Under the project titled, “ Inclusion of Marginalized Estate Labour Communities with Access to Government Services” funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through SPICE Sri Lanka, a 2-day capacity building programme was organized by Caritas Sri Lanka-SEDEC.
The Training workshop held from 21st to 22nd of February 2017 at the SEDEC auditorium had 40 participants including Self Help Groups (SHG) / Community Based Organization (CBO) leaders, vigilant group members and activists of the plantation communities in the Dioceses of Galle, Kandy, Rathnapura and Badulla.
One of the objectives of the 2-day training workshop was to provide awareness and guidance to the participants on the implementation of the 5 Year National Plan of Action (NPA) formulated by the Ministry of Hill Country New Villages, Infrastructure and Community Development in March 2016.
The expected outcome of the NPA is to reduce poverty levels of the plantation community, improve living standards on par with other communities and ensure political, social and economic rights are fully enjoyed by the plantation community while achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the plantation sector.
In addition training and guidance were also given to the participants in developing strategies for networking with like-minded organizations which would strengthen the voice and action of the local organizations of the plantation areas in resolving community issues.
The participants engage in many interactive group sessions to identify the current issues of their communities and discussed gaps and unclear areas found in the implementation process of the NPA. They were also made aware of the future actions embedded in the National Plan to gain the maximum expected impact and change, through its effective implementation. The participants also had the opportunity to learn many skills and technical know-how including networking that could enhance their scope and abilities, especially when in working with the local administrative environments.
Mr. M. Vamadevan, Advisor to the Ministry of Hill Country New Villages, Infrastructure and Community Development and Mr. Siyon de Alwis, Training Consultant were the resource persons of the training workshop.
