Gender Economic Empowerment & Social Development Project
This project support for women to develop their own income generation activities. This will improve economic capacities of women and leads to build their self-respect, dignity, and freedom to make economic decisions. The provision of necessary technical and entrepreneur skills, build a capacitated woman with more creativity. That leads to further improvement of their livelihoods and finally all these contribute to improving the living conditions of entire family.
All women members are mobilized and federated into self-employed women forums. These forums facilitate women’s livelihood needs like coordinating livelihood service providers, technical and finance providers, market services including input suppliers which are compulsory for livelihood development. These self-employed women forums build their own capacities for sustainability through various income generating sources.
Project create more opportunities for men to learn about gender aspects and closely work with them to change their expectancies on alcohol tobacco usage. Facilitating child right protection and promotion by implementing activities with children, parents, and other stakeholders. Mental health is the other important sector of the project.
The target divisional secretariats of the project are Kaytes and Karaveddi in Jaffna district, Madulla and Medagama in Monaragala district, Meegahakiula and Kandeketiya in Badulla district, and Pallepola in Matale district and Mahakumbukkadawala in Puttalam district.
Green Base Camp Project
This project implements with child and youth club members in all project locations of FRIENDS. Green Base camp is an important event for giving better environmental education to children and youth. It’s not too early to introduce young minds to the beauty of green living. Apart from in-classroom and home teaching, sending children to green Base camps is a fun way to promote environmental awareness. Spending time in nature, understanding the ecology, and demonstrating simple ways to care for the environment are effective methods of raising awareness of sustainable development. Witnessing the environmental degradation in living area, feel on young people to protect their environment.
In camps children have opportunities to get different experiences on leadership, team building, communication, sharing as well as be responsible for themselves etc. Learning the ways of environmental pollution and the impact of their daily behavior for such pollutions change their attitude positively on environmental protection and sustainable development.
V2M - Village to Market Project
Village to market project implements at Dehigama village in Redeemalidda divisional secretariat in Badulla District. This project has a market-based people centric approach that seeks to improve the economic wellbeing of small rural entrepreneurs. In Dehigama project focus to develop veterinary and agriculture sectors with marginalized people. This project expects,
For markets to better serve small rural entrepreneurs: This involves the private sector, civil society, governments, and the market system overall taking responsibility for the changes that need to occur to ensure that both female and male small rural entrepreneurs are targeted and included in market opportunities.
For small rural entrepreneurs to be equipped to better access and benefit from market opportunities: Even if changes in the market occur, and market actors are responding to better include these entrepreneurs, because of a variety of socio-cultural and systemic reasons, some small rural entrepreneurs are still excluded. This goal involves small rural entrepreneurs also taking responsibility for making changes in their own practices, beliefs and behaviors so that they too are able to take advantage of market opportunities.
REED - Redeemaliadda Economic Empowerment Project
REED project is implemented in Redeemaliadda divisional secretariat division. This project expects to improve the economic and social status of marginalized families in the area by facilitating them to improve their capacities and livelihood assets. The project approach is Self Help Group (SHG) approach. SHG Approach is a rights-based approach which views poverty as the denial of rights and poverty alleviation as a process of reclaiming one’s rights.
Given the multi-dimensional nature of poverty, however, the SHG Approach puts equal emphasis on the goals of economic, social, and political empowerment. To achieve these goals, it offers a framework and guidance for establishing a ‘People’s Institution’ which provide an environment of trust and cooperation in which people come to realize they can help themselves to achieve the economic, social and political goals that they themselves define.
Marthankerny Livelihood Development Project
This project is implement in Marathankerny Divisional Secretarit division in Jaffna District. Women and men in marginalized families become economically active by starting and improving their own livelihood activities with the support of project initiatives. They earn a regular income to meet their family needs. At the village level, small groups of target members build their own community organizations for working together to access livelihood support services as well as represent the development decision making forum in the area. These organizations work for social cohesion in the area.
The knowledge gain on gender and child rights helps target members to change their attitude and behavior. Men practically support women’s economic activities as well as other domestic activities. Women, men, youth, and all community organizations contribute and committed for the expected behavioral change on gender development and protecting child rights. The reduction of alcohol expectancies leads to less incidents of gender base violence and child right violations in target project areas.
Project for Livelihood Development in Kudalunaka and Kuralewela
Sri Lankan rural women are very vulnerable and have limited access to economic resources. This project implements in Kudalunaka and Kuralewela villeges in Redeemaliadda Divisional secretariat targeting economically non active women. These women are educated on the basic concepts of economic empowerment. They are provided technical trainings and assistance for identifying and initiating feasible livelihood activities. Further support them to improve their capacities on entrepreneurship. Close monitoring and guiding lead them to be economically active. Then they can contribute financially to their families for further improving their living standards.
The livelihood support services available in the target project locations are necessary to develop income generating sources for people. But most of these services do not reach such grass root people. Therefore, the project facilitates and forms women groups at village level and link them with available self-employed women forums in these areas to access such service effectively.
Communities are aware on adverse effects of tobacco, alcohol, and drugs with an expectation of reducing alcohol expectancies and demand. This effort may lead to reducing gender-based violence and child rights violations.
Groundnut value chain Development under Small Holder Agribusiness Partnership Project (SAPP)
Small Holder Agribusiness Partnership (SAPP) Project is implemented under the guidance of Ministry of Agriculture. This is a IFARD funded project for agriculture development in Sri Lanka. FRIENDS is a promotor organization for groundnut value chain development project. Under this project 1268 farmers under five cluster organizations produce commercial and seed groundnut for the market.
These cluster organizations are in Nikaweratiya, Naula, Galewela, Redeemaliadda and Mahiyanganaya areas. 90% of these farmers are rural women. The project provides quality inputs, machineries, and improved technologies for farmers to enhance the productivity of the cultivation. The Cluster Organization and Promotor Organization gets necessary infrastructure facilities and machineries to manufacture diverse range of value-added ground nut products.