Community uplift vital in sustainable growth

By Dhaneshi Yatawara

People can work together in communities to increase their well-being, and to make their lives wealthier, fairer, safer, more skilled, healthier and more sustainable, or 'greener'. This - community development - in today's context is a vital part in achieving a sustainable development. As experts of the field reiterate the actual development should showcase in the lifestyles in majority of the community. The development should be able to address the problems, obstacles a community is facing - be it rural or urban.

Political support vital

Under developed road networks to be done away with

Community participation

The Sri Lankan development, guided by the Mahinda Chinthana Vision for Future has been more focused on this kind of ground level development - Elevating the quality of life in the villages and underprivileged societies in towns.

The 'Gama Neguma' (village uplift), Divi Neguma (livelihood uplift), 'Pura Neguma' (township uplift) were the key programs initiated and guided by the Economic Development Ministry. Problems, Interests and Needs were the key pillars of bringing these strategies.

Village

Sri Lanka has always been a country of villages. The village, while retaining its identity with its impressive features, can be developed as a micro centre of growth - with the vision that village has to be a decent and comfortable place for people to live, work and engage in their cultural and communal activities. The skills and values of a community help to make development actually happen.

Amidst these uplift programs a separate project was run by the Economic Development Ministry for Community Development and livelihood improvement. In the modern world, one person can belong to many different communities, based on where they live, their interests or culture, or the people that share common difficulties. It is the uniqueness that need to be prioritised.

Community Development is an active process. It happens when somebody intervenes to help people to achieve things that they might not otherwise do.

But there usually needs to be something in the background - some person or organisation to help get things started, or to whom people can turn for advice or support, or to build up the right skills. This is where the Government support comes in immensely handy. Though tremendous strengths can be found in communities they are not automatically built upon, especially when economic disadvantage or rapid social change makes it difficult. Thus, a solid government strategy will be a source of strength.

Despite the different rural development approaches which had taken place over the past 60 years of post-independent era, no significant progress has been achieved to bring about a change in the lifestyle of rural masses to acceptable levels. Yet these programs work as national drive.

These Community Development and Livelihood Improvement Projects are not government sector programs alone. The private sector and Non Government Organisations are also involved in implementing these. Thus this effort runs in a nationwide magnitude while successfully reaching individuals.

It is the concept of the Mahinda Chinthana policy to transfer the 16,000 villages in the country to units by 2016 providing fast track development for less developed regions of the country. The strength of the country is the strength of the village.

Village is the next focus on regional development focus. At the village level the rural infrastructure development program is the 'Gama Neguma'. Out of the total regional development work the mega projects are foreign funded - through aid and soft loans. Major concern was given to the Northern Province as the area was so devastated and needed immediate measures to rebuild. Accordingly the 'Gama Neguma' will develop a region upgrading the livelihood of the local people, infrastructure as well as sanitary and water facilities.

Majority of the population live in rural areas. If it is to be successful, any development initiative must give priority to this reality. Identifying the resources, potentials and development constraints, infrastructure deficiencies and identified through community appraisal, the 'Gama Neguma' project carried out a series of development activities in almost all districts.

While retaining its strengths and impressive features the village can be developed as a micro centre of growth with the vision that village has to be a decent and comfortable place for people to live, work and engage in their cultural and communal activities.

Better life

Despite the different rural development approaches taken place over the past 60 years, no significant progress has been achieved to bring about a change in lifestyle of rural masses to acceptable levels. At times the process may become slow, at times it is swift - yet we are steady.

Good community development work is done in ways which challenge disadvantage and tackle inequalities. It involves changing the relationships between ordinary people and people in positions of power. It is an approach to achieving social change. The Government has to give a boost to the most needy areas as funds are limited resources for countries such as ours.

Through infrastructure, development focus is more on improving accessibility, development of irrigation and rural infrastructure including health, education and market places. Poor infrastructure facilities would distract investors away from the areas.

With a vision towards a prosperous new Sri Lanka, amidst many debates and fiascos we are moving forward providing opportunities to all from social and economic empowerment focusing on balanced sustainable development in the village, region and country to ethnic harmony and peace.

There are shanties or squatters, slums, dilapidated labour quarter sites, service schemes and low cost flats clustered in different parts of an urban area. Shanties or squatters could be considered as the worst of its kind. These categories of settlements are extremely congested and these habitats do not have basic amenities, and frequently inundated during rainy days resulting in damp soil and unbearable smell.

Within Colombo alone, such communities live on nearly 900 acres of land. According to the Urban Development Authority the number of households to date in these communities is more than 68,000 with a population of over 300,000. Over half of the residential population in Colombo live in low-level housing, occupying only 10 percent of the total area of Colombo. The lands they live in are mostly in the northern and eastern parts of Colombo such as Modera, Borella and Dematagoda. Other main commercial cities like Kurunegala, Anuradhapura and Kandy, show no difference to this.

Viable

The Urban Development Authority joining hands with the private sector developers have already started to provide housing facilities for families living in these under-served settlements through the development of prime lands, starting from Colombo. Many past Governments attempted to bring a solution to this problem. Though the UDA had no involvement in those initiatives, the difficulty in getting lands to rehouse the shanty dwellers and inadequate funding made those projects collapse. Yet this time under the guidance of the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the UDA launched the program, coordinating with other ministries to liberate their lands to rehouse people and issuing a Rs. 10 billion debenture. When rehousing had to be done there was a method to get the necessary lands and money was there to make it a viable project.

Numerous solutions were tried out by successive governments during the past to find solutions to the City's housing problems but there was no proper plan of action or firm determination to address the real housing issue in Colombo with a vision to develop the City of Colombo on a par with other cities in the South Asian region. Currently the UDA has not only built proper housing for these people but have taken steps to lay a support line for these shanty dwellers to get used to their new surroundings.

The duty of the project coordination unit of the Urban Regeneration project is to analyse the true situation these shanty people live in and coordinate their requirements to the project management.

The challenge lies in the future. More people settling down in cities and urban areas is not an isolated event but a global phenomena. According to UN-HABITAT half of the global population live in cities and it is predicted that within a decade or two nearly 60 percent of the world population, that is around five billion people will become urban dwellers.

Sri Lanka will be no exception. The next big challenge for the authorities and urban planners is to face this and ensure the smooth functioning of cities.

The Community Development and Livelihood Improvement Project has truly benefited the livelihood of the country's village community and resulted in social development. Human relationships and racial harmony have been strengthened making way for economic and social development at village, fulfilling the Project's objectives.