New volunteer for Sewalanka

Getting to know... Simon Buller, Management Advisor to the East.

Originally from... London, UK.

Base in Sri Lanka... Ampara Town.

Length of time you’ll be working at Sewalanka... Two years.

Your role at Sewalanka... Based in Ampara Town my role is to develop the capacity of Sewalanka staff in Ampara and Batticoloa districts. This involves taking the lead on international NGO relations, proposal writing and field project monitoring and reporting. Whilst we look for an additional volunteer I am also assisting in the Regional Office on the work undertaken by the Regional Director.

Why volunteer at Sewalanka?... I wanted to do something different from working for big institutions in London. My first goal was to experience life living abroad, secondly, I wanted to do something that was more rewarding in terms of social investment and finally and most importantly – do it in Sri Lanka! The position of Management Advisor at Sewalanka was exactly the position I was looking for – a great job with an inspiring organisation!

Life pre-Sri Lanka... I was educated to Masters level at Birkbeck College, University of London in organisational psychology. Previously I’ve worked for Virgin, BBC and the London Business School and most recently Imperial College, London, where I was Head of Business Programs.

Peace training

Sewalanka has conducted a series of peace and reconciliation workshops for field and project officers from Vavuniya and Mannar districts. The workshops, conducted in the last quarter of 2006, were aimed at developing skills in peace-building, leadership, conflict resolution, conflict sensitivity, conflict analysis and non-violent communication techniques.

Spreading the 'enjoy life' message

Sewalanka psychosocial officer distributing flyers (on mental health issues) to youth on a Hambantota bus.

According to the Government’s proposed Mental Health Policy Report 2005, 384,000 Sri Lankans (two per cent of the population) suffer from serious mental illness such as depression, bipolar disease and schizophrenia.

Statistically, Sri Lanka has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, particularly among displaced communities in the northeast of the country.

A stigma surrounding mental health problems means that many Sri Lankans who suffer from mental illness avoid seeking treatment. According to results of psychosocial work conducted by Sewalanka and Concern, Sri Lankan youth are particularly affected by mental illness due to a lack of knowledge and available resources on mental health issues.

By conducting a series of awareness raising campaigns, Sewalanka staff are working with young Sri Lankans to increase their understanding of mental health issues. Programs run in Colombo, Kalutara, Galle, Matara and Hambantota districts in late 2006 engaged over 500 youth. The campaign distributed educational material and encouraged young people to engage in discussions about their psychosocial issues.

Mr Prasad Jayasinghe, Sewalanka's Southern Region Psychosocial Counsellor said that the awareness program, conducted in southern tsunami affected areas utilised banners, posters, brochures and stickers to spread the (Jewithaya Widinna) enjoy life message.

Farming lessons from Thailand

During a recent study trip to Thailand, 20 Sewalanka staff members from Batticaloa and Ampara district offices learned about organic agriculture production, certification and marketing, fisheries management and fish processing techniques.

The team, led by Eastern Field Director, Mr Deepal Chandrathilake, traveled to Bang Kwae, Mae Tha, Chiang Mai, Mae Rim, Bangkok and Samut Prakarn.

The 10-day research visit included homestays with organic farmers, visits to local markets and packaging facilities, and presentations by organic certifiers and alternative marketing organisations.

The visit was organised by GreenNet Organic, People’s Empowerment and the Mae Tha and Mae Rim Farmers’ Cooperatives and was supported by DanChurchAid agency.