Strengthening Civil Society in Sri Lanka
Through Building Advocacy Partnerships
Among NGOs and Developing Local Leadership
(PROJECT NO. S. ECAPE-04-GR-123 (CS))
PROGRESS REPORT
January 1, through June 30, 2005
Submitted to the Dept. of State, Office of Citizen Exchanges
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
July 14, 2005
International Training Office,
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, IL 60115
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Strengthening Civil Society in Sri Lanka Through Building Advocacy
Partnerships Among NGOs and Developing Local Leadership
PROJECT NO. S. ECAPE-04-GR-123 (CS)
Introduction
This progress report is submitted to the Office of Citizen Exchanges, Bureau of Educational
Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, by the International Training Office at Northern Illinois
University, summarizing the major activities carried out during the second six-months
(January 1, through June 30, 2005) of the project, titled “ Strengthening Civil Society in Sri
Lanka Through Building Advocacy Partnerships Among NGOs and Developing Local
Leadership” also known as GROW II. This two-year project (2004-2006) is a partnership
between the Northern Illinois University (NIU) and two major institutions in Sri Lanka,
namely, Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration and the Open University of
Sri Lanka.
The second six-month period of the project demonstrated a solid progress in an overall
sense, despite the set back received during the early phase due to the aftermath of the
Tsunami devastation that occurred in Sri Lanka on December 26, 2004, just one week
before the commencement of the reporting period. The highlights of the activities that
took place during the period included: (a) Assistance rendered in the Tsunami recovery
process, (b) Project website development/design (c) Implementation of the Diploma
Program on Good Governance and Local Leadership, (d) Role played by the two
advisory bodies (in Sri Lanka and at NIU), (e) Steps taken to strengthen the NGO
Coalition, (f) Support given by the two major partnering organizations, (g) Major
activities conducted in Sri Lanka by Project Director and Project Advisor, (h) Three
major workshops conducted in Sri Lanka, (I ) Visits to Model Villages, (j ) Other
activities carried out in Sri Lanka, and (k) Project related discussions during the Sri
Lanka stay.
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A.
Assistance in the Post-Tsunami Recovery Process in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is the second hardest hit of the 12 countries affected by the Tsunami disaster
that occurred just before the beginning of the second project period which is covered by
this report. The nation had never experienced a tragedy of this magnitude in its 2500year history. The whole nation was mourning over the devastation that killed nearly
40,000 people, displaced 4,43000 people, damaged 150,000 houses and made 127,000
people jobless overnight. Assistance from many international organization, bi-lateral
organization, national governments and ordinary citizens around the globe was pouring
into Sri Lanka to put the country in the recovery process. Friends of the GROW Project
at NIU, joined these efforts of many hundred organizations, in order to attend to its share
in this unimaginable disaster, through the funds raised jointly by some members of the
NIU Advisory Committee and friends of GROW project at NIU. These monetary
donations, amounting to $ 2350, was handed over to Sri Lanka partners ($2000 to
CENWOR, and $350 to Agromart Foundation, two major partner organization of the
GROW Project), to be distributed among the major members of the GROW Coalition to
be used in the recovery work they are engaged in the devastated areas. This is just one
aspect of the role played by the GROW project in assisting the recovery from Tsunami
devastation.
B. Project Website Development
A website with the title “ Strengthening Civil Society and Local Leadership Development
in Sri Lanka “ has been constructed during the reporting period with the objective of
sharing the valuable project experiences not only with the important project stake holders
but also with many other interested parties through out the world. The homepage of the
website portrays important categories of project information and has links to GROW I
Project, NIU Website and to the U.S. State Department Website. The homepage contains
10 major menus, namely, (1) About the Project, (2) Project Partners at NIU, (3) Project
Partners in Sri Lanka, (4) Contact Information, (5) Project Activities, (6) Diploma in
Good Governance, (7) Project in Pictures, (8) Project Reports, (9) Project Minutes, and
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(10) Useful links. The home page also has a highly visible statement to indicate that this
is a project funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Citizen Exchanges for the
year 2004-2006 and is a collaborative partnership between Northern Illinois University,
USA and a coalition of academic institutions and NGOs in Sri Lanka. The home page of
the project has a picture of the Altgeld Hall of NIU at the center, symbolizing the strength
of NIU as a century old academic leader in the Midwest of USA, serving the state, the
nation and the world as a beacon of knowledge and service.
The website was constructed with the technical support from one of the leading NIU
partners of the GROW II Project – Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center.
The website contains a lot of valuable information related to the project process and will
continue to add more and more information as the project progresses into the coming
months and years. It is intended that the website will be an important tool for
information dissemination and sharing invaluable outputs of the project process with the
organizations, institutions and activist, academics and others interested in strengthening
civil societies through out the world.
The internet address of the GROW II Project website is www.niu.edu/grow2
C.
Implementation of the Diploma Program on Good Governance and
Local Leadership
Implementation of the Diploma Program is one of the major highlights of the reporting
period of the project. As was clearly spelled out in the first six-month project report,
there was a lot of investment by the GROW II Project in many fronts and forms in the
planning and implementation of the above mentioned Diploma Program, including the
preparation of the resource faculty, development of detailed curriculum consisting of 12
major courses/, selection of participants from the NGOs that represented the GROWNGO Coalition and also identified leaders from a few selected local government bodies.
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The inauguration of the course was scheduled for mid January 2005 and everything was
ready for the inauguration when the Tsunami tragedy occurred on December 26, 2004,
just a couple of weeks before the planned inauguration. The focus of the whole country
was in the rehabilitation work to get the victims out from the disastrous situation they
were in, as soon as possible. GROW Project leaders collectively felt that it was not a
right step to go ahead with the program inauguration as planned at that time.
Consequently, the inauguration of the Diploma Program was delayed. This
postponement made more sense since the Tsunami devastation had a major impact on the
planned program as well, especially when some of the selected participants nominated by
the NGO Coalition to the course had to drop out due to their increased workload in the
Tsunami recovery work carried out by their organizations.
Just two months after the tragedy, in spite of the situation that has dawned in the country
due to the Tsunami devastation, the Core Advisory Group and the two partnering
organizations in Sri Lanka made a unanimous decision to commence the Diploma
Program on Good Governance and Local Leadership in early March. Immediate steps
were taken for the commencement of the program. Consequently, the Diploma Program
was inaugurated on March 7, at SLIDA, with a ceremony attended by 75 that included 50
invited guests and 25 program participants. Invited guests included members of CAG,
representatives of the NGO Coalition and other specially invited national leaders. The
chief guest of the ceremonial function was the Secretary to the Ministry of Local
Government. Following are some of the photos from the ceremony.
The inauguration ceremony was followed by a three-day orientation program for the
participants that included briefing them on GROW I and GROW II Projects, an overview
of the course curriculum (see attached prospectus that was given to the program
participants – Attachment A), logistical and other information about the program,
program goal and the program requirements. The orientation was concluded with a field
visit to the Colombo Municipality and a follow-up discussion with the Mayor.
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Since the Diploma Program inauguration, the program is moving ahead smoothly. The
participants have been adhering to the program requirements of the program on a regular
basis. Classroom teachings are held every Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The
Certificate phase will be completed by late July and the Diploma Phase will be concluded
in mid- December. Director, Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center at
NIU, who is also a member of the GROW Advisory Committee and a consultant of the
GROW II Project; will represent NIU at the graduation ceremony that will be held in
mid- December.
The whole program will cover at least 240 instructional hours to enable the participants to
receive their diploma certificates. (Prospectus of the program is attached to the report Attachment A) Copies of the training manual titled “Strengthening Grassroots
Democracy: A Training Manual for GROW Model Village Leaders” that was produced
as an outcome of the Training of Trainers workshop conducted for the GROW Model
Village leaders during the last project – GROW I – were distributed among all the
participants of the Diploma. Program and the participants have been using this manual
on a frequent basis. This has become not only a valuable resource book to the
participants but also a precious guide providing the ideological link between GROW I
and GROW II and demonstrating how the Diploma Program participants too can perform
to be leaders and trainers in further enhancing the civil society.
Currently the Diploma/Certificate Program in Good Governance and Local Leadership
has 22 participants enrolled (see Attachment B for a complete list of the participants and
their organizational affiliations). The gender-wise classifications of the participants are
five males and 17 females. Ethnic classification of the participants is: three Tamils,
three Muslims and 16 Sinhalese. 16 participants are employees of the NGOs, five are
local government employees and one participant is an employee of a government
ministry. The common agreement among the major project stakeholders is that the group
selected for the program is exceptionally great, highly energetic, exceedingly
enthusiastic, and extremely competent and highly suitable for the suggested program of
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studies. The group has already formed a national association, titled The National
Association of Good Governance and is currently engaged in drafting the constitution of
the association. This can be stated as an important indicator of their enthusiasm.
D.
Role Played by the Two Advisory Bodies in Sri Lanka and at NIU
Constant support given to the project by the two advisory bodies in Sri Lanka and at NIU
during the reporting period is an outstanding feature of the project and that has led to the
smooth implementation of the project activities. It should be mentioned that the advisory
body in Sri Lanka (CAG) consists of great national women leaders who are high caliber
professionals in diverse fields having a common bond to the focus of the GROW Project.
The chairperson of CAG is an outstanding women leader from the Muslim community,
who has extensive experience and credentials and is in leading positions in several
international and national level organizations. Some of the positions she holds includes,
Chancellor – South Eastern University, member National Committee on Women,
Member University Council – Open University, member Public Services Commission,
Governor – Marga Institute (Sri Lanka Centre for Development studies), Founder &
Former President, SAARC Federation of University Women, President & Founder, Sri
Lanka Muslim Women’s Conference (SLMWC), Vice-President (former President) Sri
Lanka Federation of University Women, member, Board of Management, Centre for
Human Rights, University of Colombo, member of the Civil Society Committee of the
National Advisory Council for Peace and Reconciliation. The role played by Ms. Ismail,
as the Chair of the advisory committee has given unparallel strength to the GROW
Project.
Other members of the advisory committee are also national level women leaders holding
very responsible and leading positions in the country.
One of the important contribution of the advisory committee in Sri Lanka is the guidance
given in terms of the continuity of the project as a model for training on good governance
and local leadership in order to reach grassroots level, through the Distance Learning
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Centers of the Open University. Other important project elements that received valuable
input from the advisory body during the reporting period are: ways of further
strengthening the NGO Coalition, medium of instructions in the Diploma program,
directions and guidance to the Diploma Course, follow–up work related to the GROW
Declaration presented by GROW I Project on increasing women representation at local
government level, ways of organizing a link program between the four major NGO
partners and new NGOs for strengthening the NGO Coalition, ways of bridging the gap
between CAG (Advisory Committee in Sri Lanka) and the NGO Coalition, and ideas for
a next proposal to be presented to the State Department Open Grant Competition.
During the reporting period, both advisory committees met on a monthly basis, and
guided the project activities constructively and gainfully. The direction provided was
instrumental in the success of the project despite the set back received by the tsunami
devastation during the early part of the reporting period. This is highly evident from the
minutes of the monthly meetings of the two advisory bodies attached herewith. These
minutes are also posted in the project website: www.niu.edu/grow2
GROW Project II is also guided by an equally strong advisory committee at NIU.
Twelve faculty members come from multi-disciplinary academic and programmatic units
on campus and their expertise are varied but has a meaningful connection to the GROW
Project. Some members are nationally and internationally recognized leaders in their
own fields of expertise. The Advisory Committee is led by its chairperson - Dr Phyllis
Cunningham – who has held variety of international and national leadership positions
including as a member of the Executive Committee of the International Congress of
University Adult Education.
More information about their professional background can
be seen by visiting the project website – www.niu.edu/grow2
An important dialogue that both advisory bodies engaged was on the medium of
instruction in the Diploma Program, its implications and the decision for the next cohort.
The final decision on the medium of instruction has been inclined towards staying the
course i.e. to continue with English as the medium even though it has other impact on the
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program. The following excerpt from Laurel’s journal summarizes to a certain degree the
implication of having English as the medium of instruction in the program.
“This had good and bad effects – it limited the eligible participants at the local level to
those who had some English language skills, but it also has achieved what we hoped, that
the Sinhala and Tamil participants would not end up basing their small group
membership on their first language. The system is not ideal and this first group is very
willing to provide continuous feedback on how this is working. ….. Also, this first group,
which will finish in December, will return to assist with the second cohort so we will have
many more people to facilitate small groups in the language of choice while conducting
large group sessions in English. Our budget just won’t stretch for simultaneous
translation – which doesn’t work well for small group work anyway – so this is the
process, messy as it is.”
A critical accomplishment during the reporting period is the video-conference held
between the two major advisory bodies that enabled the members of the two bodies to get
to know each other, talk to each other live and clarify major issues of concerns. Despite
the time gap of 11 hours between the two countries, there was good attendance of the
members on both sides for the video-conference. Even though this seems a simple
matter, the technicalities involved and the 11-hour time difference between the two
countries made it more challenging.
E.
Steps Taken to Strengthen the NGO Coalition
Setting up and strengthening a NGO Coalition is one of the objectives of the GROW II
project in order to extend the project experience to a wider circle of NGOs. It was
intended to have 12 NGOs in the GROW Coalition, including the current four major
NGO partners. The Sri Lankan project leaders were working on this direction and were
engaged in an initial dialogue to this effect with the identified NGOs. However, the
Tsunami disaster that took place soon after has taken a toll on this as well. When the
killer waves hit the country creating unimaginable disaster the NGOs in the country came
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to the forefront in the rehabilitation process and the priorities of the NGOs that were
streamlined to be in the GROW Coalition, also got changed in the process. This made
the strengthening of the NGO Coalition a difficult task. The expected voluntary
cooperation to be partners in the GROW Coalition without any financial rewards, seemed
untimely goal, given the new context after Tsunami. Consequently, during the CAG
meeting held on June 3, it was decided that each of the four core partner NGOs should
develop sister linkages with two other NGOs, still paying due attention to the ethnic and
geographical representation as well as to the primary focus of the NGO. The four major
partner NGOs are currently working on this new strategy for strengthening the NGO
Coalition order to circumvent the draw back the project had experienced in this regard to
the extent that is feasible, given the circumstances.
F.
Support from the Two Partnering Institutions
A noteworthy strength of the GROW Project II is the partnership that has been
developed between the two partnering institutions, Sri Lanka Institute of Development
Administration (SLIDA) and the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL) in the
implementation of the project, specifically in the administration of the Diploma in Good
Governance and Leadership Development Program. The two institutions are considered
prestigious institutions in the field of higher education in the country. SLIDA, the
institution where the Diploma program is physically held, possesses a highly streamlined
structure in place for administering the program, including facilities for meals,
dormitories, training rooms, photocopying and multi-media facilities. Administrative
support staff of SLIDA also is a great asset that has helped the implementation of the
Diploma Program. Leaders of the two institutions, the Vice-Chancellor of the Open
University and the Director of the Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration, are
in the Core Advisory Group (CAG) and are supporting and guiding the GROW Project in
many different ways. To state a couple of instances of such support, the ViceChancellor of the Open University is exploring ways to extend the transformation
generated by the Diploma in Good Governance and Local Leadership Program into the
grassroots level through its 74 regional centers. This is a great step towards project
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sustainability as well. (In this regard the V.C. of the Open University will be visiting
NIU in September as an extension of her planned visit to the US, in order to explore this
matter further.) SLIDA Director has made arrangements for administering video
conferences among the two advisory bodies in USA and in Sri Lanka, at the Distance
Learning Center of SLIDA. The first conference was held free of charge to the project
and subsequent conferences will be held at a minimal charge to the project. More
importantly, SLIDA has lowered its charges for administering the Diploma program to
the bare minimum possible, while maintaining its implementation at a high level of
efficiency. Also, SLIDA provides a convenient and a central venue for all the project
related meetings, most importantly, for the meetings of the Core Advisory Group.
In summary, the two partnering institutions provide invaluable support for the smooth
implementation of GROW II Project activities in many fronts and this can be cited as a
major reason for the current state of success of the GROW II Project.
G
Project Activities in Sri Lanka by Project Director and Project
Advisor (May-June, 2005)
For the first time after the initiation of the project, Project Director (Jaya Gajanayake)
and Project Advisor (Laurel Jeris) visited Sri Lanka and spent over one month - mid May
to mid June – in Sri Lanka attending to a series of project activities, including three
workshops, two staff meetings, a series of meetings with the major partner organizations,
visits to GROW Model Villages and attending to a host of other project-related activities.
(Laurel Jeris had to cancel her trip planned in January because of the situation in the
country at the time due to the aftermath of Tsunami devastation.) Consequently, MayJune visit by the two leaders was a much-needed one, specifically in catching -up with
the lost time and speeding up the activities while re-energizing the project partners and
the project stakeholders. Activities carried out during this visit included three workshops
conducted at SLIDA for the Diploma group, a video conference between the two
advisory bodies (NIU and Sri Lanka), two CAG meetings, a series of staff meetings and
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planning meetings, visits to three Model Villages and other discussions with important
stake holders.
The day following the arrival of the Project Director in Sri Lanka, the video-conference
between the two advisory bodies in Sri Lanka and NIU took place, which can be
described as an important activity related to cross-cultural communication between the
two major stake holders. This enabled the members of the two bodies to get to know
each other, to talk to each other live and to clarify other major issues of concerns related
to the project as well as the matters pertaining to Tsunami recovery process. Despite the
time gap of 11 hours between the two countries, there was good attendance on the part of
the GROW Advisory Committee members on both sides. Subsequent to the video
conference, CAG continued the meeting in order to cover a few remaining items in the
agenda. The same afternoon, a meeting was held with the Diploma Program Manager at
SLIDA, to discuss some critical issues related to the Diploma Program that needed
immediate attention. The next major activity that took place during this first week of stay
in Sri Lanka was the first part of the major workshop on Action Planning for PostTsunami Recovery.
At the very beginning the second week of stay in Sri Lanka, the two project leaders met
with Angela Gemza and Philip Frayne in the Public Affairs Office and had a productive
discussion on the project status and the progress. During the discussion it was quite
evident that the two officers in the Public Affairs Office were impressed by the way the
project is proceeding. Furthermore, the discussion opened up, among other things to
submit an alumni proposal and also led to a discussion on a subsequent proposal to the
Open Competition of the State Department. The meeting reflected the highest
cooperation from the leaders of this esteemed office.
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H.
Workshops Conducted in Sri Lanka
During their stay in Sri Lanka, GROW leaders from NIU conducted three workshops at
SLIDA for 22 Diploma Program participants covering important course content related to
the Diploma in Good Governance and Leadership Program. The first workshop that
took place during the first week May 12-14, 2005, was on Action Planning for Tsunami
Recovery. As a background note, it should be mentioned that when the Tsunami disaster
happened and when the whole world’s attention was drawn to the most horrific aftermath
in Sri Lanka, many project stake holders including the Program Officer at the State
Department were interested if GROW II Project could devote its attention in helping the
Tsunami Recovery process, even in a small way. In the curriculum of the Diploma
Program, there is a course component titled Project Development for Community
Empowerment and consequently, it was decided to change the focus of the component to
Action Planning for Tsunami Recovery, given the circumstances. Evidently, this change
was accepted by the important stakeholders of the project as a timely intervention, well
suited to the situation in Sri Lanka. The first phase of the workshop was conducted on
May 12, 13, and 14 and the second phase took place on May 26, 27 and 28. The first
phase of the workshop included a series of modules related to Action Planning for
Tsunami Recovery. These are:
 Post-Tsunami Community Revitalization For Recovery: An Introduction
 Building Effective Community Level Support Structures for Re-establishment of
Normalcy
 Effective Problem-Solving and Decision-Making in Post-Tsunami Community
Settings
 Stimulating Access to Information on Resource Support for Recovery
 Designing Comprehensive Needs Assessments
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The second phase of the workshop included two major modules, namely:
 Developing Community Revitalization Projects and
 Transforming the Community Revitalization Action Plans into Funding Proposals.
Workshop Methodology
The training methodology that was used in the two phases of the workshop was
participatory, experiential, and action-oriented with examples to amplify and illustrate the
new learning. Brainstorming, simulations, small group work and other culturally
appropriate techniques were used in the workshop. These methodologies enabled to
develop innovative and realistic ways of dealing with the displaced victims in a
meaningful way. Subsequent to every major theme, the participants worked in small
groups to apply the principles discussed and the knowledge and skills gained to the
community settings in the disaster affected areas. Methodology in the final theme of the
workshop – proposal development for exploring funding - followed a systematic process
of using a simple but regular framework for proposal development.
(A complete description of the above mentioned workshop and a set of handouts that
were given to the workshop participants are attached to the report as Attachment C)
Second Workshop
The second workshop that was facilitated by Laurel Jeris was on Leadership
Development and included first 3 modules of the local leadership course that is a part of
the diploma program.
The modules covered by this workshop are:
 Learning how to learn leadership skills
 Multiple intelligences. Self assessment instruments (on both these topics)
 Leadership Theories including:
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Theory X and Theory Y
 Leadership traits, skills, and styles
 Situational leadership and elements of several other contingency theories
Self assessment instruments related to these theories
 Leadership related to Transformational Leadership
This included skill building activities on servant leadership, empowerment, and
participatory leadership practice.
 Leadership related to ethical dilemmas:
In this module the participants developed four ethical dilemmas out of their
experience - they then used a set of questions to analyze the dilemma leading to
resolution and recommendations.
 Women-in-Leadership:
The two workshops were evaluated continuously and the tabulated results of the
evaluation is also included in the Attachment B)
Workshop Methodology
Methodology followed in the second workshop also included many diverse techniques.
One such methodology was a video presentation that included interviews of 15 women
around the world who have either been Presidents or Prime Ministers in their countries.
Sirimavo Bandanarayake of Sri Lanka was one of the women interviewed for the video
presentation. The video-based session was supplemented by activities that support the
participants in discussing women and leadership with regard to traits, skills, styles, use of
power, and differences in leadership between men and women.
One of the exercises in this workshop included a lengthy process in which the
participants (in small groups) designed a “case” that arose out of their own experience
and encompassed an ethical dilemma. They took elements from individuals and
combined them into one scenario or selected a particular element from those presented in
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the group. The next step was to use a set of reflection questions to aid in the analysis of
the dilemma, and then present their case and analysis to the whole group. As was
expected, each of the four group’s cases revolved around Tsunami related rescue and aid
provision work. Given the complex local politics these local NGO field staff and local
administrators in the Diploma Program, the participants were continually faced with
impossible choices. But, sharing the strategies they actually used turned out to be very
beneficial and each person had come up with different but highly creative ways to
leadership development. The workshop methodology also included a participatory
exercise on identifying the characteristics of an ideal leader in steering Tsunami recovery
process. The session was found very useful given the need of the hour.
Although the participants’ feedback indicated that all the activities in this workshop were
useful, they found the ethical dilemma exercise and the activities related to women and
leadership to be the most directly applicable to their current needs and to be the most
informative.
I.
Visits to Model Villages
Another important project activity that took place during the reporting period was the
visits to three of the GROW Model Villages, Karenvila in Galle District, Pompakele in
Ratnapura District and Udayapuram in Samanthurai District by the NIU GROW leaders.
Visit to Karenvila Model Village
Soon after the arrival in Sri Lanka the Project Director and the Project Advisor visited
Karenvila Model Village located in the Akmeemana AGA Division in the Galle District.
It should be noted at the outset that there was significant progress at Karenvila since it
was chosen as a Model Village two and half years ago. Today it is drawing the attention
of the national government and other institutions as a model for grassroots empowerment
and local leadership development. The villagers have made significant progress in many
fronts, including leadership development, infra-structure improvements, locating and
pooling resources (both material and financial), and community bonding and
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empowerment. The villagers have learned to negotiate with local government
authorities, local elected officials, locate information, explore technical and financial
assistance, and organize their own volunteer labor groups. Volunteering labor by the
villages has become a common element and some of the instances included: 1) fill and
grade an area for a play field that also serves as a weekly market area, 2) regrade paths
and walkways throughout the village so that they can now be accessed by at least
motorcycles or “three-wheelers,” 3) build a much more conveniently located well for
drinking water, and 4) build a large community bathing well. In addition to these
community-wide projects, most of the families in the village now have kitchen gardens,
compost bins, rainwater collection equipment, and many forms of income generating
activities. Non-existent waste management at the start of the project has morphed into an
avid recycling strategy. Footpaths around houses that were strewn with trash are now
terraced, planted, and free of debris. (It is important to stress that the GROW I project
was not a development grant and funds could not be used for much of anything other than
leadership development through training.)
The visit to the Karenvila Model Village by the NIU GROW leaders on this particular
day, May 17, was instigated by an invitation to join a meeting that was planned to
celebrate a few important events in the village. The proceedings that took place during
the meeting and all the speeches made by invited dignitaries were full of evidences that
signaled empowerment of the village leaders and the great resources they have pooled
together to meet the felt-needs in the village.
The following quote from Laurel’s daily journal will aptly describe the visit of the NIU
representatives to Karanvila Model Village. “The families in this village always go to
great lengths to welcome us and this visit was no exception. There was a canopy at the
entrance to the village that the children decorated with crayon drawings and a big sign
of welcome over the top. As Jaya and I walked up to the area where the meeting took
place, excited children who carried our various packages joined us. Sri Lankan folk
music was playing over a loud speaker as we walked; the air was full of celebration.
……Once we were seated in the meeting we were given the program and we settled down
to hear speeches from residents and local officials (appointed and elected) regarding the
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project related work, their Tsunami recovery work. …….In addition to hearing the
reports on the project and Tsunami, Jaya and I joined others in presenting some relief
items to the villagers. Subsequently, the meeting included a ribbon-cutting ceremony
(Jaya and I did the cutting) for the community bathing well that was under construction
when we were there last May. This is one of the activities that were funded out of a grant
the villagers located from another NGO. The villagers have learned to locate the
resources (financial and technical), and lead the project through to completion. …The
acknowledgements in the wall of the bathing well, “Northern Illinois University”
produced conflicting feelings for Jaya and me but they seem to give the villagers great
pleasure so we do our best to “appreciate their appreciation.”
It was clearly evident that these very skills suddenly were called upon as major lifesaving resources for Tsunami victims on the southern coast, just a kilometer away.
Karenvila’s drinking well was the only fresh water source in much of the Galle District
for about three days after Tsunami. The villagers transported it to the coast by every
means possible. They were instrumental in organizing the immediate clean-up and
burial, taking over 300 of the deceased to bury in their own village. They have also taken
in many displaced families and orphans and assisted in community trauma care.
Visit to Pompekele Model Village
As a background note it should be stated that in order to utilize the available time in the
most cost-effective way, a decision was taken by the Project Director and the Project
Advisor to engage in separate activities, thus enabling the Project Director to invest more
time on meetings related to project issues and other critical programmatic and logistical
arrangements of the project and the Project Advisor to devote more time on a research
component on the impact of the GROW project as evident in the GROW Model Villages.
Pompakele is the Model Village selected by the Sarvodaya Women’s Movement two and
half years ago during the GROW I Project period. It is a multi-ethnic village, situated in
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the central part of the country. Pompekele Model Village, as in the case of Karenwila, has
continued influence on GROW II activities as well. The village has demonstrated
significant growth during the reporting period. Overall the enthusiasm of the villagers
and the level of their participation in the Model Village activities remain high.
Sarvodaya leaders and the staff of a renowned international college in Colombo and a
few outside groups are continuing their assistance to the village and as a result a series of
projects have taken place in the village during the reporting period. Several very
significant construction projects are underway. This village has also formed a
“Neighborhood Watch Group” to deal with some of the social problems around alcohol
and drug abuse. Given the multi-ethnic population, this initiative has been very slow to
develop and has encountered resistance.
The following excerpt from the journal entry of the Project Advisor on creating foot paths
aptly portray the change process that has occurred at Pompakele during the reporting
period. “Creating footpaths has required them to communicate extensively with the local
government administrators. Getting attention and resources for these types of
improvements in rural villages in Sri Lanka is enormously difficult. The highly
centralized bureaucracy is comprised of layers and layers of officials that must consider,
approve, and sign requests. Often rural villagers become resigned to their local
conditions and don’t even try to bring about change; when they do – it can be an
endlessly frustrating process. Through empowerment these villagers have discovered
their voices and negotiating power. .
The Model Village leaders are hopeful that their request to the government to name the
village as a Peace Village due to the bond that has created among the three major ethnic
communities in the village as an outcome of the GROW Project, will be granted soon.
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Visit to Udayapuram Model Village.
The Muslim Women’s Research and Action Forum (MWRAF) selected Udayapuram in
the Ampara District on the east coast of Sri Lanka as their model village nearly two years
ago. Unlike Karenvila and Pompekele, Udayapuram’s remoteness from its sponsoring
NGO leadership, makes frequent training and support extremely difficult. This Tamilspeaking village comprised almost entirely of Hindus and Muslims, has truly struggled
during the reporting period. Despite early signs of success in setting up a Community
Garden Cooperative and a Montessori school, they have not been able to sustain these
projects. There are some significant power struggles among the rural women leaders, as
well. In addition, the situation at Udayapuram has been severely affected by the Tsunami
tragedy. Laurel Jeris took that long journey to Udayapuram and the following entry
from her journal presents its current situation.
“……..Udayapuram is adjacent to the coast but sufficiently inland (about one mile) to
have escaped physical destruction from the Tsunami. However, most village families lost
numerous extended family members and have opened their homes to refugees, related or
not. Similarly, they participated in the initial clean up and buried several hundred of the
deceased in their village. There was no time to respect each religion’s particular
traditions with respect to burials and sacred rituals. To stem the spread of disease the
residents of Udayapuram buried victims quickly and, if the victims were unidentified, they
acknowledged the burial with sacred elements from Hindu, Muslim, and Buddhist
practices. Although this pragmatic approach may appeal to the western mind, it has
become the flashpoint for enormous local criticism. Essentially, in the immediate
aftermath, all three ethnic groups on the east coast responded compassionately to anyone
in need. Tragically, as the national government and LTTE compete for the upper hand in
distributing aid on the east coast to carry favor with their constituencies, the initial spirit
of cooperation has deteriorated……..”
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(Laurel’s research work in the four GROW Model Villages will be presented in the
International Transformative Learning Conference that will be held at Michigan State
University, Lansing MI from October 6-9, 2005. (Please see Attachment D for the
outline of the research paper that will be presented during that conference.)
J.
Other project Activities Carried out during the Sri Lanka Visit
In between the workshops and subsequent to the workshops, a series of project related
activities were carried out that included a meeting with the Head of the Office of the
Transition Initiative at USAID, Michael DeSisti, took place on May 25, in order to
discuss how this particular Unit at USAID could support the proposals for Action Plans
for Tsunami Recovery that will be developed by the Diploma Program participants as an
outcome of the two-part workshop. Other important meetings that took place during the
stay in Sri Lanka included a second CAG meeting, two staff meetings with the resource
staff of the Diploma Program, a meeting with the Diploma Program Manager, a meeting
with the Director of SLIDA on the administration of the Diploma program, a meeting
with the Vice-Chancellor of the Open University to explore how the Open University
could work more closely with the project in exploring ways to extend the GROW
activities, specifically how to take the transformation generated by the Diploma in Good
Governance and Local Leadership Program into the grassroots level through its 74
regional centers. Another important meeting that took place during the latter part of the
stay in Sri Lanka was a meeting with the Chairperson of CAG – Jezima Ismail- that
enabled to reflect on the project progress so far and how to improve it further. As a
woman of great vision, experience and wisdom the meeting provided valuable insights
into the future progress of the project. Another important meeting that took place during
the latter part of the stay was a meeting with the former Chair of the National Committee
on Women, who is also a member of the Core Advisory Group of the GROW II Project.
The major theme of the meeting centered around strategies for enhancing women’s
participation at the local government level. The three leaders together explored practical
ways of making it happen and how GROW Project could support the efforts.
21
K
Other Discussions During the Sri Lanka Stay
One-on-one discussion that took place between the NIU Project Director and the Project
Manager in Sri Lanka (Seela Ebert) was a very helpful step that looked into the areas
where new directions and decisions were needed. After a thorough and an honest
reflections on the progress so far and areas needing further improvement, a series of
important decisions were taken including transfer of some responsibilities of the Project
Manager, specifically the responsibilities attached to the Diploma Program, to the
Manager of the Diploma Program, Mr. Herath. Subsequently, this discussion was
followed up with Mr. Herath and both agreed that this new delineation of responsibilities
would enhance the smooth functioning of the project. It was agreed to adhere to the new
tasks from the beginning of the second year of the project, which is July 2005.
Another important round of meetings that took place during the end of the stay in Sri
Lanka were the audio-taped interviews with GROW I project leaders from all four
partner NGOs are also an important activity carried out during this visit. These
interviews as part of a continuing evaluation of the GROW I Project, has been integrated
into the paper that will be presented by the NIU GROW leaders at the International
Transformative Learning Conference that will be held at Michigan State University,
Lansing MI from October 6-9, 2005.
Conclusion
In sum, it can be concluded that GROW II Project has had a successful record of
activities during the six-month reporting period – January through June 2005 - in spite of
the aftermath of the Tsunami devastation. GROW II Project, aimed at stimulating the
democratic culture in Sri Lanka through strengthening the civil society, is making a
significant contribution to Sri Lanka. The Diploma Program inaugurated during the
reporting period continues to prepare leaders to guide and direct the communities in
realizing the most important mission of the project, viz. building an enhanced civil
society at the local level. This educational program that was designed to develop
leadership knowledge, skills and attitudes among program participants (primarily female)
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engaged in community related work at grassroots levels in Sri Lanka is moving forward
steadily. The two major institutional partners of the project - Sri Lanka Institute for
Development Administration (SLIDA) and the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL) are
contributing to the project in a major way, more specifically in the administration of the
Diploma Program. The direction and the guidance provided by the two advisory bodies
at NIU and in Sri Lanka, through its monthly meetings and other different ways, can be
noted as a major strength to the project. GROW II Project also intended to scale-up the
process initiated by GROW I through extending its democracy strengthening process to a
selected circle of other NGOS in the country by forming and strengthening a NGO
Coalition and this objective of the project can be said to have a set-back, mostly due to
the situation resulted subsequent to the Tsunami devastation.
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