devinitorg/iati-policy-markers huggingface dataset:
Creating awareness and building consensus on post-conflict reconciliation and healing District Inter-Religious Committees (DIRCs) formed in past years, mostly in North, East and Central Sri Lanka, have played a major role at community level in mitigating interreligious and interethnic conflicts and addressing issues of collective concern to their communities.  Under this project the number of DIRCs will be increased from 9 to 16 by forming 7 new DIRCs predominantly in the South.  Training on transitional justice, LLRC (the recommendations of the Sri Lankan government's own Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission) and on good governance and will be provided to DIRC members and to selected academics and students, professionals, government officers and politicians, and civil society leaders.  The trained persons will then be encouraged to organise local awareness-raising meetings for civil society organisations and the general public.  Their efforts will be supplemented by publication of books and newsletters.
Drinking water, sanitation, and health education. This programme will provide target communities in the villages of Pavatkodichenai and Illupadichenai in Manmunai West DS Division (Batticaloa District) with the benefits of access to pure drinking water, improved sanitation, and improved knowledge on good health, hygiene and sanitation practices. This project will provide 25 new wells and 115 individual household toilets, in two phases, over a period of two years starting from March 2013 and ending in February 2015.  This is expected to benefit 1,261 women and girls, and 1,221 men and boys through improved access to drinking water, and the 115 poorest and most vulnerable families through provision of toilets (reaching 213 women and girls, and 212 men and boys). Within the two villages a total of 2,993 people (1,521 women and girls, and 1,472 men and boys) will receive training or information on good water, health, and sanitation practices, and women’s empowerment will also be promoted through women and girls participating in maintenance committees and receiving training for advocacy and lobbying to fulfil community needs.
Biodiversity management and ecological agriculture MONLAR (Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform) started the New Era project in Hambantota shortly after the 2004 Tsunami, to help tsunami-affected people, both in coastal areas and resettlement villages, develop organic home gardens in order to improve their physical and mental health, create alternative livelihoods, and rehabilitate damaged natural ecosystems.  The work began with 260 families in 8 villages.  As it developed, it became clear that the methodology could contribute not only to improving the living standards of the tsunami-affected people, but also to addressing serious long-term problems in the area.  Due to frequent drought and water scarcity, erosion, exhaustion and loss of fertility of the soil, local farming families had been experiencing chronic malnutrition whether or not they were directly tsunami-affected; to survive at all, they depended on short-term cropping and wage labour, and occasionally on charitable relief.   In response to popular demand, therefore, intervention was extended to other villages, and by the end of 2009 New Era was working with 965 families in 31 villages in Hambantota, and another 20 families in a village in neighbouring Monaragala.  24 CBOs (community based organisations) cover the 32 villages.  Training had been given in agro-forestry and biodiversity; soil and water conservation; preparation and use of ecological pesticides and fertilisers; rain water harvesting; ecological waste management; etc.  CAFOD was then asked to support the last two years of the project as it moves towards self-sufficiency.
Women’s development programme Savisthri is a women-led organisation which has been working since 1994 to build up a people’s movement by forming poor and marginalised women in rural and coastal areas of six districts (Galle, Matara, Matale, Anuradhapura, Monaragala and Nuwara Eliya) into small groups, and networking the groups at district and national levels.  Since 2009 a seventh district has been added: Batticaloa.  Group members are resourced and encouraged to improve their families' quality of life through savings schemes and credit unions; ecological home gardening and small business projects; and alternative marketing (selling the produce of their gardens and craftwork in periodic fairs at local and national level).  They are also encouraged to become active and engaged citizens, campaigning and lobbying for people-friendly policy decisions.  Special emphasis is always placed on improved family nutrition and environmental sustainability.  Savisthri has a proven capacity to mobilise its grassroots membership and networks to understand and support district- and national-level campaigns on issues such as food sovereignty, in conjunction with CAFOD partners MONLAR and NAFSO and other like-minded organisations.  In 2011 Savisthri began a process of transforming itself into a women’s movement by encouraging its various base groups, credit unions and campaigning committees in each locality to unite as all-purpose community-based organisations, and by handing over decision-making to the District Women’s Collectives (DWCs) made up of representatives elected by the membership.  A new initiative planned for 2016 is to train women leaders to engage with local government at Pradeshaya Sabha level, both as citizens and - from 2017 - by putting themselves forward for election.
Flood Relief support to families affected by floods in Sri Lanka Heavy inter monsoonal rains since the early morning of 16/05/16 have affected several parts of the country. Floods, landslides and strong winds have led to the displacement of several thousands of families. According to the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) as of 1300 hrs on 18/5/16, 82,924 families consisting of 352,374 persons have been affected while 48,998 families consisting of 223,687 persons are staying in 375 safe locations. 37 persons have died so far while 21 persons are missing. The no of people dead is likely to increase as reports come in of further landslides. 229houses have been completely damaged while 2,2,647 houses are reported as partially damaged. 

Caritas Sri Lanka have launched an Rapid One Month Emergency Appeal to reach 6,300 families (26,460 people) across 7 districts with food and NFIs.

Initially a one month project, this has been extended by 3 weeks and revised budget, logframe and explanations have been circulated.
Psychosocial support for traumatised people For over ten years Annai Illam, a project of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Jaffna Province, has deployed a team of local volunteers to provide counselling to war-affected people in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu Districts (the Vanni).  Both individual and group counselling is given, and referrals can be made for professional psychiatric care if appropriate.  The team also conducts psychosocial awareness-raising with teachers and care-givers, to sensitise them to the problems of mentally-affected and traumatised people, and help them to treat the affected people with respect and dignity.  Annai Illam provides the team with training and ongoing support.
Water resource management and women's empowerment This project will provide water resources to improve the access to potable water for 5,834 women and 4,286 men in marginalised communities in five Dioceses in Sri Lanka, together with provide training in good hygiene practices to 1,274 women and 965 men. The project will also provide training to enhance the capacity of vulnerable women in those communities to manage the water resources, and it is estimated that participation in project activities will increase the opportunities and confidence in decision-making for 1,751 women. By bringing together women from different communities for collective actions, the project will also contribute to harmony and reconciliation between and within these communities.
Pilot Peace Task Force Action Plan The Catholic Church occupies a pivotal position in Sri Lanka having a key presence in all ethnic communities on the island.  The Peace Task Force (PTF) was set up in April 2006 to advise the Bishops' Conference on appropriate initiatives and interventions to support the peace process.  The PTF is administered by SEDEC and also acts as an advisory body to SEDEC's National Peace Programme.  CAFOD's Programme Accompanier is a member of the PTF.  With the abrogation of the Ceasefire Agreement in January 2008 and the GoSL's strategy to pursue the military defeat of the LTTE, there has been increased levels of conflict affecting civilian populations and abuses of human rights justified by the 'war on terrorism' and state security laws. There is increasing polarisation between the different communities in the north/east and south - and as the Church is made up of these communities, this division is also reflected in the Church.  In this context, CAFOD is keen to encourage the PTF to engage more actively in steps to encourage public opinion (including in the Catholic clergy and constituency) in favour of a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Sri Lanka.  This proposal will provide funding for 4 sets of advocacy activities as a 'pilot' and if successful will lay the groundwork for a more 'strategic' engagement with policy makers at national and international level.  It will also hopefully give the PTF/SEDEC more confidence in advocacy work.
Contribution towards World Food Day week of action People's Alliance on Land Rights (PARL) will organise a week-long campaign of public awareness-raising in the lead-up to World Food Day on 16 October 2012.  The campaign will seek to highlight the major role small scale food producers play in ensuring food security in Sri Lanka and the need to protect their rights and access to the land, coastal areas and forests and other natural resources such as water.  Increasingly, large scale land acquisitions for tourism development, special economic zones and security facilities are having a detrimental effect on the rights of small scale food producers – farmers, fishers and allied food workers. Seminars, media briefings, leaflet and poster distributions, street drama, religious and cultural activities, petitions and marches are planned in most parts of Sri Lanka, culminating in a mass rally in Colombo on 15th October, and a National Seminar on 16th.   CAFOD’s grant will allow affected communities to participate in national events and share their experiences with Sri Lankan civil society, representatives of political parties, diplomatic and UN missions, and contribute towards the printing of key studies and leaflets in English, Sinhalese and Tamil.
Support to Caritas Sri Lanka START Network membership In late 2015 START Network invited applications from southern NGOs to become members of the START Network.  Membership was conditional on a 2 stage process: a justification based on meeting certain criteria and filling in the application forms and passing an independent due diligence process.  Caritas Bangladesh (CB) and Caritas Sri Lanka CSL) - as 2 of CAFOD's regular emergency response partners were encouraged and supported to apply - both have now been successful.  

This project will support Caritas Sri Lanka in their first year of membership by covering membership fees and the essential costs of visiting staff (flights, food and accommodation) during the first year of membership.  All cost will be spent in the UK.
Support for Gender Mainstreaming This initiative is intended to provide additional support to the gender component in the two-year CAFOD-supported Water Resources Management programme currently being implemented by SEDEC/ Caritas Sri Lanka in five dioceses, through the commissioning of an intensive gender consultancy that will focus on introducing a gender mainstreaming approach to the programme. The consultancy will involve 3 phases.  Phase 1 will involve refresher training on gender for programme staff from the five dioceses and the Caritas Sri Lanka National Office; gender mainstreaming will be introduced alongside practical tools for the programme staff to apply in the field.  Phase 2 will involve the consultant working with each diocese in the field to help staff apply the mainstreaming approach and assist staff to analyse gender differences and how the programme might be adapted to take account of these.  Phase 3 will involve mentoring and coaching to individual diocesan directors and staff who are interested and committed to take gender mainstream across all their programmes.
Mapping and analysis of the policy framework for local governance in Sri Lanka. A 6-month research study to map and analyse the existing policy processes and frameworks for local governance in Sri Lanka;  in order to strengthen the programmatic and advocacy intervention strategies of the Active Citizenship for Development Network (ACDN), with the goal of promoting greater citizens' participation, and greater accountability, in governance in Sri Lanka.
Sanitation and hygiene in Mandapathy Village This project will improve the means and knowledge for hygiene and sanitation practices of 30 of the most poor and vulnerable households in the village of Mandapathady, in Manmunai West DS Division in eastern Sri Lanka. It will also strengthen the capacity of the local women’s organisation, the Women’s Rural Development Society (WRDS), to advocate to local authorities for better service provision.
Human Development among industrial workers and local communities in Gampaha Based in the rapidly industrialising Gampaha District, the project seeks to address the needs of industrial workers, who are often recent and temporary migrants to Gampaha, unorganised and vulnerable; and of local residents affected by major infrastructural projects, industrial pollution and environmental deterioration.  It works by educating people about the issues affecting them, and about the relevant legislation and options for action, and mobilising them to become active and engaged citizens.
Response to Sri Lanka Flooding The project aims to deliver emergency food and NFIs to 1,400 Households (5040 affected people) in rural communities in the sub-districts of Muthur and Thampalagamam (Trincomolee, 500 HH's) and Manmunai North and West and Koralipattly (Batticaloa, 600 HH's) and Anuradhapura, 300 HHs. These areas have been identified in coordination with the Government Disaster Managment Centre (DMC) as areas where other actors are not responding given their rural location and inaccessibility. The priority sectors of food and NFI’s were identified through a District level needs assessment conducted by the local government and Dioceses. The price of food has dramatically increased as rice harvests have been washed away. CAFOD’s sister agency, Caritas Sri Lanka, will implement the project alongside CBOs in the affected areas. They have a strong diocesan presence that includes an active and effective network of volunteers who are on standby to deliver the food and NFIs. The response will provide enough food and NFIs for 2 weeks, as people are already returning to their homes and this is the length of time expected before people are able to resume normal access to food. 

This is a 45 day emergency project funded through the Start Fund mechanism, for a total of £87,584.
Helping people move towards reconciliation phase III Phase III of this project follows on from six years of previous work forming interreligious fora, village peace committees and other community-based organisations, to empower people to work together to address problems,  resolve conflicts, encourage mutual understanding and respect, and so contribute towards building peace and reconciliation from the grassroots upwards in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society.  In the second phase, the activities were implemented in Batticaloa and Chilaw and incorporated workshops and skills training, street drama and exposure visits and the formation of  diocesan-level committees to share learning.  The project also engages with local government officers, religious leaders and journalists. In this third phase the work to promote a culture of peace locally and the national level advocacy to promote dialogue, peace and justice continues, and is complemented by a new component of community level food production and income generation designed to foster solidarity and meet urgent needs.
Livelihood support for war-affected women in Mullaitivu District Though the decades-long ethnic conflict ended in May 2009, resettlement of displaced people was still ongoing well into 2011. The process had been held up by, among other factors, slow progress in de-mining activities, and large numbers of people who left the displacement camps became, in effect, displaced elsewhere, intending to return to their home villages but not yet able to do so.  Infrastructure facilities in the return areas were in varying stages of development, but in most places government and humanitarian agencies were struggling to address the very urgent livelihood and housing needs. Mullaitivu District suffered particularly extensive damage to houses and other infrastructure, and to livelihood assets (tools and livestock), and local economies and markets had collapsed. In 2011 and 2012, CAFOD has been supporting SEDEC to build houses for vulnerable families returning to live in Karunaddukerney village in Mullaitivu. CAFOD is now supporting SEDEC to further assist the resettlement of the most vulnerable women in Karunaddukerney through support to rehabilitate their livelihoods. This will be done through support to strengthen the local women's group (the Women's Rural Develoment Society), small grants for livelihoods related community projects, establishment of a savings and loans association among the women, and support to build or strengthen individual livelihoods.
Humanitarian response to flooding in Sri Lanka Incessant rains across Sri Lanka since 25th May 2017 have affected over six hundred thousand people in 15 districts. Most affected districts are Galle, Kaluthara, Rathnapura, and Matara. As flood waters recede and roads are cleared, the Government continues to validate the number of affected people and casualties. As of 1 June 2017, approx. 658,490 people across 15 districts have been affected by floods and landslides. Of the affected people, it is estimated that at least 150,000 are women and girls of reproductive age, 7,600 are pregnant women and over
189,000 children are affected by the disaster. The death toll has risen to 206 deaths and 92 people are still missing,
and 68,730 people are displaced in 365 safe locations. 

Caritas Sri Lanka will work together with local government officials towards addressing the needs of the affected populations by distributing kitchen utensils to needy families in the most affected districts: Colombo, Ratnapura and Galle dioceses.
Campaign for Good Governance In the lead-up to the January 2015 presidential election, a large number of civil society organisations in Sri Lanka - including CAFOD partners - were involved in campaigning for free and fair elections, and for major changes in governmental policies and practice to widen the democratic space in the country, restore the rule of law and freedom of expression, and safeguard the legitimate human and civil rights of ethnic and religious minorities, and the livelihoods and food sovereignty of the rural poor.  The aspirations of the campaigners were resoundingly endorsed by the electorate.  They are now organising a further campaign in the lead-up to the parliamentary elections, to present to leaders/ representatives of all contesting parties a set of reform proposals calling for the proper implementation of existing legislative reforms and of other good governance measures, in order thereby to secure, and widen further, the democratic space opened up in January, and the scope for small-scale food producers and other rural poor people to pursue sustainable development and improve their quality of life.
Promotion of peaceful co-existence Mannar District, in the north-west, is one of the least developed areas of Sri Lanka.  Ethnically it is predominantly Tamil and Tamil-speaking, but religiously it is very mixed (Hindus, very high proportion of Catholics, other Christian groups including “new churches”, and Muslims).  For over 20 years it was severely affected by civil conflict, with frequent population displacements, both long- and short-term, into, out of, and within the district; control of territory was disputed between government and LTTE armed forces, with other armed groups also operating.  Besides disruption of family life and threats to personal security, the damage to livelihood opportunities contributed to a considerable rise in mistrust and social tension.  Resources for Peace and Reconciliation works basically by forming Village Reconciliation Committees, which are then provided with skills training in mediation, non-violent communication etc, and support in carrying out peace building and conflict resolution at village level.
EU Proposal development workshop Organised by CAFOD Accompanier Mahinda Gunaratne in Colombo for the Active Citizens Development Network partners to work on developing a proposal for EU funding.
Joe William Consultancy The CAFOD Sri Lanka Programme Consultant has been associated with CAFOD since 2001.  His connections to state and non-state actors in Sri Lanka, to the diplomatic community, to NGOs engaged in conflict transformation, to UN bodies as well as to regional human rights networks enable CAFOD to maintain an up-to-date analysis of political developments in Sri Lanka and to provide appropriate and timely support to partners.  The Programme Consultant is also registered with the University of Bradford’s Peace Studies Centre to undertake a post graduate research degree focused on the Norwegian-facilitated Sri Lanka peace process.  The link with Bradford, a major centre of research on conflict transformation, will also assist CAFOD to develop its priority sector of conflict resolution and peace building (CAFOD 2010).
Conflict Analysis workshop in Colombo To support delivery of CAFOD's country strategy priority of Conflict Resolution, a three-day Conflict Analysis workshop was organised in Colombo in November 2015 for CAFOD partners implementing projects seeking to address conflict resolution and peace building.  Nawaz Mohammed, Country Director - Sri Lanka and Maldives, Search for Common Ground/ End Violent Conflict was engaged as co-facilitator.
Sustainable livelihood and food security for poor rural communities MONLAR (Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform) has been working for over 20 years to form a broad people's movement in Sri Lanka bringing together all relevant people's organisations and sections of society, particularly those sections such as the rural people, plantation communities, fishworkers, labourers, women and young people to challenge top-down policies formulated without their participation, and develop alternative approaches designed to be both equitable and ecologically sustainable.  The core target group is small-scale food producers and their families.  In particular MONLAR seeks to build and empower independent farmer organisations; defend the rights of small-scale food producers to the sustainable use of natural resources; promote healthy lifestyles, good nutrition and improved rural incomes and general quality of life; and to encourage ecologically-friendly farming methods, reclamation of drought-affected or otherwise damaged land, and home gardening.