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nra;jp
mwpf;if : 11 |
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January 2006 - March 2006 |
No. 11 |
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Article
#1: Opening ceremony of Teacher’s Quarters in Vellankulam and Thevanpiddy |
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On 6th February 2006, Opening ceremonies of two teacher’s quarters in Vellankulam and Thevanpiddy in Manthai West AGA Division were held on the respective school premises. Rural Development Society, Pali Aru and Rural Development Society, Thevanpiddy were respectively responsible for the construction as well as the ceremonies.
Teachers had not been willing to come to work in these areas due to poor facilities for them, so that completion of teacher’s quarters will encourage them to stay here, which will surely contribute to better education for children.
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Article
#2: Opening of Community Library at Ganeshapuram |
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In
Ganeshapuram, utilizing the profit gained from the construction of Multi Purpose Hall through Community Managed Rehabilitation
(CMR), Women Rural Development Society (WRDS) established a community library named “Maveerar Library” within the Multi Purpose Hall and ceremonially opened it on 6th February 2006.
WRDS members had decided to utilize the profit gained from the previous CMR to provide better educational opportunities to their children and established the library. |
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Community Library at Ganeshapuram
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Opening ceremony of Community Library
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Article #3:
Micro Finance Activity in a new village with the support of Government official |
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A Grama Niladhari
(GN: village level government official) voluntarily introduced a Women’s Saving Group
(WSG) activity to one of his responsible villages named
Mooranpiddy, which is an adjoining village to Pali Aru, one of the Project focal villages, and facilitated to form 20 WSGs there with the help of the WSG members in Pali
Aru.
WSG members in Pali Aru visited the village as resource persons and provided proper guidance on how to form and operate
WSGs. The WSG members in Pali Aru expressed their confidence to disseminate their activities to other areas if they are requested.
This kind of action and motivation shown by a GN will ensure the sustainability of the Project activities and make the impact sustainable.
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Article
#4: Joint Mid-term Evaluation |
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The Mid-term evaluation was conducted jointly by JICA and the Sri Lankan Government from 27th February to 16th March 2006 to review the MANRECAP activities of the past two years and recommend modifications of the Project activities. For that purpose, the Joint Evaluation Committee, which consisted of 3 Japanese members as well as 3 Sri Lankan officers, was established and visited the Project sites. The Joint Mid-term Evaluation Report is under preparation by the Evaluation Mission. The Project will incorporate the recommendations by the Mission into the activities to improve the quality once the Report is finalized.
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Article
#5: Impact of unstable security situation on the Project implementation |
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From the inception of the Project, security situation has been one of the determinants for a smooth implementation of the Project. Even during the 2nd year of the Project, the situation has not improved as expected, due to the stagnation of the peace process. Moreover, the situation became worse due to the enforcement of the Emergency Regulation after the assassination of the Foreign Minister in August 2005. In Mannar District, the tension has reached its peak when 13 Sri Lankan Navy soldiers were killed by a claymore mine on the outskirts of Mannar in December 2005. During such periods, the delay in the Project activities could not be avoided.
The work of Pali Aru diversion weir was affected most by the security situation. At the initial stage in June 2005, it took more than one month to obtain permission from the Sri Lanka Army to take major construction equipment such as excavators and bulldozers into the LTTE area for Pali Aru diversion weir work. The Project has repeatedly faced the same problem to get approval to take the equipment to the LTTE controlled area and could not recover the delay of the work within this fiscal year.
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