and other teaching-aids were
provided to these schools while the teachers selected were
facilitated to receive an intensive training in pre-school
education before they were positioned for teaching.
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Around
72 Pre-Schools were established and 42 are
self-sustaining. The number of children
benefiting from this early childhood development programme in a year is around 1000. Responsibility for
managing the pre-schools is placed with the parents of
the children attending the pre-schools who in turn are
formed into community based organizations called
‘Pre-School Societies’ (PSS). |
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With
funds initially provided by PRDA, each PSS manages a
revolving loan fund, the income from which is used for
the payment of teacher salaries, purchasing teaching
materials and the maintenance of the pre-school
building. Funds generated from the revolving funds are
also complimented by contributions from parents and
other community well-wishers and as a result the
financial and institutional sustainability of the
pre-schools is ensured. At their own wish, the PSSs also
provide mid-day meals to children attending the
pre-schools. |
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Pre-School Teachers at a Training |
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Pre-School children in action |
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Child
Centred Development Programmes |
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Interventions of PRDA to enhance the wellbeing of
rural children began almost 12 years ago initially through a
partnership established with Plan International. More than 500
children and their families spread over 20 villages in the
Puttalam district (North-Western Province) and Gampaha district
(Western Province) benefited from these child-centred
development programmes. While providing direct assistance for
children selected from poor and very poor families in the areas
of education, health and life skills development, the child-centred
programmes evolved around changing children’s attitudes and
behaviour, reinforcing moral and ethical values and improving
social communication and interaction among children and with the
community at large. Direct support for children included
providing school books and materials, skills development in art,
music, drama, sports etc., children’s libraries, tuition
classes, medical facilities at times of illness, children’s
savings and credit programmes etc. The total investment in these
activities was around US Dollars 75,000. |
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Paintings of tsunami affected children |
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Children's savings generated |
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PRDA places emphasis on the need for creating a
conducive environment for the growth of the child. Its
interventions are therefore closely linked to improving the
situation in the families and communities to which the children
belong. Assistance has been provided for family members to
engage in vocational training and income generating activities,
and to improve their housing conditions and basic amenities such
as water and sanitation, lighting etc. Nearly 175 families
benefited from these family development programmes and the
investment was around US Dollars 125,000. Interventions geared
towards improving the community environment are diverse and
included adult education programmes, prevention of alcohol and
drug abuse, recreational activities for youth, home gardening,
improvements to village temples, community centres, access
roads, drinking water and bathing wells etc. |
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Support for children affected by conflict in Vakarai in Ampara
District -
In April 2007, PRDA provided school uniforms and books to 400
children affected by the conflict in Vakarai in Ampara district.
The total value of the assistance was Rs.216,000. This
assistance was coordinated by the Ministry of Social Services
and Social Welfare. |
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Scholarship
Programme |
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APSL/PRDA SCOLARSHIP PROGRAMME
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Date: May 07, 2016 |
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Venue: PRDA Training Centre,
Chilaw |
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Objectives:
The Association of Professional Sri Lankans in the UK (APSL),
called for applications from children living in Sri Lanka aged
between 9-17 and in full-time education through the People’s
Rural Development Association (PRDA). The Recipients should be
hardworking and showing good academic ability, but being held
back from realizing their full potential due to poverty and
economic deprivation. |
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APSL supports the sponsorship programme. PRDA is
the Local agent for implementing the programme and is
responsible for monitoring the programme. |
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APSL Selected 10 children from the Puttalam
district for the scholarship programme; 4 children from the
Puttalam area and 6 from the Chilaw area of the Puttalam
district. |
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PRDA organisied the launch on May 07 at PRDA
Centre, Chilaw. |
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The Recipients, their parents/guardians, PRDA
Staff amd Mr. Mervyn Silva from APSL participated in the
programme. |
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Activities |
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Mr. Mervyn Silva and PRDA staff was
welcomed by the children. |
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We all enjoyed milk-rice, lunu-miris,
banana and tea. |
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After religious observations, the
traditional oil lamp was lit to launch the programme. |
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PRDA welcomed all guests and explained
the goal of the programme. |
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Mr. Mervyn Silva made a power point
presentation about APSL. |
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Then, the PRDA staff segregated the
children from their parents and told them to list out
what they really need for their schooling. The outcome
was absolutely genuine. |
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Next, Offer letters and other documents
relating to the programme were handed over to the
Recipients. |
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A detailed explanation was provided
about, how to use funds remitted to their accounts and
about the responsibilities of children, parents and PRDA
by Mrs. Shanti Fernando, Executive Director. |
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The programme was concluded with playing
of the National Anthem. |
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After lunch, PRDA organized a vehicle in
which Mr. Mervyn Silva visited the houses of 4 children
in the Puttalam. |
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Later, Mr. Mervyn Silva visited the
houses of 6 children in the Chilaw in his own vehicle
accompanied a PRDA Staff member. |
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2017/18
Scholarship Programme |
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2017 PRDA’s Initiative together with INASIA -
‘Child Development’ Scholarship Programme
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The objective of this project is to
provide financial support for children who have good
academic ability, but are unable to fully realize their
full potential on account of poverty and economic
deprivation.
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Throughout the project PRDA will be
continuously and systematically monitoring the children’s
progress and providing support and encouragement to them while
motivating their parents at the same time. PRDA will be
conducting school visits and parents meetings to discuss and
evaluate the children’s progress and maintain records on them.
Throughout the project PRDA will be continuously and
systematically monitoring the children’s progress and providing
support and encouragement to them while motivating their parents
at the same time. PRDA will be conducting school visits and
parents meetings to discuss and evaluate the children’s progress
and maintain records on them.
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Applications were called
from the children of the members of the Community Based
Organizations (CBOs) of PRDA between the ages of 11 and 15. 40
children were selected from over 200 applicants from the three
clusters of Putalam, Chilaw and Gampaha. A short list of 75 was
prepared on the basis of a combination of relevant criteria such
as school performance based on school reports, economic status
of the family, and performance at the Grade 5 Scholarship
Examination. Face to face interviews were then held with the 75
shortlisted applicants together with their parents and the final
40 scholarship grantees were selected. |
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The
project provides a bursary of Rs.3,000/- per month to each
scholarship holder who receives an additional Rs 2000 in the
first month. As a condition of the grant, every bursary holder
saves Rs 300 per month in an interest bearing savings account
which cannot be accessed without the authority of the grantor.
The bursary can be used for the payment of Tuition Fees and
School Facility Fees as well as for the purchase of School
Books, Stationery, School Bags, School Uniforms, Shoes and
Sports Equipments and for meeting the Medical
expenses of the sponsored child. |
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The programme was
launched on 01 January 2018. |
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Village
Infrastructure Development |
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Providing support for community infrastructure
development was always a major component of the activities
conducted by PRDA since its inception. Having first started with
mobilizing voluntary labour (shramadana) for repairing or
constructing village access roads etc., PRDA in later years has
successfully completed a large number of physical infrastructure
development projects in a number of villages. The organization’s
engagement in the post-tsunami rehabilitation and reconstruction
efforts provided an opportunity to deploy its own capacities and
experience for infrastructure development in affected
communities. |
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PRDA’s recent contribution to village
infrastructure development included the construction of 5
Community Centres, 2 Disaster Mitigation Centres, 2
Multi-Purpose Community Fishery Centres and 2 large
well-equipped Community Libraries in the tsunami affected
villages of Mawella and Mirissa. The total value of these
buildings constructed was around US Dollars 200, 000. |
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Outside the tsunami affected areas, PRDA has been successful in
constructing a large well-equipped Training/Community centre
with residential facilities in the Puttalam district (located in Chilaw) at a cost
of US Dollars 280,000. This Centre is now a regular meeting
place for members of Community Based Organizations (CBOs)
supported by PRDA in the Puttalam and Gampaha districts. The
Centre is also used for conducting capacity building training
programmes and other cultural, social and recreational
activities. |
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At a cost of another US Dollars 40,000, PRDA has
been able to set up a well-equipped library with about five
thousand of valuable books within the premises of this
Training/Community Centre which is extensively used by school
children, teachers, CBO members and the general public. Also,
PRDA has provided assistance to build community centres in
another 8 villages in the Puttalam and Gampaha districts. |
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Training/ Community Centre
at Chilaw |
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Public
Library at Chilaw |
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Furthermore, PRDA has been able to provide
assistance to the value of US Dollars 78, 000 to 22 rural
schools in the villages it is working to construct/renovate
school buildings, libraries, playgrounds, toilets and water
tanks as well as to provide teaching equipment etc. |
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Dhamma School Building for Mamadala North
- The opening ceremony of the Dhamma School Building constructed
by PRDA in the temple premises of Mamadala North, a village in
Ambalantota was held in December 2007. Mamadala North is a
village inhabited by second and third generation families of
early settlers around Uda walawe. The village is characterized
by landlessness among and high incidence of poverty. Farmer
families are increasingly dependent on banana cultivation as the
source of livelihood and the income is shared among several
members in the extended family, with each member receiving a
meager income. Men and women engage in casual labour work as a
supplementary source of income. The origin of the village was
1974 with the encroachment of land by second-generation families
from the nearby settlements. The village temple was established
in 2004. |
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The new Dhamma school building at
Mamadala North |
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Opening ceremony of the Mamadala North
Dhamma school building |
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Taking Information Technology to the
Village |
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Access to information and communication
technology is severely restricted in rural communities. IT
facilities are largely available in urban centres and people in
rural areas particularly the educated youth are unable to afford
access to such facilities. |
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PRDA
in collaboration with the Information Communication
Technology Authority (ICTA) of Sri Lanka has now set up
an IT service and training centre (Nenasala) in the tsunami
affected village of Mirissa which facilitates students,
school leavers, job seekers, self-employed persons etc.
to access information relevant to their needs and also
to learn IT skills.
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Family members use Skype facility at Nanasala to
communicate with their father working abroad |
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Access to IT at Nanasala in Mirissa |
IT facilities at this centre are also used for
communication via emails and skype. The IT centre is run on a
fee-levying basis and is gradually moving towards
self-sustainability. |
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PRDA took the initiative
to establish a Nanasala (Information Communication &
Technology Centre) at Chilaw with support from the
Presidential Secretariat and the Information
Communication and Technology Authority (ICTA) in Sri
Lanka. The Nanasala serves the information,
communication and technology needs of a wider population
in Chilaw and its adjacent communities, particularly the
school children and out of school youth. It also
provides capacity building training in information
technology for interested youth. The Nenasala was re
launched in February 2009, by PRDA and now serves the
community with comprehensive package of services which
include IT and English training programmes in support of
the Presidential initiative on IT and English launched
in 2009. |
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Health,
Water and Sanitation |
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Drinking water is scarce in the dry zone district
of Puttalam and high salinity levels in the water have caused
several health problems particularly among children. PRDA has
provided a number of dug wells with storage tanks to villages
severely affected by drought. Furthermore, it has now embarked
on the construction of 150 Rain Water Harvesting Tanks at a cost
of US Dollars 41,000 to provide water facilities to deserving
families. Priority is placed in families with children and
disabled persons, women headed households and poor families
without a stable source of income. |
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More than 300,000 US Dollars have been spent on
improving the sanitary conditions in the tsunami-affected
villages of Mawella and Mirissa. Around 1100 sanitary toilets
have been constructed for tsunami-affected households of which
95% were in Mirissa. |
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Apart from improving the physical infrastructure
facilities for water and sanitation, health education programmes
and mobile clinics are also conducted for the benefit of the
rural communities particularly for people who are unable to
access specialized medical services. |
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Spectacles distributed at an eye clinic in Mirissa |
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PRDA in collaboration with the Institute of Psychiatry,
Angoda organized three training workshops for mental
health professionals and workers in Sri Lanka. The
workshops were held from 21st to 26th
January 2008 at the Institute of Psychiatry, Angoda. (Read
more in news) |
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Exchange Programmes |
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PRDA facilitates exchange programmes both
at national and international level for its CBO members to share
experience as well as to learn lessons and good practices from
similar development initiatives. The
technology of producing handicrafts from ‘pol matolu’ was
transferred to Sri Lanka as a result of an earlier peasant
exchange programme to south of Thailand facilitated by PRDA.
Experience sharing exchange programmes are regularly facilitated
between the CBO leaders in the Puttalam and Gamapha districts
and the CBO leaders in the tsunami affected Mirissa and Mawella
villages. These experience sharing programmes evolve around
institution building, financial resource management and
leadership development. |
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