Social Nest

Background and introduction

has gradually invaded the every part of the country.In the meanwhile, in 2004, tidal waves of Tsunami have also done a similar damage to the lives of thousands of Sri Lankans living along the coastal belt of Sri Lanka.

In addition, poverty is visible in every part of the country. Many people tend to migrate because of poverty; people are being trafficked, children are being abused and exploited because of their poverty, families are being disintegrated because of poverty –  the ‘POVERTY’ is being used here in the broadest sense of the word.

One may think that this situation is visible only in conflict areas of Sri Lanka and the Tsunami affected coastal belt.  But it is not the reality. Similar issues or more acute conditions of poverty can also be seen in so called developed areas in the country.  One can easily see street children, people sleeping in pavements or bus stands or any other public places in every city or town.  Under all these conditions women and children are the most vulnerable.  There are thousands of children in this condition.  There are hundreds of children who are parentless. Some of the children are being looked after by their relatives or grand parents. These children should receive urgent attention of the community / humanitarian agencies as they are the ones at high risk of vulnerability once their grand parents die.

According to a random survey conducted by NFPO field coordinators there are hundreds of such children living in many villages in the country especially in villages bordering the conflict zones in the districts of Vavuniya, Anuradhapruda, Polonnaruwa, Trincomalee, Ampara, Batticaloa who lost their parents due to war related incidents.  Also there are some villages in Tricomalee, Batticaloa, Ampara, Hambantota, Galle , Matara, Kalutara and Colombo districts where you find children who have lost their parents or living with their grand parents due to Tsunami disaster and for other reasons  such as desertion by their own parents, parents’ lunatic conditions, or disability. 

However these children are not located in a single place or a village in such districts.  They are scattered in many villages.  But in the districts of Anuradhapura, polonnaruwa, Ampara, Hambantota, Batticloa and Colombo such children can easily be identified in some specific areas.  For example there are many children in the villages of

•     Kebethigollawa in Anuradhapura district
•     Welioya in Polonnaruwa district
•     Akkaaraipattu in Ampara district
•     Hambantota in Hambantota District
•     Kolonnawa, Kotte, Thotalaga and Dematagoda in Colombo district

Villages in Kebetigollawa and Welioya have recently been attacked by LTTE that fights with the government. The villages are under constant threat. Therefore humanitarian interventions in these locations by local and international donor agencies have been increased over the last three years. These humanitarian agencies are working under strict surveillance of the security forces.  Therefore they are considered high risk areas for NGOs to work.

Given these different ground situations it is not easy to implement a comprehensive programmed for the children in these areas.  They need a high level of protection by the government or these children and families should be allocated safer place for resettlement with easy access to their education, water, sanitation, livelihood etc.   Without such intervention by the government with a proper plan to resettle these families, any effort made to uplift the living conditions of the people will be futile as they may come under attack at any moment.

IT IS therefore NFPO proposes to develop a program for children living with their grand parents in Ampara, Hambantota and Colombo districts as NFPO is in a strong position to implement any program in these districts as it has implemented several long term projects over the last  four years and still maintains offices and representatives in these locations.

Objectives

1. To promote children’s right to education, proper growth and development health and protection from violence and abuse
2. To provide support for grand parents who have the responsibility to take care of children
3. To strengthen children’s formal education especially at pre school and primary levels.
4. To facilitate grand parents for livelihood improvements
5. To facilitate economic activities for youth and school drop outs
6. To create conditions for children to be safe in case their grand parents die

Main components of the Project designed to achieve above objectives

Motivation program for children and grand parents

Motivation program for children to attend schools and learn

Motivation program for grand parents to send grand children schools

Special program on rights of the child and legal advisory service program

Education support Program

Support for 40 pre school children

Support for 30 primary school  children

Health and sanitation Program

Dental medical camp

Vision care camp

Health & sanitation awareness program

Provision of corrective medical aid

Skills development program for youth

Training on dairy products

Training on carpentry

Training on beauty culture

Training on computer hardware

Sustainability of the project

1. As basic facilities at educational institutes are restored children continue to attend schools
2. As basic facilities are provided for children they are encouraged to continue with their studies
3. As grand parents are provided with livelihood support with necessary guidance  they can increase their income to support grand children
4. As young children will be given some vocational training trained they will be able to look after their younger brothers and sisters
5. In case grand parents die an arrangement will be made with local and international humanitarian agencies working for children to continue with the program
6. Promote national adoption
7. Promote inter country adoption
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Budget for the project

Total Project Cost Rs. 13,413,626.00 (USD 121,942)