SMALL THINGS CAN MAKE BIG CHANGES

Gigantic rivers start as tiny water springs. Similarly small initiatives can make big changes. It is remarkable to see a small group of women growing into a women's forum and further into an organization that provides services and work similar to WDC among their communities.Several services offered by non-governmental organizations are long lasting.

Today we see many people reap the benefits of the seeds sown by our organization, and I believe that we can raise our vision by sowing seeds of our work through the wide world. Now our country is involved in building up in a post war situation. Fifteen years ago we commenced our mission to facilitate measures to overcome challenges faced by women and children burdened by war. As a result the women's fora in Vavuniya, Batticaloa, Rajarata, Akkaraipattu, Kalmunai have developed into active organizations that serve women and children of their communities during war ridden circumstances or any other situation. Now they extend their services to others and not only to women and children.

The prevention of Violence against women project conducted in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund - UNFPA has helped us to address a range of problems faced by these communities. During the past three months we have been able to facilitate the issue of various legal documents which were lost during the war. In Vavuniya and Batticaloa districts 500 persons received Birth Certificates, 300 individuals obtained National Identity Cards and some others received Death Certificates for their family members who were lost due to the war. Marriage Certificates and Deeds for properties also were issued to people. We conducted a similar program for the plantation community in the Nuwara-eliya district.
Sustainable peace can be attained only by establishing an environment to promote trust and respect among all ethnic groups within communities. For this purpose we did not distribute survey reports, booklets and such material. What we at WDC did was, strategize what we identified. Now, we see results of this effort. In 2004, the "Peace through Food Culture" exhibition and trade fair concept has helped women affiliated to WDC groups share and appreciate diverse food patterns and preparations of other ethnicities or cultures. For these women the predicted global food crisis will not be as bleak because they have learnt to use indigenous food items as well as adapt to different preparations. Home Gardening has been advocated in all women's forum areas with training and knowledge provided to the women.

HIV/AIDS is not a terrifying threat in Sri Lanka right now but it appears like an iceberg. WDC commenced the prevention of HIV/AIDS program in 1998 and we can consider our small efforts have contributed to a vast national mission to minimize the threat of HIV/AIDS in Sri Lanka. It is evident in the program we conduct for commercial sex workers, where we have formed a women's group for them. Awareness on personal hygiene, importance of medical examinations, sexually transmitted diseases (STD) as well as alternative income generation prospects with skills training are provided to these women at monthly meetings at the STD clinic Kandy. A modest exercise, yet until now none of these women have tested positive for HIV. Some have abandoned the profession and engage in other income generation prospects such as fruit sales, making rugs, candles, or incense sticks.

It has been possible to improve the standard of living of women at the grassroots through simple interventions in our empowerment program. It is our accomplishment when such women have received recognition or awards from the government or other non-governmental organizations.
So, Change is possible - we can - this is apparent in what we discussed above.

W L A D Chandrathilaka
Deputy Coordinator
WDC

Kantha Mela - International Womens day celebration March 13, 2013

Kantha Mela was celebrated on Wednesday, March 14th, 2013 at the Kandy Cultural Centre.

The annual event celebrates International Women's Day with the  the network of women's organsations linked to the Women's Development Centre (WDC). It provides all sections of the WDC (Community Development (CD), community based rehabilitation (CBR), crisis intervention and ) an opportunity to come together with the community.

There were 322 participants at the event including the members from 9 forums; Ampara, Batticaloa, Hanguranketha, Rajarata, Akkarapatta, Kalmunai, Matale, Varuniya and Kandy.  The majority of the participants were Network of Women(NOW) members. The chief guests who brightened up the event were, Ms. Shirani Weerakoon - Secretary, Ministry of Health, Indigenous Medicine, Social Welfare, Probation and Child Care Services and Ms. Kumuduni S. Premachandra - Commissioner, Department of Social Welfare, Probation and Child Care Service Affairs. In addition, many well wishers of WDC also contributed to make this event a success by their valuable participation.

During the day there were a numerous offerings presented. All members of the forums were given the opportunity to perform and there were a number of cultural-based performances addressing gender-based violence issues. The children of the Haragama crisis centre were a highlight of the show, delivering bright, lively dance performances, that were enjoyed thoroughly by everyone in attendance. It is a major achievement for these girls to perform in front of such a  large crowd, but in succeeding, helps them overcome some of their fears initiated originally through gender-based violence against them.

In addition to the cultural performances there was an exhibition and sale of products from a variety of the forum members and Apitiya VTC products were also on sale.

Finally there were appreciation certificates given for all the NOW members in recognition for their service.

Overall, the day was a huge success and we thank everyone who was involved.

Annual Concert of the CBR Program

Even though people have categorized themselves by religion, caste, class, etc. still there are universal languages that could entertain all of us, no matter which group we represent. Dancing, music are such universal languages that we enjoy in common as human beings. Considering the joy that all people share through entertainment, the Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) program of Women’s Development Centre will be organizing its annual concert, showcasing the talents of disabled children, celebrating International Day of Disabled Persons.

                The concert will take place at Kandy Cultural Centre on 04^th of December 2012 from 9.30 am onwards. This is the 22^nd concert organized by CBR program and even though most of the earlier programs included only the concert, this time, a special awareness program on disability will be held in order to make the public aware of different types of disability.

                Your participation in this program will add a great value as well as a pleasure for both the children presenting their talents and the organizers. Therefore, we hope you will be there being a strength for all of us!

Celebrating Universal Children’s Day with an Arts Exhibition

Disabled children also have a right to enjoy the beauty of the world despite the challenges they face in their day-to-day lives. If they are trained well they gain the ability to improve their skills just like the other children do. The Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) program of Women’s Development Centre is dedicated to offering such  services to disabled children. 

In celebration of Universal Children’s Day, Women’s Development Centre (WDC) held a special arts exhibition in the main hall of the CBR section of our headquarters on the 01^st October, 2012. 146 children with different disabilities, from our 9 CBR centers, presented their talents in this arts exhibition under the theme ‘Ape lama lokaya’ (Children’s world).  

The panel of judges from Pentium pastels selected the best three paintings that were exhibited in this event. The prizes and the certificates of the winners as well as the participants were sponsored by ESOFT institution in Kandy. 

The parents as well as the guests of the exhibition were surprised to see the talents of the children. In addition, the children who study at special units in different schools as well as the parents of these children were able to improve their knowledge on different aspects of disability after participating in this exhibition. The talents of all the children who presented their paintings at the Arts Exhibition were highly appreciated by the guests who visited this event.

TRADITIONAL FOLK GAMES FOR THE UNIVERSAL CHILDREN’S DAY

Ulapane Maha Vidyalaya, under the guidance of Women’s Development Centre (WDC), organized a festival of traditional folk games with the participation of 330 students at the school's premises. The festival of traditional folk games was organized on 1^st of October, 2012 celebrating Universal Children’s day. 

Ulapane Maha Vidyalaya was introduced to WDC by the department of Education as a problematic school that needed facilitation and guidance. Thus, WDC, with the support of the Shining Life Child Trust (SLCT),  started to play the role of a facilitator in upgrading the standard of the school through a variety of projects. The special education unit of Ulapane Maha Vidyalaya is also run by WDC. 

It is a known fact that due to the mechanization of the society, children of today have greater access to technology and they tend to focus more on computer games and video games rather than traditional forms of play. This has taken away their creativity, thinking capacity and has promoted selfishness, individuality and lack of collectivity.

Focusing on all these aspects, Women’s Development Centre guided Ulapane Maha Vidyalaya to encourage children to play traditional folk games throughout Universal Children’s Day. The event was successful as the children enjoyed it and learnt the importance of playing such games almost for the first time in their lives.

Most of the children were ignorant about these games at the beginning of the festival but under the instructions of the teachers, they got used to all the games within a short time period and enjoyed playing 10 traditional folk games including “Eluwan Kaama, Thachchu paneema, onchili waram”, etc.

The objectives behind encouraging the children to play these games were to teach them the importance of collective effort rather than individuality, the strength of working as a group, truthfulness, helping the fellow members in the times of threat, facing challenges in life, knowledge about traditional currency and traditional words.

Furthermore, it was identified by WDC that rather than talking about children only on Universal Children’s day, it is more important to teach them something practical, which they would remember throughout their lives. Therefore, playing traditional games, building relationships with each other was recognized by WDC as a significant aspect.

In addition, by making them engage in these traditional folk games, it was also expected to make them free from discrimination including gender bias, ethnic and age discrimination. In a time where children try to engage in violent games such as shooting, hitting, killing through video games, WDC identified the importance of introducing the traditional folk games for the community through which the relationships between adults were expected to be enriched through the intervention of children.

How to Relieve Stress from Your Life?

Everyone faces stress. Yet it is difficult to be defined.  Things that we see as threatening or harmful are called stressors and stress is stimulus, leading to a psychological  response, chronic circumstance can all be seen as stressors.

Another definition is, that stress is a person’s state in response to a stressor; for example, we can become stressed when having to give a performance in public, the response can involve both physiological and psychological factors and this response is called strain.

There are so many coping strategies such as,

1. Accept the realities of life
2. Avoid too many changes in our life at one time
3. Learn to relax
4. Give attention to others
5. Let go of prejudices and grudges
6. Be organized, yet flexible
7. Don’t try to change others
8. Communicate – it means talk out your stress
9. Learn to recognize job burnout
10. Find ways to release
11. Live one day at a time
12. Keep well
13. Keep exercising
14. Dieting
15. Laughing
16. Smoking reduction
17. Sleep well
18. Get help of support groups
19. Self-Employment
20. Drink a lot of water
21. Time management
22. Determine why the change is necessary
23. Get religious support
24. Plan your day
25. Involve in entertainment such as walking, cycling
26. Don’t take  too many responsibilities
27. Change your daily activities
28. Look at everything positively
29. Get involved in social work
30. Get used to live a normal life
31. Attend a counseling session
32. Use of imagination techniques and relaxation techniques

By Counseling unit, WDC

Women who Overcome Challenges

The WDC aims to improve the status of women by identifying the problems faced by them and assisting them in finding solutions. We also help to build the abilities of women by raising their awareness on various issues and assist them in improving their economic situations. 

WDC works with the STD/AIDS clinic in Kandy and conduct regular meetings with commercial sex workers who attend the clinic. We have identified that these women face diverse problems and need assistance to find solutions. In order to accomplish this we reach out to selected low income rural communities and visit women who are referred to us by the STD clinics. We specially concentrate on women who are already involved in the commercial sex trade and those who are vulnerable to it through abject poverty. We also incorporate women who work on the streets and motivate them to find alternate income.

The program also included awareness activities to men with whom these women associate. The awareness programs are conducted on preventive methods and medication provided at the HIV/AIDS clinic. We also encourage the women to share the knowledge they have gained with their partners and others.  These women are provided revolving funds to start up income generation projects. We are happy that those who have received these loans are successfully involved in IGPs and some have already quit the sex trade. We monitor their progress and encourage them in their enterprises by providing them additional loans if necessary. A revolving loan fund has been established from which they can obtain loans.

The training programs include gender awareness, leadership, ethics/values, counseling on prevention and leading a happy family life. We promote their involvement in religious activities and assist the children of these women to continue schooling so as to prevent them getting into the same trade. These women are encouraged to get involved in other community activities.

We have helped to form a ‘self help group’ where they meet to discuss their problems. They are also encouraged to bring others who are in this trade and educate them of safety precautions. The members subscribe to the group and request the WDC for special skills training programs.