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| Sunday, 16 May 2004 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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CMC gives new hope to deprived youth by Carol Aloysius
What kind of image does a visit to the Charity Commissioner's office usually conjure up in your mind? In my mind's eye, it had always conjured images of tables strewn with dusty files; overworked clerks behind untidy desks, and most of all overcrowded corridors filled with long queues of underprivileged persons waiting patiently to collect the meagre allowance given them every month as a dole to help them eke out their miserable existence. It was a very different picture that greeted photographer Chinthaka and me when we visited the three storeyed building standing cheek by jowl with the filthy muck strewn yard outside the Maradana market. Instead of the decrepit building I had expected, a neat tiled office filled with smiling faces was the first sight that greeted us. Outside the offices housed inside the building, a few men and women were sitting or standing patiently probably to receive their monthly dole. Over 13,000 families currently receive poor relief from the office sited at the supermarket at Deans Road , Maradana, the amount varying according to the age of the recipient (children get Rs 250 upto the age of 16 years, an elder Rs 400 and a family upto Rs 1000)on a monthly basis, Mr Hemantha Gamage, the Charity Commissioner told me. Massive operation
This massive and time consuming operation is not the only service that the office performs for its underprivileged clientele. Few are aware that in addition to giving a monthly stipend to the city's poorest of the poor, the Charity Commissioner's office also helps hundreds of underprivileged youth in skills training so as to equip them for suitable employment. In addition, it provides mid day meals to over 50,000 children attending Daham pasalas in 120 religious institutions, runs Day Care Centres for working mothers and Pre-schools for children of needy parents among other services. "Our services transcend religious and ethnic barriers. Every child, woman and man who needs our help in and around Colombo are entitled to these services which are absolutely free", the Commissioner emphasised. One of the most popular services the CMC currently provides is the vocational training program currently attracting hundreds of youth. "These courses are popular because they cater to the large segment of young population who have dropped out of school early or are unemployed because they lack job skills. We conduct around 27 vocational training courses training around three thousand school drop outs every year", explained Mr Gamage. Vision A man with a vision, he was personally responsible for expanding the vocational training courses from a mere five to its present number in order to cater to a wider clientele. The courses range from Computer classes, English typing and stenography, Printing, Screen printing, electrical wiring, welding and fitting, house wiring, air conditioning and refrigeration, juki machine repair, and sewing on juki machines, to teaching learner drivers heavy and light vehicle driving. In addition, it also conducts classes in sewing, embroidery, knitting, flower making, beauty culture, cake making, and cake decoration.
"We also run courses in nursery training and have a pre-school teacher training program which is very popular. But our biggest problem is finding teachers and volunteers to help us", he pointed out.
Recognised certificate Each course lasts for a duration of three months upto one year after which students obtain a recognised certificate or diploma depending on the duration of the course. Taken on a guided tour to observe how these courses were being conducted, our first stop was at the cake making class where several girls were busy learning the basics of this popular art. A wedding cake complete with an elaborate structure bore silent testimony to their creative abilities. Next to it, the English stenography and typing class was in progress where a number of eager students were going through their paces under the guidance of a trained teacher. The Computer room next to it was filled with students engrossed in the complex task of working on a computer,patiently guided by their teacher. We were then escorted to a small old building across the road where a sewing class was in session. The 20 students who attend the sewing class aged between 18 years to 26 years were from different religions and ethnic groups and were obviously enjoying their lessons." They are following a 12 months diploma course which involves cutting, and making a block, stitching a garment by hand and on a machine, embroidery, ribbon work, patchwork, making cushion covers, cot sheets and hand bags. We have fifteen such centres scattered throughout the city with a total of 1,000 students passing out every year. the classes are free and the material is also free of charge. In order to encourage them to attend these classes we pay them Rs. 250 a month for their bus fare etc." said H.D Sunethra who is the teacher in charge. Attending these classes has gone a long way in boosting the confidence of these young school leavers, many of them from conservative Muslim backgrounds. This was evident in their plan and dreams for the future. Take the case of Fathima Zaharina, 21 who won an award for the best housecoat at an exhibition that show cased their work at the BMICH recently." When I left school in 1998 after doing my A/L exam, I had no plans for my future and no goals," she told us. Today this young woman who belongs to a family of five, says she plans to supplement her family's income by setting up her own sewing establishment, " as soon as I get my diploma". Fathima Nazreen, 18 , fresh out of school also helps someday to set up[ her own sewing establishment and undertake orders for sewing garments for people living nearby. The pre-school next to the sewing class had closed and its tiny pupils had gone home by the time we visited the building. With time running out, we were unable to visit the welding, house wiring and air-condition repair workshop at Madampitiya. But we did manage to speak to the teacher in charge of house wiring W.W. K. Gunewardene who told us that there were 20 students attending his classes. " We run free courses in several other courses - such as tiling, concreting, painting, steel firing and scaffolding, which have benefitted a large number of youth and helped them to find jobs both here and abroad", he said. The nurses training program is also currently attracting large numbers of young school leavers, said the Project Manager for Vocational Training Mr. S.W. Somasiri. According to him, all the nurses from several leading private hospitals ( seven in all) are currently trained in a collaborative project between the CMC and National Apprenticeship Board. "We train around fifty nurses for a three-year period and we pay all our trainees Rs. 250 a month, although the training is free, many of them have found jobs here as well as abroad", he said. A total of over four thousand young school leavers pass out from these various vocational training courses every year at different times, from the 27 training centres. Each of them comes equipped with the tools needed to help them start their own businesses or else work in reputed firms. "In addition to the free training they receive, the trainees also get a stipend of Rs. 250 per month from us towards their bus fare etc." Our courses are very thorough and give students both a theoretical and hands-on- training with recognised certificates that are a passport to a job anywhere here or abroad", Mr. Somasiri pointed out. As Colombo's population continues to expand rapidly, so does the number of deprived youth fill the ranks of the unemployed. The CMC's Community Project may well be their last hope to break the vicious cycle of poverty that enslaves them, and enable them to live with dignity and make a useful contribution in the economic development of their country. **** School leavers who wish to have details on the CMC Community Project should contact the Project Manager, Vocational Training Centre, Charity Commissioner's Office, Supermarket complex, Baddegama Wimalawamsa Mawatha, (Deans Road) Colombo 10. |
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