A seven member team from the Caritas Development Centre (CDI) of Caritas Bangladesh visited Sri Lanka from 11th to 16th June 2017 for an exposure visit. The team comprised of Mr. Theophil Nokrek, Director (CDI), Mr. Joseph Rozairo, Coordinator Training, Mr. Golam Maainuddin, Coordinator Research, 3 Senior Faculty Members Ms. Khurshidha Akhtar Jahan, Mr. M. D. Shafiqul Islam, Ms. Sukti Kona Sangma and Mr. Mohammed Mamunur Rashid , Senior Manager from Caritas Bangladesh National Centre. The exposure visit provided an opportunity for the visitors as well as the host, Caritas Sri Lanka to share the best practices and to learn from each other.
The main objective of this exposure visit was to get acquainted with Sri Lanka’s experiences, practices and processes of attaining self-reliance and technical independency in running training & research institutes and development agencies, and also to get a different understanding of, how to conduct effective and qualitative training and research in an organizational context.
On the first day, the team engaged in a session on Training Competencies and managing Training Institutes, conducted by Mr. Gamini B. Herath, MBA, University of Colombo, Consultant International Trainer. A thorough understanding on curriculums, modules, training methods, impact assessments and monitoring systems that are prevalent in the local and global contexts was shared by Mr. Hearth. Thereafter, Mr. J. K. Padmasiri, Director Planning , Department of Sumurdhi Development conducted an in-depth orientation on Government led Development Programmes in Sri Lanka, especially in relation to the Samurdhi Development Scheme.
On the second day, the team visited the International Institute of Training and Development, a reputable local training & development organization outside Colombo and spent the full day in learning and sharing experiences in Competency Development, Systems and Procedures, especially when carrying out training, research and development activities. Dr. Manitha Weerasuriya, PhD Managing Director IITD and her team facilitated the entire day’s sessions which was well received and appreciated by the Bangladeshi Team.
The third day in Kandy, the team took part in a session on Competencies on Procurement Procedures of Consultancies, at Montefano, a famous monastery located in a typical rural surrounding close to the city. The session was conducted by Eng. Mr. M. A. Wimal, (Chartered Engineer) Member of the Institute of Engineers. Having visited a few places of interest in Kandy the team proceeded to Kurunegala where Eng. Mr. Gamini Senanayake, (Chartered Engineer) Member of the Institute of Engineers facilitated a session on Institutional competencies on Training, Research and Development at the Caritas Diocesan Centre in Kurunegala ‘Janasetha ‘. Later accompanied by Rev. Fr. Jamika Perera, Director, Caritas Kurunegala they witnessed a few families to experience several success stories of the project on Substantiation of Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security in Narammana and Padeniya areas. This opportunity helped them to understand how the theoretical concepts such as technical implementation, M&E methods, impact assessment are being used by Caritas Sri Lanka in project implementation, especially at the grass-root level programme execution.
Upon their return to the National Centre the Team conducted a de-briefing session with Caritas SL team comprising of Mr. Yu Hwa Li, Senior Executive Manager, Ms. Nilani Tissera, M& E Consultant and chief Coordinator for the exposure visit and Mr. K Theivendriraja, Manager DRM, prior to leaving the country.
