Update. Information. Women.lk at work. Visit

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1 October 2017 Information Women.lk at work Update FundsforHer is a non-profit crowdfunding campaign pioneered under the Women.lk project, that focuses on grassroots, small-scale, women-led start-ups and businesses that are initiated to alleviate women Web: Visit out of poverty while contributing to the economy.we include skilled home based women income earners in our focus. Each individual beneficiary can request for a maximum sum of LKR 10,000 to cover their initial start-up costs, and 10% of the total donation goes towards maintenance of Women. lk for the marketing and promotion of each initiative. Transactions are through banking channels with beneficiary women given wallets to operate. A mentor partner will guide the beneficiary where needed. We will showcase their skills and products soon. Facebook: We are currently looking for deserving, empowered females who would like to start their own businesses but don't have the funds to do so. If you know any ladies who would love to be a part of our crowdfunding initiative, Instagram: inbox us or call us on activities undertaken in the month of October

2 Thaalam" Project - Powered by WIM Taking efforts to make a difference to the young women for a better tomorrow. The project is headed by WIM Vijitha and Team, Priyangani Jayasundara, Kusum De Silva and Amali Nanayakkara. 2 Day workshop was organized to select women for 3 entrepreneurships conducting by WIM. WIM would like to thank Coca-Cola Sri Lanka - Lakshan Madurasinghe for providing beverages and Rotary Kandy - Gowri Rajan for providing meals for 2 days for 55 participants. And also Jeevan Thiagarajah who motivated me to do a project in Kayts and also for your hospitality. Facilitated by myself. Participants were very excited as there has never being a workshop for real business. We have to close the doors as to limit the participants. Thank you all who assisted us for this 2 day workshop. This is just the beginning its going to be 6 months with them to make them economically empowered. 2

3 The CHA is committed to providing a safe space for children with special needs & their families to access a variety of resources in a non clinical setting. Costs if any are met through our Thrift Store, select sponsorships and by family/guardian if costs are to be met direct. Here in our office children may access counseling / psychotherapy services and be seen by specialized Doctor or therapists. Children with special educational needs may receive brain training & academic tutoring. Speech therapy & behavioral therapy are also services Information Update A different Kind of perfect Program for Children with special needs on offer for those who may need it. Seminars & workshops are held to raise awareness & educate the public on current trends in special needs education and psychotherapy. Costs if any, are met through our Thrift Store, select sponsorships and by family/guardian if costs are to be met direct. Clinic details Dr. Roshini Karunanayake (MD PLAY DAY Paediatrics, DCH, MBBS) focusing on developmental learning and behavioral conditions in children- Saturdays -4-6 pm Ms. Pramodhi Perera (Bsc Speech and hearing sciences specialized in Speech & Language) focusing on Speech, Language & Communication difficulties on children and adults- Saturdays -4-6 pm Clinical psychologists Monday Friday Speech therapist in Sinhala and English Thursdays Teachers for academic tutoring Monday Wednesday Friday. In our series of workshops planned for 2017 by the special needs unit at CHA, we successfully completed our fourth one on 5th October 2017 which was a complete celebration and entertainment for kids with special needs marking Children s day. 23 kids joined us on this day with 7 volunteers. We are indeed proud and overwhelmed by the donations received by individuals this time to host the event. Our sincere thanks goes to Jehaan and Laila Ismail, Z.M Abdulhussein and family, Nadeesha Paulis, The Store and ROMA Foundation. IT training for students at Deaf and Blind School, Ratmalana conducted by CHA 3

4 Highlights of the Senior Centre participation in UNFPA G2G dialogue UNFPA (United Nations Populations Fund) and Department of Census & Statistics recently organized a Generation-to-Generation (G2G) dialogue on the theme Ageing population in Sri Lanka and its Policy Implications at Cinnamon Grand, Colombo on 6 October Different views were expressed by the panel such as ageing considered as an achievement and a celebration of humanity and not a burden, need to set up mechanisms in order to address ageing related issue such increase in Music Listening Corner Information Update The Senior Centre non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among elderly, Japan made reforms by introducing long term care and insurance for the elder, elderly are under-represented in many types of advertisement and in other media so there is a need for the media to show more respect to older members of Upgraded the community as well as need more human resources in many category to have special group of medical officers to treat elderly. Birthday Celebrations The Senior Center team wished our first, on-line senior member celebrating his birthday on 26 Oct. Volunteer service We welcomed a new volunteer at the Senior Centre, who is professionally qualified and experienced in Gerontology, to assist and submit project on our Health Care & Consultations. Book Corner Thank you, to all our donors who enhance our collection of books in the month of October

5 Promotion of professional standards Pflegedienst Bergstrasse- Germany In collaboration with The Centre for Humanitarian Affairs Conducts a training Course for Elder Care Assistant / Elder Care Nurse Course commences on 11 th November No 1 Gower Street, Colombo 5 Course outline: - transfer of knowledge and practical teaching regarding professional elder care - instruction on ensuring high quality standards (German guideline)regarding care on health and hygiene - Instruction on basic medical assistance - teachings on daily assistance of elders - instruction on providing support and assistance to enrich the life quality of senior citizens Lecturers: - Marta Lalurny, Regional Director Pflegedienst Bergstrasse: more than 15 years of experience in elder care in Germany. - Adriana Kleivan, Medical Director, more than 10 years experience in medical supervision. - Tharshanan Selvanathan, Operative Director Pflegedienst Bergstrasse. Duration: 48 hours ( 8 hours x 3 weekends) Medium of Instruction : English /Tamil and Sinhalese Course Fee: Rs 15000/- Registration Rs: 2500 Contact : ; hashini@cha.lk; education@cha.lk; Unpacking Sustainable Development Goals(SDG) in Sri Lanka The aim of this project is to spread awareness and spark conversation for local and global action on the UN's sustainable development goals. In September the United Nations established a set of 17 goals to reach by 2030 to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. Presentation have so far been made on - A. The Policy Framework and National Plan of Action (NPoA) to address Sexual and Gender based Violence (SGBV), B. National Action Plan on Women Headed Households By The Ministry of Women and Child Affairs and Preventing Sexual,C. Gender based Violence (SGBV) Strategies for Universities By Prof. Kumudu Wijewardena, University Grants Commission (UGC) and the 4th in the series of discussions was on, National Action Plan on Women Headed Household Action Plan (WHH- NAP) Inception, Progress and Current Status by UNFPA. 5

6 The project is driven by Isha Miranda. Send your comments to lk or A significant feature of post war Sri Lanka is the increase in Women Headed Households WHH).According to the most recent Household and Income Expenditure Survey (2012/13), 1.2 million households (23 percent) of the households in Sri Lanka are WHH. Currently, there are 58,121 WHH in the Northern Province alone. To address the needs of WHH, the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) in collaboration with the UN Gender Theme Group, and the technical support of UNFPA is developing a national initiative to address multiple and overlapping needs of WHH. Cabinet Paper - National Plan for Women Headed Households The UNFPA on behalf of the UN Gender Theme Group, developed a programme in 2015 to provide for an opportunity of a collaborated effort with the contributions of all stakeholders, GoSL, I/NGOs and civil society to address the vulnerabilities of WHH. A gap analysis of immediate needs and existing services for WHH was conducted in collaboration with the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR) and was used to further strengthen the programme design and cabinet paper. The Ministry of Women and Child Affairs (MoWCA) developed and submitted a Cabinet paper (No. 16/1991/740/010) titled National Plan for Women Headed Households in September This paper was approved by the Cabinet in October The Cabinet paper sought permission for the following to formulate a three year national plan with Ministries and institutions relevant to the 6 sectors: of health and psychosocial support, livelihood development, support services systems, protection, social security and national level policy formulation and awareness raising. Progress and Current Status Six sectoral meetings (1. health and psychosocial support, 2. livelihood development, 3. support services systems, 4. protection, 5. social security and 6. national level policy formulation) were conducted with the participation of 17 key ministries and stakeholder organizations. Key ministries involved: Ministry of Rural Economy; Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources; Ministry of Agriculture; Ministry of Land and Parliamentary Affairs; Ministry of Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs; Ministry of Social Empowerment and Welfare; Ministry of Law and Order and Southern Development; Ministry of Policy Planning and Economic Affairs. Field-level stakeholder consultations were held in the Mullaithivu, Kilinochchi, Puttalam, Trincomalee and Jaffna districts with the participation of state personnel, NGOs, civil society and women s societies. These consultations provided a more comprehensive situation analysis of WHH in the North and East. High-level meetings were also conducted, and a number of outcomes were outlined with key ministries that attended the initial sectoral consultations. 6

7 ECSLs visited Bribery Commission and received a detailed presentation by Director General and staff of the commission on anti-bribery activities, procedures, successes of the commission with useful facts and figure Sustainable Development Goals 2030 and its relation to Gender equity and equality. Isha Miranda Wedasinghe The Centre for Humanitarian Affairs (CHA) organized a study tour for 37 Afghan civil society activists for Counterpart International Afghanistan. The main objective was to expose these emerging Afghan leaders to individual civil society activists, informal civil society organizations and also relevant public institutions, to learn from their best practices of working with citizens/communities and engaging citizens in creating positive social change. Sri Lanka has been chosen for study tours in 2016 and 2017 as a country that has gone through years of conflict and has many common issues with Afghanistan. Specific areas focused under their visit were : Empowerment,Religion, Poverty, Transparency, Governance, Peace & Reconciliation; Conflict resolution,anti-corruption and Human Rights. The Group met with senior officials from Both government and non governmental agnecies, toured cultural sites in Kandy, Anuradhapura and visited northern districts of Jaffna and Mullaitivu, 7

8 Deputy Director Office of Unity and Reconciliation Presidential Secretariat, discussing government s initiative on reconciliation and progress, and strategic challenges reflecting on war period between Tamil and Sinhalese. Chairperson of Women in Management, Sri Lanka discussed women empowerment efforts, and two senior representatives from National Peace Council (NPC) continued the session with discussions on ethnic conflict issues, peace building through inter-religious dialogues and practical approaches. Meeting with GA- Jaffna District secretariat USAID in Sri Lanka: Alena Tansey Deputy Director of USAID 8

9 DISTRICT HIGHLIGHTS - Hambantota Coordination services & initial discussion on proposed Environment forum Humanitarian services in Hambantota district. 01. Referred no of 05 youth for Hambantota district Chamber of Commerce to register their job bank to find suitable job vacancies. 02. Referred no of 10 youth to Hambantota District Sarvodaya centre to register for their proposed self employment program. DISTRICT HIGHLIGHTS - Jaffna District Women Development Federation committee meeting The District Women Development Federation Committee Meeting conducted their 6th meeting at CHA, Jaffna office. The DWDF meeting is conducted every 3rd Friday of the month at the CHA, Office CHA Hambantota district office provids coordination services for Hambantota district federation of civil societies to conduct their monthly meetings as the District chairman of this federation. 04 themes on the environment was selected discuss with key invitees who are working on environment representing Government, NGOs & private sectors in Hambantota district. Proposed Scholarships program Planned to provide essential school supplies for selected 100 school students in Hambantota district on end of November At present, CHA Hambantota district office has already undertaken 50% of initial activities of this program. For the time been, some sponsors of private sector & NGOs have promised to provide their sponsors to succeed this program. Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) and promoting peace building In 2015, on the margins of the UN General Assembly high level week, a workshop was held in NY to stimulate creation of a global network an initiative of President Obama. We subscribe to President Obama s view that, There are millions, billions of people who are poor and are lawabiding and peaceful and tolerant, and are trying to advance their lives and the opportunities for their families. But when people -- especially young people -- feel entirely trapped in impoverished communities, where there is no order and no path for advancement, where there are no educational opportunities, where there are no ways to support families, and no escape from injustice and the humiliations of corruption -- that feeds instability and disorder, and makes those communities ripe for extremist recruitment. When people are oppressed, and human rights are denied -- particularly along sectarian lines or ethnic lines -- when dissent is silenced, it feeds violent extremism. It creates an environment that is ripe for terrorists to exploit. When peaceful, democratic change is impossible, it feeds into the terrorist propaganda that violence is the only answer available. 9

10 Given own contemporary history we are committed to fostering networks in the Southern Hemisphere which - Builds Greater Awareness, Counters extremist narratives and Emphasizes Community Led Interventions in a global context of violent extremism found in Central Africa, Middle East, sections of South and South East Asia Information Update with virulent counter narratives. We promote networking with researchers, research institutions, practitioners, and policymakers focused on CVE research and practice looking at - Policy Priorities, Knowledge Priorities, Methodology /Process Priorities and promotion of capacity. Communication with our Secretary Foreign Affairs has led to The Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute (LKII), the Ministry Think Tank expressing interest to collaborate. Contacts and further information: Jeevan Thiagarajah execdir@ cha.lk Dhanya Ratnavale managerreg-rehab@cha.lk The Sri Lanka preparedness Partnership (SLPP) established with Government, Private Sector and Local Non-Government Organizations Networks as a national level platform for strengthening the emergency response preparedness in the country. The Disaster Management Center (DMC), National Disaster Relief Services Center (NDRSC), Center for Humanitarian Affairs (CHA) and Chamber of Commerce (CoC) partnered with SLPP and agreed to perform within program objectives; which aims at strengthening the preparedness capacity of Government and local humanitarian actors for effective emergency response. At the initial stage, four high-risk Districts of Ratnapura, Kalutara, Batticaloa and Puttlam have been selected to pilot the project activities. Considering the bottom-up approach and harness of the project objectives; having sectoral level brainstorming sessions before organizing a national level meeting was highlighted among SLPP key partners. The primary objectives of the sectoral sessions will be: a. Introducing SLPP b. Identify sectoral level priorities and needs align with project objectives (preparedness for emergency response) c. Strengthening the coordination between SLPP key partners in National/District/ Divisional level Proposed visit of MSc students from Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies (CHS), Doha - November, 2017 to Sri Lanka The Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies (CHS) is an interdisciplinary research and study center that conducts original and rigorous research on the causes, impact and responses to conflict, humanitarian crisis, state fragility and transitions in the Middle East and North Africa. The Center has proposed a visit by their MSc students from 14 countries to Sri Lanka. The Chairman of CHA met with the Faculty and students in Doha and delivered an introductory lecture. 10 No 1, Gower Street, Colombo 05. Tel: Ext: 634 For further information please contact Hashini on info@cha.lk