Serving the poorest

Waram Sri Lanka II:

Street urchins have been a social issue which has grabbed the attention of academics and sociologists for a considerable period of time. Though numerous programmes have been introduced, inconsistence in the programmes has rendered most of them either impractical or unsustainable.

Street urchins have been a social issue which has grabbed the attention of academics and sociologists for a considerable period of time. Though numerous programmes have been introduced, inconsistence in the programmes has rendered most of them either impractical or unsustainable. With the setting up of Waram Centre, a community facility ray of hope has been shed on the lives of street urchins. The centre is equipped with audio visual facilities and other amenities to make life easy for the street urchins

Flocks of homeless street urchins get together at a certain building. It looks like their own though well furnished with radios, cookers and even toys. After a hectic day, of earning a little to fill their tummies, now it is time to have a respite. While some are listening to the radio others are busy with cooking. Still a few may be listening to their favourite songs from a cassette player.

This may be what Professor Harendra de Silva saw a few years ago when he was on a visit to Bangladesh. It was a welfare centre dedicated to street children and managed by an NGO.

Homeless and helpless innocent ones’ smiling faces inspired Prof. De Silva who was then Chairman, National Child Protection Authority.

“Why can’t we do the same for our children of similar fate. There are hundreds of little ones moving aimlessly here and there in busy urban streets, mostly unnoticed”, he thought.

No sooner he returned, Prof. De Silva decided to put his thought into practice. He worked promptly and was able to get necessary financial support from the World Bank.

His choice was Pettah, Colombo where the largest number of street children was recorded. Rather than confining to the Bangladeshi example he focused on empowering and skill development too. So Prof. De Silva’s welfare centre included TVs, DVD players and even computers. It was a tremendous success at the beginning.

Encouraged by the results, he moved on to expand his project to other areas. This time Prof. De Silva’s choice was not street children but similarly fated poor children along the coastal belt. Like street urchins in urban areas, poor children in coastal areas are prone to various forms of child abuse.

They go astray at a tender age because there is no proper guidance on the one hand and no sources of entertainment either at their homes.Thus children and youth centres were expanded to southern areas like Hikkaduwa, Payagala, Weligama and Anuradhapura in the central north.

“There is certain similarity between street urchins and poor children in the coastal areas”, says Prof. De. Silva.

“Most of the poor children in coastal areas go astray just like street urchins. Poverty drives them towards abuses and corruption at their gullible age. Many of them do not have TVs or radios at home. Where there is no entertainment and guidance it is little wonder that children get addicted to corrupted habits. In a move to protect them and provide not only entertainment but guidance we decided to expand our project to coastal areas.”

Once children were frequent with the centres the professor focused on skill development. Teenagers or grown up children were trained in paper recycling and making greeting cards while smaller ones enjoy watching TV or DVD.

It is said that good things are short lived. Professor De Silva’s project also started to face problems as he retired from NCPA in 2005. Due to the lack of patronage the project came to a standstill. Unfortunately it was high time that coastal children needed protection and shelter because the tsunami had devastated their lives.

Seeing the need of the hour Prof. De Silva’s humane heart could not turn a blind eye. He sought after the private sector in order to get sponsorship. Finally the Suntel Group offered to help him and it was how Waram Sri Lanka (renamed) children and youth centre was started in Galle. Hand made paper and greeting card programmes were soon to follow. Yet there were difficulties in providing the required technical know how.

“There was no one to teach us hand made paper manufacturing. So I read books and surfed the Internet in order to gather information. Dozens of children from fishing families began to come, mainly to watch TV. We provided them with the opportunity of not only watching TV or DVD but also learning information technology”, Prof. De Silva added.

Waram Centres’ elegant greeting cards were then seen in urban shops. However, most of those who bought them did not know the story behind them. Income earned by the sale of these cards was distributed proportionately among the children.

Each child’s earnings was banked in his/her name. Thus Waram centre turned out to be everything to the poor children - entertainment, education, vocational training and source of income.

Impressed by the success story of the Galle Centre, in 2006, two NGOs named Roterkeil and Neswaerma offered to open up two more centres at Dadalla and Hikkaduwa respectively. Then skill development initiative expanded from greeting cards to tailoring, dress making and handicrafts.

In addition, school classes were started free of charge, for English, computer literacy and aesthetic subjects like music and dancing. It opened up job opportunities for nearby youth with proper qualifications as teachers.

As the Waram Centres gathered momentum not only poor fisher folk but also middle class families started sending their children in. Waram centres welcomed all those who stepped in and focused on skills development.

“I am coming from a very poor family. My parents are estate workers. They could not afford my studies. I came here to attend the free computer class and learned paper recycling and how to make greeting cards too.

Now I can earn some money from greeting cards. Sometimes my monthly earnings exceeds Rs. 5,000. It is a great relief for my family. Now I can save something for my future”, said Sandanaraj Shivanti Devika, 24, who is now an instructor at Hikkaduwa Waram Centre.

As Waram centres went on smoothly for sometime, the need for expansion was felt. The number of children at the centres was on the increase though building premises and infrastructure were inadequate. Prof. De Silva had difficulties in finding a proper sponsor.

Certain offers came from the private sector, but on condition that their products be marketed along with children’s greeting cards. All such offers had to be turned down since it was against the founding concept. Sponsorship issue existed until last year when Dialog Telekom extended its helping hand unconditionally.

“Dialog’s offer came in without any business interest.

They gave us a furnished building and necessary machinery to carry out paper recycling and greeting cards program at Hikkaduwa Centre. Now we are capable of manufacturing sufficient paper material for making greeting cards at all three centres. Through the new additions the program will now include training in screen-printing which will also be used in the card making process” Prof. De Silva said.

Since Waram Centres now, receive financial support through Dialog Telekom’s Change Trust Fund even Dialog subscribers can contribute to the welfare of these poor children. The Change Trust Fund was established in 1999 and is Dialog Telekom’s key community service initiative. The Fund itself is powered through an innovative fund raising method where post-paid subscribers are invited to donate 0.5% of their monthly bill up to a maximum of Rs. 25 which is thereafter matched 1:1 by Dialog Telekom. The collection is then used for various community service projects aimed at uplifting lives islandwide.

The Change Trust Fund also involves employees from Dialog Telekom in all of its initiatives on volunteer basis.

“I would like to thank Dialog Telekom and its subscribers who willingly participate in this endeavour” with a high note of gratitude Prof. De Silva said.

Commenting on the Dialog Telekom Change Trust, Mothilal de Silva, Group Chief Corporate Officer, Dialog Telekom said “through the Dialog Change Trust Fund we have strived to uplift the lives of many segments of society who have not had a voice of their own.

Being a relatively young Company itself we recognise the strength and power that is inherent in the Sri Lankan youth today and as a Company we seek to harness that strength. We are honoured to be partnering Waram Sri Lanka in this effort to uplift the lives and livehood of the youth in the South through this Welfare Centre project”.

“Lots of children, big and small, are coming for free education and entertainment at our centres. While small ones are playing, grown up ones engage in the greeting card program. Presently 25 children take part in greeting card program in Hikkaduwa and with all the three centres put together there are 100 children contributing greeting cards. Initially we guided them to make cards at home using waste paper materials. But now, since we have our machinery and buildings, greeting card industry is going on a professional scale here. Our annual production is about 2000 greeting cards while each worker (child) is capable of making a monthly income of around Rs. 1,000”, says Ruchira Liyanage, Waram Sri Lanka’s Coordinator.

“Initially, our aim was to empower the poverty stricken youth to give them confidence. Through this program we expect them to be able to stand upright on their own. And we are planning to start an environment friendly paper bag project shortly”, Professor Harendra De Silva explained.The only challenge now is to find a competitive market for the elegant greeting cards, cushion covers and other handcrafts made by skilled youth at the Waram centres. Yet it will not be a challenge for long, for the centre receives support from young men and women like Shivanti who got a new lease of life from the Waram centre itself.

Already, number of women engage in self employment as a result of Waram centres.

“One day I want to start my own business”, Shivanti smiles. Let’s pray for her dream.