Sewalanka Foundation Chairman's Message 2007

What would you like your village to be like in 10 years? This is a question many of our social mobilisers like to ask when they start working in a community. In the most disadvantaged parts of the island, the interests tend to be quite basic: we'll be able to travel freely and safely to town, we won't owe so much to the money lenders, we'll sell our fish directly to Colombo, we'll have good drinking water in every season, our children will have educational opportunities that prepare them for jobs, the bridge will be repaired so the bus will come all the way to the village, the trees will be replanted, we'll have a strong society and fewer conflicts in our village. As everyone talks, this vision of the future grows into something real, something worth working towards.

Talking about future goals and opportunities is inspiring, but reaching them is never an easy process. The path isn't smooth. There are twists and turns and unexpected obstacles. In some areas, we have seen strong community organisations pushed backwards, away from their goals, due to forces, like natural disaster and military movements, entirely out of their control. But we have also seen these same groups pick themselves up, reassess and move forward again. This vision of a better tomorrow has a powerful pull and talking about it keeps us focused and moving.

Of course, if we at Sewalanka are encouraging community organisations to develop a vision of the future, we have a responsibility to develop services that support them on this long and often challenging path. In 2005, Sewalanka started a process of self-assessment that has resulted in a number of internal changes. One of the greatest concerns raised by our staff was that there was a risk that we would lose sight of our own long-term vision. Development may be a long-term process, but funding tends to be project-based. The time frame for an intervention is usually three months to two years. There's a risk of getting trapped in these short-term cycles of proposal writing and reporting and becoming so focused on Gantt charts, budget lines, and short-term outputs that the larger vision is lost.

With this risk in mind, we have made several additional changes over the past year. We formed a national level team to help us move beyond short-term project monitoring. The Research and Learning Unit works with the districts to monitor and improve the quality and impact of Sewalanka programs. We also brought all of our national-level sector specialists under a single umbrella called the Program Development Team. This has improved coordination and made it easier for the districts to access technical support services. The team includes sustainable livelihood services like agriculture, fisheries, tourism, handicrafts and enterprise development and cross-cutting program services like gender, youth and children, environment, psychosocial well-being, and peace-building.

Over the past year, the Research and Learning Unit and the Program Development Team have been supporting the Field Directors and districts in a bottom-up planning process. The district strategic plans are based on the goals of the community organisations they work with and the guidance of local government officials. It is remarkable to see the diversity of interests between regions and even between neighbouring districts.

Our internal changes in 2006/07 are reflected in the new format of our annual report, and they have been met with a lot of enthusiasm. Talking about long-term programs and future goals keeps us focused and moving forward even when the path is rough. As a national organisation, we have a long-haul commitment to social change in this country and a responsibility to ensure that short-term projects move our community partners a step closer to their long-term goals.

Harsha Kumara Navaratne
Chairman
Sewalanka Foundation