CWD: March 2014

Annual Report – 2013

Centre for Women and Development with the vision of promoting women, involved in implementing many activities to women particularly in 2013, the centre’s activities were mainly focused towards women headed families who were returned to their own places, after the mass displacement.

Main Goal

CWD’s mail goal is to work for an improvement of women’s social, economic and political situation locally. With an emphasis on advocacy and right based programs.

CWD Aims

Be a competence and resource centre for women’s organizations on women’s issues,

Improve the social, economic and political situations of women and internally displaces persons,

Increase the affected societies knowledge about and understanding of women’s issues in a development perspective,

Strengthen collaborations with national women’s organizations in their policy engagements and reforms.

Facilitate discovery of new strategies and initiatives to reweave divided communities and avoid further cycles of violence.

Significant miles stones of CWD

Established in the year of 1988,and it was transformed into an autonomous body and registered as an NGO under the social service ministry and then the Ministry of defense. Today CWD is playing a catalytic role in terms of initiating various capacity building activities on the issues related to women. Democratic local governance has assumed prominent role in the politics in Sri lanka .We believe that unless the knowledge , skills and capacities of grassroots decision makers are not strengthened the whole process of democratic decentralization cannot produce desired results. It improves people’s confidence in and commitment to democratic practice.

Activities

1. Publication of a research Book.

The female headed families, particularly the women, who bear the family burden, face many problems. Getting their own land has become so difficult for them. The programs we have conducted reveal the issues so clearly. Therefore we have decided to do a survey on land issues, Interviewed the women who have problems, collected relevant data from the officers from the respective divisions and published a book. This book ontains the valuable information; from the seminars facilitated by the retired land commissioner Mr.K.Gurunathan. This book was launched by the northern provincial land commissioner Mr.K.Maheswaran on 30.10.2013.

Northern Provincial Asst land com missioner launching the book.

The book on land issues and Women in the Northern Province, gives valuable data and issues where the women are facing. We expect that this book should reach the women who are dealing with land issues.

The book was handed over to the chief minister Mr. C.V.Wigneswaran and the members of the Northern Provincial council, by the Director of Centre for Women and Development Ms. Saroja Sivachandan

Handing over the books to the chief minister northern provincial council

Book release

The research book done by the centre for women and development on women headed households in the Northern Province was launched on 30.10.2013 by the Ms. Uthayani Navaratnam Women Development officer, Jaffna. Women who have lost their husbands, children during the war are still in a traumatized situation. There is no income for them. there are still women, in search of their missing children ,In this contact centre for women and development, started to analyze the present of women & compiled a detailed book on women headed households in the northern province. This book gives the number of women headed households & widows in the Northern Province. Those who want to do projects for them could make use of the data available in this book.

Ms.Uthayani Navaratnam launching the book in Jaffna.

· Network of women headed households.

Centre for women and development continue to work with the women headed families. Conducted capacity building programs for them in order to bring leadership abilities among them. We feel as this is important for them to transform to suit the present economic situation in this country. We also formed groups of women headed households in the was affected areas. The formation of groups helped them to work with other organizations for social integration.

Puthukudiyiruppu women headed house hold group

Mankulam Women headed house hold group

· Peace action group

Centre for Women and Development in collaboration with the National Peace Council, organized

District peace action groups consisting civil society members, religious leaders and other important

Personalities in the District. The task of this committees of identify the problems within the community

and try to solve them in a peaceful manner.

District peace action committee

· Field action of the peace committees

The district committees operating in every district had organized exchange programs, in order to identify the problems of the Districts they represent.The group from Jaffna visited to Putlam & Hambantota. The groups from Putlam , Ampara& Monaragala visited to Jaffna and spend three days in the district.

· Programs on Eliminating VAW

Centre for Women and Development, is engaged in conducting seminars, campaign work in order to stop V.A.W. The Centre also has established a free legal aid unit to help the women, affected by Domestic violence. The centre has this time developed an innovative attempt, by producing an Animation of cartoons, and two short films based on the stories, reported. This project was sponsored by the ICTA, and the centre has produced this media device for the campaign work. 1500 DVD’s were developed and distributed to organizations and women organization to do the campaign work. In this campaign work people from the North and Eastern provinces actively participated.

N.P.C member Ms.Ananthy Sasitaran, launching the first DVD and starting the campaign work in Jaffna on 28.10.2013

· Livelihood assistance to war effected women

The Asian foundation sponsored a project to implement in livelihood program to the war effected women in Jaffna. Under this project Centre for Women and Development has identified 25 women and provided livelihood assistance to earn an income for this family. They also were given special training on the industries which they were given assistance. On coir products, making, small business, sewing, Goat rearing were the activities provided to them.

Supply of goat to women at uduvil

Supply of sewing machines to a woman at chavakachcheri

Supply of a cow to women at chavakachchery

Assistance provide to a women to purchase a coir making machine at colomputhurai

· Batik printing training

Centre for women and development provide batik training to young girls’ to make an in come out of this business

Batik training at Velani and Anaikoddai

· Home gardening Project

Centre for Women and Development, assisted the war affected women in Kilinochchi, Mullaitheuv, when they returned to their homes to start home gardening as a small project for the beginning to earn an income vegetables seeds were given to them to engage women in this project.

Women in action at Neervely, Cultivating onions, vegetables etc. With our assistance.

· Free legal aid services.

Centre for Women and Development assisted women affected by Domestic violence, with the help of the lawyers to file the cases in the courts.

· Educational assistance to school going children

This project was started in order to provide assistance to school going children with basic facilities Such as note books, pens, school bags etc. This assistance was given continually to children by Centre for Women and Development

Delft and Puthukudiyiruppu

· International Women’s Day

Every year Centre for Women and Development celebrate the International Women’s Day. This year, Centre for women and Development along with the celebration published a Book on women’s rights written by Saroja Sivachandran .