SOCIAL COHESION AND RECONCILIATION ACTIVITY (SCORE)
QUARTERLY REPORT (OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2018)
Contract End Date: June 30, 2021 Cooperative Agreement Number: 720-383-18-CA-00003 Activity Start Date and End Date: July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2021 Total Award Amount: $9,999,946 Implemented by: Global Communities Partners: National Peace Council, Association of War Affected Women, Shanthiham
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SOCIAL COHESION AND RECONCILIATION ACTIVITY (SCORE)
QUARTERLY REPORT (October-December 2018)
Submitted on: February 07th, 2019
Social Cohesion and Reconciliation Activity (SCORE)
Cooperative Agreement Number: 720-383-18-CA-00003
DISCLAIMER The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government.
Table of Contents Abbreviations and Acronyms ...... ii Background ...... 1 SCORE Target Areas Map ...... 2 SCORE Target Districts, Divisional Secretariats and GN Divisions ...... 3 Executive Summary ...... 4 SCORE Results Framework ...... 7 Overview of Activities and Results ...... 8 Cross-cutting Management and Operations Activities and Results ...... 8 Sub-purpose 1: Promote a cohesive Sri Lankan identity ...... 11 Result 1.1: Communities engage constructively in reconciliation processes ...... 11 Result 1.2: Citizen-driven initiatives and networks strengthened to promote social cohesion and reconciliation across divided communities ...... 14 Result 1.3: Improved local and national government institutions and processes promoting social cohesion and reconciliation ...... 15 Sub-purpose 2: Reduce socioeconomic disparities and exclusion ...... 19 Result 2.1: Recovery and resettlement of conflict affected populations advanced ...... 19 Result 2.2: Improved economic opportunities for the most marginalized communities ...... 19 Result 2.3: Local governments and CBOs strengthened to provide sustainable services to the most marginalized communities and populations ...... 21 Sub-purpose 3: Enhance community resilience ...... 22 Result 3.1: Increased access to psychosocial and trauma healing services ...... 22 Result 3.2: Increased opportunities for youth and women to exercise leadership in promoting responsible citizenship and reconciliation ...... 24 Priorities for the next reporting period (Jan-Mar 2019) ...... 27 Learning and Adaptation ...... 28 Actual Expenditures vs. Budget ...... 1 Annex 1: SCORE Grants Summary Matrix ...... 2 Annex 2: Q2 Performance Indicator Tracking Table ...... 3
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Abbreviations and Acronyms
AHC Shanthiham Association for Health and Counselling AWAW Association for War Affected Women CEJ Centre for Equality and Justice CBO Community Based Organization CDD Community Driven Development CLA Collaborating, Learning and Adapting CSO Civil Society Organization DRC District Reconciliation Committee DS Divisional Secretariat EPI Everyday Peace Indicator EU European Union FOSDOO Federation of Social Development Organizations FRC Family Rehabilitation Centre GC Global Communities GIZ German Corporation for International Cooperation GN Grama Niladhari (Administrative Divisions) GoSL Government of Sri Lanka IDEA Increased Demand and Engagement for Accountability Activity IDP Internally Displaced Person IOM International Organization for Migration LOP Life of Program MEL Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning MEND Media Empowerment for a Democratic Sri Lanka Program MHPSS Mental Health and Psychosocial Support MONIOLSP Ministry of National Integration, Official Languages, Social Progress and Hindu Religious Affairs NAQDA National Aquaculture Development Authority of Sri Lanka NPC National Peace Council of Sri Lanka NPRC National Policy on Reconciliation and Co-existence NYMUN National Youth Model United Nations OfR Office for Reparations OMP Office of Missing Persons ONUR Office for National Unity and Reconciliation P2P People to People (approaches/activities) PACE Participatory Action for Community Enhancement PALTRA Partners in Alternative Training PHC Primary Health Center PPP Public Private Partnership
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PS Pradeshiya Sabha PSC Parliamentary Select Committee PSS Psychosocial Services RCP Representative Community Platform RDF Rural Development Foundation RESPECT Rehabilitate Services for People Affected by Violence Related Trauma SCORE Social Cohesion and Reconciliation Activity SDGAP Strengthening Democratic Governance and Accountability Project SfCG Search for Common Ground SRP Strengthening Reconciliation Processes TA Technical Assistance TJ Transitional Justice ToT Training of Trainers UNDP United Nations Development Program USAID United States Agency for International Development USIP United States Institute of Peace WDF Women’s Development Federation
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Background
In July 2018, USAID awarded the 3-year Social Cohesion and Reconciliation Activity (SCORE) to Global Communities and our Sri Lankan partners, the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka (NPC), the Association for War Affected Women (AWAW) and Shanthiham Association for Health and Counselling (AHC).
The purpose of SCORE is to strengthen Sri-Lankan-led efforts to advance social cohesion and reconciliation by fostering a shared and inclusive Sri Lankan identity, reducing socio-economic and political disparities, and enhancing community resilience through complementary community- driven development and reconciliation projects and capacity building initiatives.
Our approach strengthens horizontal relationships within and across communities and networks and vertical relationships between communities and the government in a Sri-Lankan-led effort to leverage social capital for increased resilience and a vision of shared identity; and to maximize feedback loops and coordination between citizen/CSO-led and government-led initiatives.
Our approach to engaging government stakeholders is to identify government entities at both the national and local levels that are best positioned and positively inclined to move forward with reconciliation so that we can promote ownership where it has the greatest likelihood of taking root and influencing other stakeholders.
SCORE has identified target communities (defined here as Grama Niladhari Administrative Divisions, otherwise known as GNs) in four priority districts (see map below) to build conflict mitigation and leadership skills within GN-based decision-making bodies to engage marginalized groups to identify and implement complementary reconciliation and socio-economic projects that address local conflict stressors. GN-based psychosocial service (PSS) activities also support participation by conflict-affected populations.
In our Y1 four priority districts, SCORE provides training, technical assistance, and facilitation to local officials to implement reconciliation-related policies, improve gender-sensitive service delivery and better engage with all identity groups in their constituencies.
This quarterly report provides an overview of SCORE activities undertaken and results achieved during the reporting period. It summarizes the progress made, trends, problems, and other relevant issues; priorities for programming during the next reporting period; planned adaptations to improve outcomes as identified through rolling analysis and other learning during implementation; as well as a comparison of actual expenditures with budget estimates.
SCORE Theory of Change If Sri Lankan-led efforts are strengthened to: 1) facilitate systematic and constructive interaction across diverse identities to address grievances and misperceptions, 2) foster inclusive and transparent collaboration to improve equitable access to services and socioeconomic opportunity, and 3) build capacities and leadership to interrupt cycles of violence, then relationships among divided groups and communities and between communities and their government will be transformed, thereby increasing Sri Lankans’ ability to have a shared vision of pluralistic identity and increasing resilience and prospects for a sustainable peace.
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SCORE Target Areas Map
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SCORE Target Districts, Divisional Secretariats and GN Divisions
District Divisional Secretariat GN division Vavuniya Vavuniya North Puthukkudiyiruppu Vavuniya South Agbopura Rangethgama Avaranthulawa Chekkaddipulavu Vavuniya Maharambaikulam Jaffna Thellipalai Kankesanthurai West Vasavilan East Nakuleswaram Kollankaladdy Ilavalai Northwest Palai Veemankamam Trincomalee Mutur Sampoor East Sampoor west Kantale Wanela Seruwila Nawakkenikadu Sumedanpura Samagipura Lingapuram Aryammankerny Monaragala Buththala Mahagodayaya Udagama Monaragala Kumbukkana Maduraketiya Weliyaya
Selection Criteria for SCORE Districts, District Secretariats and GN Divisions Sri Lanka’s most severely conflict-affected and poverty-affected communities Regions where vulnerability to conflict and the risk of extremism is high. This could include high-risk areas or “hot spots” where there has either been a past history of violence or where multiple causes of conflict are converging Communities with high numbers of IDPs and IDP returnees A strategic mix of mono-ethnic and cross-line communities/districts/provinces Political incentives of relevant government institutions to promote reconciliation Community and/or local partners demonstrate interest and commitment to implementing reconciliation activities and collaborating with SCORE Opportunities to support change agents and champions of peace, including women/youth The presence of complementary USAID and/or other donor programs; The avoidance of duplication of effort The existing capacity and potential to integrate programming across multiple SCORE components and cross-cutting themes
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Executive Summary
During the reporting period SCORE implementation proceeded without delay, notwithstanding the political turmoil surrounding President Maithripala Sirisena’s decision in late October to sack Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and replace him with former President Mahinda Rajapakse. PM Wickremesinghe was eventually reinstated on December 16th, 2018 bringing to a close a 52- day constitutional crisis during which the SCORE team led frequent consultations with USAID and implementing partners to remain abreast of events and their potential impact on SCORE activities. Given the nature of SCORE’s flexible, adaptive design and the fact that the bulk of SCORE’s activities to promote reconciliation and social cohesion are implemented at the grassroots level, any disorder at the national level did not directly impact SCORE implementation. In Quarter 2 (Q2), while completing remaining operational start-up activities, the SCORE team met program work plan and performance targets, including the following: 226 people participated in peacebuilding activities, including 161 women; 10 new groups formed, dedicated to resolving conflict or conflict drivers in target communities. SCORE implemented directly 2 reconciliation- related activities with 150 government officials participating. SCORE partner AWAW delivered training to 95 local female leaders to advance reconciliation and social cohesion in target communities (see Annex 2 for details).
In Q2, USAID approved five sub-grants that will be awarded to local NGOs in early Q3 to engage communities in all four SCORE Y1 target districts. Sub grantees help target communities to identify and implement tangible, community-driven livelihoods and services projects that improve opportunities for the most vulnerable populations and promote inter-ethnic reconciliation and social cohesion. While SCORE solicits grant concepts and applications on a rolling basis through a flexible, adaptive and widely advertised APS, the majority of grant concept submissions in Q2 did not meet basic requirements for full grant applications. As a result, SCORE began scheduling workshops around the country to promote the SCORE model among local organizations and identify and provide additional support to prospective sub-grantees to ensure grant submissions of higher quality. In Q2, the SCORE team held a grants workshop with over 16 local organizations in Trincomalee. In Q2, SCORE also continued close coordination and collaboration with USAID and other donors and IPs to maximize impact and avoid duplication, including USAID IDEA, USAID SDGAP, USIP (SCORECARD), EU/GIZ, UNDP and IOM, in addition to meeting and coordinating with partner GoSL institutions, including the Ministry for National Integration, Official Languages, Social Progress and Hindu Religious Affairs, as well as parliament.
In Q2, SCORE launched community engagement and mapping activities in 14 target communities in Jaffna, Vavuniya and Trincomalee, with 5 target communities in Monaragala coming online in Q3. In the process, the SCORE team held participatory and inclusive consultations to identify and train representative community platforms. These community platforms serve to identify and prioritize inter- and intra-ethnic reconciliation and social cohesion programming. As community platforms come online throughout Q2 and Q3, SCORE is training platform members to identify conflict stressors & threats to cohesion and by designing initiatives to address these. In Q2, the SCORE team delivered training in the PACE methodology to prospective sub-grantees in Vavuniya, covering: the PACE principles of conflict-sensitive and Do No Harm community engagement; the process of identifying and supporting representative community platforms for inclusive and participatory decision-making; and community mapping, conflict and stakeholder analysis. This PACE training will continue to be delivered in Q3 through the combined efforts of the SCORE team and NPC for target community platform members to understand and lead conflict mitigation and reconciliation activities within their communities.
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In Q2, the SCORE team continued to deliver training and technical assistance to national and local government partners to promote social cohesion and reconciliation. SCORE continued its support to the Select Committee of Parliament (PSC) to study and report on Communal and Religious Harmony in Sri Lanka. At the request of the PSC, SCORE delivered technical and logistical support for the upcoming regional PSC event scheduled for March 1st, 2019 in Galle. This event will bring together parliamentarians, national and local government officials, religious leaders, civil society representatives and media representing all ethnic communities to debate and recommend actions to promote reconciliation in Galle. In Q2, at the request of the PSC, SCORE completed an interim report for the PSC to present to parliament. This interim report compiles recommendations made during four previous PSC events (in Colombo, Kandy and Ampara) as well as an action plan to guide respective line ministry interventions to promote communal and religious harmony. In Q2, SCORE partner, the National Peace Council (NPC), designed and began delivering their training and capacity building to local government officials in SCORE Y1 target districts. In the process, NPC delivered orientation sessions to local government officials on the SCORE principles and approaches underlying conflict mitigation and reconciliation activities in their constituencies and communities.
In Q2 SCORE focused on improving community resilience through improved and more equitable access to livelihoods and services that address core grievances, particularly for the most vulnerable. The SCORE team responded quickly to design direct implementation activities to provide livelihood support to vulnerable and marginalized communities severely affected by December 2018 flooding in the SCORE target districts of Kilinochchi and Mullaithivu. Inland fishermen who fish the reservoirs (tanks) in these areas suffered major losses when their boats, nets and other fishing equipment was damaged or destroyed by flash floods. SCORE, in collaboration with local fisheries societies designed interventions to provide livelihoods support to inland fishing communities who feel isolated, underserved and discriminated against by the existing caste system. In Q3, SCORE, in partnership with fisheries societies, will distribute 120 fishing nets (40 sets) benefiting 215 fishermen and their families. In Q2, in a bid to promote reconciliation, reduce service delivery disparities and enhance community trust in local government, SCORE launched a Sinhala language training program for the Tamil-speaking local authority staff in the Vavuniya North Pradeshiya Sabha (PS). Currently, the 25% Sinhala speaking minority community in Vavuniya North have difficulty accessing basic services which is why the PS requested SCORE support. The PS Chairman and members are committed to delivering quality services in both national languages in order to build inter-communal trust.
In Q2, SCORE strategic partner Shanthiham continued to address collective recovery from trauma through psychosocial rehabilitation for conflict-affected populations in SCORE’s five Jaffna target communities. A total of 80 persons received training in psycho-social counseling service delivery at the community level. In Q2, in order to support PSS and trauma healing outside of northern Sri Lanka, USAID approved a grant to the Family Rehabilitation Center to implement the ‘Rehabilitate Services for People Affected by Violence Related Trauma (RESPECT) project in the Monaragala and Trincomalee districts. In Q2, SCORE strategic partner the Association for War-Affected Women (AWAW) delivered a three-day workshop in Vavuniya for 25 Jaffna-based female politicians and aspiring female leaders to empower them to take action in their communities to promote social cohesion and reconciliation and advocate for improved services and livelihoods.
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In Q2, USAID also approved sub grants to train youth in target districts on reconciliation, peace building, community mobilization, collaboration for local development, and to engage and advocate with local authorities to build public awareness on these topics through collaborative activities. USAID approved a sub-grant to Search for Common Ground Sri Lanka (SfCG) who, in partnership with the National Youth Model United Nations (NYMUN), will empower youth from different ethnic backgrounds to collaborate and create social media content to help youth engage across identity groups, transcend echo chambers and promote reconciliation, pluralism and co- existence and counter negative stereotypes, prejudice and hatred.
In Q2, the SCORE team used its quarterly pause and reflect session for program learning and adapting by convening strategic partners NPC, AWAW and Shanthiham and six prospective sub- grantees to present ongoing and proposed activities for the purpose of closer coordination, collaboration and integration of ongoing and upcoming SCORE activities. The SCORE team presented on SCORE’s holistic model of grassroots, bottom-up programming to show how each partner contributes to promoting an integrated model of community-driven social cohesion and reconciliation programming. In addition, SCORE partner USIP presented on the status of USIP’s Everyday Peace Indicator (EPI) research activity in SCORE target areas to elicit local-level indicators of reconciliation. This research will be used in Q3 to inform, adapt and evaluate SCORE programming. Applying the EPI methodology on SCORE constitutes a significant effort to promote USAID Collaborating, Learning and Adaptive (CLA) programming.
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SCORE Results Framework
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Overview of Activities and Results
Cross-cutting Management and Operations Activities and Results
STAFFING & OFFICE SET-UP: In Q2, SCORE on-boarded additional staff members making up a team of 14 project staff with a significant gender and ethnic balance. With GoSL registration in place, staff members previously on consultancy agreements, are being issued long-term contracts. SCORE also completed establishing field offices in Colombo (head office co-located with USAID IDEA), Vavuniya (co-located with the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society), and in Monaragala (co-located with the Community Resource Protection Center).
Discussing SCORE objectives and activities with government representatives, community activists and religious leaders at the official opening of SCORE’s Monaragala office on January 10th, 2019. (Photo by: Chris Abeysekere)
Religious leaders at the official opening of SCORE's Monaragala office on January 10th, 2019 (Photo by: Chris Abeysekere)
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SCORE’s Monaragala field office was officially opened on January 10th 2019 in the presence of Buddhist, Hindu, Christian and Muslim dignitaries, government officials, and local civil society actors, all representing Monaragala’s diverse, multi-ethnic population. During the ceremony, SCORE briefed those gathered on the SCORE program and methodology and plans for the Q3 roll-out of community-driven social cohesion and reconciliation programming in target communities. Present were members of the Women’s Development Federation (WDF), one of the largest women’s organizations in Sri Lanka engaged in poverty alleviation and women’s empowerment, with whom SCORE will be working closely to identity and implement community- driven activities that align with SCORE’s mandate.
SUBGRANTS: In Q2, USAID approved 5 sub-grant applications resulting from the 1st round of applications (19 grant concepts received out of which 7 were invited to submit full grant applications). SCORE solicits grant concepts and applications and awards sub-grants on a rolling basis through a flexible and adaptive Annual Program Statement (APS) mechanism. The APS is widely advertised nation-wide through existing NGO networks and forums as well as newspapers. SCORE invited applications from around the country, including Southern and Sinhala-majority districts, not just SCORE target districts. Prior to grant application submissions, SCORE held grant application preparation workshops in Vavuniya (October 3rd) and Colombo (October 5th) to provide prospective grantees additional guidance on preparing their applications. In addition, prior to requesting full grant applications, the SCORE team reviewed concepts with USAID and USAID IPs to share the list of prospective grantees in order to avoid any possible duplication of effort.
These sub-grants are designed to support community-identified reconciliation and social cohesion priorities, test innovative local initiatives and bring communities together for program learning, to showcase innovation and to influence policy. They aim to assist target communities implement tangible, community driven livelihoods and services projects that promote inter-ethnic reconciliation in all four Y1 target districts. The grants approved include: 1) The Centre for Equality and Justice (CEJ), who will implement ‘Reconciling Sri Lanka: making voices of youth and women matter’, a project that supports youth and women to promote social cohesion and reconciliation through inter-generational dialog and increased participation in national and local level development processes in target communities in Trincomalee and Monaragala districts 2) The Family Rehabilitation Centre (FRC), who will implement the ‘Rehabilitate Services for People Affected by Violence Related Trauma (RESPECT) project in Monaragala and other target districts. Two Vavuniya-based CSOs will implement grassroots level grants to promote reconciliation and social cohesion: 3) The Rural Development Foundation (RDF) will implement community-driven projects to strengthen interethnic relationships and advance reconciliation and social cohesion in target communities in Vavuniya and resettled communities in Jaffna. 4) The Federation of Social Development Organizations (FOSDOO) will implement a youth development and leadership program to engage youth productively in community development initiatives that promote reconciliation and social cohesion and create platforms for young people to foster multi- ethnic understanding, and 5) Search for Common Ground SfCG, Sri Lanka will implement the ‘Cyber Guardians: Empowering youth to combat online hate speech in Sri Lanka’ project to equip youth to champion reconciliation and pluralism online, promote responsible citizenship by creating pluralistic social media content, and collaborate with external stakeholders to share lessons learned and ideas for improving Sri Lanka’s social media environment. The activities will be driven by youth and women to promote social cohesion and reconciliation by engaging across identity groups and creating attitudinal changes towards engagement with social media. These sub-grants are discussed in greater detail further below.
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In Q2, as part of SCORE’s second round of APS grant solicitations, SCORE received and reviewed 14 concepts of which only 2 were invited to submit full grant applications. Despite SCORE’s widespread advertising of the APS, the project has not received many grant concepts of high relevance to SCORE programming. In response, the team decided to hold SCORE APS grant workshops in target districts to engage directly with local organizations to educate them on SCORE priorities and the APS application process. SCORE delivered an APS workshop on December 13th 2018 in Trincomalee to 25 CSO staff representing 16 organizations working in the Trincomalee district. The workshop helped to educate CSOs on the SCORE project and the types of activities SCORE is keen to fund, as well as give participants a good understanding of SCORE’s grant application process. In Q2, the SCORE team kept the thematic and geographic focus of the APS very broad to be able to seize on emergent opportunities and innovative approaches and thinking, be it at the national or local level. However, in Q3, we expect to receive USIP’s Everyday Peace Indicator research on SCORECARD, which we will use to inform our programming. We will therefore adapt the thematic focus of our APS to reflect the findings from the research.
COLLABORATION and COORDINATION with PARTNERS: SCORE spans organizational boundaries to promote collaboration among stakeholders so as to support a holistic, integrated consolidated reconciliation support effort, and promote reconciliation and coexistence initiatives which intersect and cross-fertilize each other to maximize social impact. In Q2, SCORE coordinated and collaborated with other USAID Sri Lanka and other donor IPs to maximize impact and avoid duplication. SCORE collaborated with USAID IDEA to avoid duplication in grant approvals; with USAID SDGAP to coordinate SCORE support to the parliamentary select committee for communal and religious harmony (described in detail below); SCORE also collaborated closely with the USIP research team to coordinate the roll-out of USIP’s Everyday Peace Indicator (EPI) research activity due to be completed in Q3 when this research will inform SCORE LOP programming. In Q2 SCORE also continued close coordination with other donor- funded peace-building and reconciliation programs including with GIZ, UNDP and IOM.
On October 16th, SCORE met with IOM to provide IOM colleagues an overview of the SCORE project. The IOM team briefed SCORE on the status of setting up the Office for Reparations (OfR) following the passage of the OfR bill in parliament. IOM and SCORE discussed potential areas of collaboration and mutual support with SCORE offering to utilize its grassroots presence to publicize Office of Reparations services, especially through local government capacity building efforts. On December 3rd SCORE met with EU/GIZ colleagues to exchange information on SCORE and the EU funded “Strengthening Reconciliation Processes (SRP)” project and identify areas of collaboration between the two programs. These areas include: 1) Institutional capacity building especially for local government officials and CBOs; 2) Psychosocial and trauma healing services methodologies and tools; 3) Media and social media support activities; and 4) Support to District Reconciliation Committees. The two programs collaborate and coordinate closely to exchange program research and learning.
On October 28th, SCORE staff attended the TEDxColombo 2018 event on the theme of “I, You, We” at the Nelum Pokuna Theater in Colombo. The event was designed to “spark an actionable understanding of identity and how it can be used as a tool for building empathy, trust, and solidarity within and across cultures.” TEDxColombo 2018 is relevant to SCORE’s mandate as it explored the caliber of collaborative ‘community’ that the speakers wish to create for the future of Sri Lanka through art, entertainment, science, language, and technology; to inspire, to trigger a calling for an entire country to unite through the power of unconventional perspectives begin
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building the future Sri Lankans aspire to live in.” The SCORE team and TEDxColombo are exploring possible partnership opportunities.
Sub-purpose 1: Promote a cohesive Sri Lankan identity
In Q2, SCORE launched the process of target community mapping, engagement and initial consultations for the purpose of identifying and training community platforms for SCORE related reconciliation programming. As community platforms come online throughout Q2 and Q3, SCORE trains platform members to identify conflict stressors & threats to cohesion and to design initiatives to address these. As mentioned above, SCORE is awarding sub-grants to local organizations to support implementation of these community-identified priorities beginning in Q3. SCORE’s grassroots, bottom-up approach to promoting community-driven reconciliation and social cohesion supports Sri Lanka’s National Policy on Reconciliation and Co-existence (NPRC) to “incubate, consolidate, and institutionalize creative ways of planning reconciliation efforts that […] suit the specific context; and explore innovative ways of providing space within which the emotional and psychological aspects of conflict can be addressed; and proactively take preventive measures to thwart new or emerging conflicts when designing reconciliation and coexistence initiatives (National Policy on Reconciliation and Co-existence, Sri Lanka, 2017).
Result 1.1: Communities engage constructively in reconciliation processes
In Q2, following the final selection and in-depth mapping of target communities, the SCORE team launched inclusive and participatory community engagement efforts in 14 target communities in Jaffna, Vavuniya and Trincomalee districts, with 5 target communities in Monaragala district coming online at the beginning of Q3. This initial community engagement was designed to build both knowledge of and trust with the target community. The SCORE team utilized our conflict- sensitive community engagement approach, the Participatory Action for Community Enhancement (PACE) methodology, which guides SCORE’s community entry and engagement while promoting community agency and ownership.
RDF engaging Tamil and Muslim community members on December 6th, 2018 in Maharambaikulam, a severely conflict and poverty affected SCORE target GN division with high numbers of IDPs in the Vavuniya district. (Photo by: N. Sathyaruban)
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In Q2, the SCORE team performed in-depth community mapping of 14 target communities to gather basic political, social and economic data as well as identify connectors and assets (for conflict management, service delivery, etc.), dividers and risks that can enhance conflict; map stakeholders, and identify youth and gender dynamics. The resulting community mapping information is shared with all stakeholders to ensure decision-making (whether by the SCORE team, implementing partners, or community members) is more context-specific, informed and evidence-driven. SCORE’s target community mapping tools remain living documents and continue to be updated through the LOP. In Q2, community mapping helped to identify the most representative and inclusive platforms for participatory community-level engagement and decision-making; it also helped to inform the types of community-driven activities that are most appropriate to promoting reconciliation and social cohesion. In deciding on the most appropriate community-level platforms with which to work, the SCORE team attempts to work with and build on existing platforms such as rural development societies, local co-existence societies, or Praja Mandalas - local CBOs supported by local authorities through the Pradesha Sabhas to focus on communities’ economic, social, cultural and infrastructure development.
Discussions underway between GC staff and community members on December 18th, 2018 in Agbopura, Vavuniya as part of the community mapping process. In this village, the human-elephant conflict was cited as a major problem that villagers encounter. (Photo by: S. Guna)
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SCORE partner FOSDOO engaging community members on December 21st, 2018 in Avaranthulawa, a GN division in the Vavuniya district. Avaranthulawa is a Sinhala-majority district with both Tamil and Muslim minority populations. It is a severely conflict and poverty-affected border village with high numbers of resettled persons. (Photo by Thangavel Sathiyalingam/GC)
In Q2, following USAID’s approval of sub-awards, the SCORE team delivered training in the PACE methodology to prospective sub-grantees RDF and FOSDOO in Vavuniya (December 5th 2018). This PACE training covered the PACE principles of conflict-sensitive and Do No Harm community engagement; the process of identifying and supporting representative community platforms for inclusive and participatory decision-making; and community mapping, conflict and stakeholder analysis. (Note, PACE methodology manuals are currently being translated into Tamil and Sinhalese). This Q2 PACE training was combined with co-creation exercises with RDF and FOSDOO staff including planning for preliminary community entry in target communities in Vavuniya and Jaffna in December 2018 and January 2019 to conduct mapping and build relationships and trust with communities and local government authorities. In Q3, SCORE, in partnership with sub-grantees and NPC, will deliver training in the PACE methodology to develop the skills of community platform members and local government officials to facilitate intra- and inter-ethnic collaboration for positive locally-driven change, including leading conflict mitigation and reconciliation activities to build resilience through participatory identification of conflict stressors and threats to cohesion, and through the design of initiatives to address stressors and threats that can be implemented by the community or with the support of a sub-grantee. Most importantly, the SCORE team ensures reconciliation and coexistence interventions do not feed conflict or exacerbate tensions but rather alleviate them.
In Q2, USAID also approved a sub-grant to the Center for Equality and Justice (CEJ) to implement a project entitled: ‘Reconciling Sri Lanka: making voices of youth and women matter’. This project will launch in the beginning of Q3 and supports women and youth throughout Monaragala, and Trincomalee districts to promote reconciliation and social cohesion through inter-generational, community-driven development programming. Youth between the ages of 18 and 30, especially in war affected districts and throughout the South have little understanding of the thirty-year conflict and the JVP insurrections that took place in the early 70’s and late 80’s. These experiences have largely remained with their parents and grand-parents who lived through these
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conflicts, and the root causes of these conflicts are rarely discussed in public. In particular, women’s experiences of conflict have not been adequately shared with generations too young to understand the full impact and nature of the conflict. With this grant, CEJ is establishing new platforms at the community level that provide opportunities for women and youth to learn, debate and discuss issues related to reconciliation. CEJ provides funding for these inter-generational and inter-ethnic groups to jointly implement tangible community-driven activities that promote reconciliation. In the process, this project is forging the critical links between reconciliation and local development and helping women and youth influence the direction that reconciliation takes in Sri Lanka.
Result 1.2: Citizen-driven initiatives and networks strengthened to promote social cohesion and reconciliation across divided communities
In Q2, SCORE and prospective sub-grantees RDF and FOSDOO engaged and worked with mixed and divided communities such as Maharambaikulam, Chekkaddipilavu and Avaranthulawa to identify and propose solutions to shared stressors; build relationships across typical lines of division; and encourage communities to engage their local authorities in cohesion activities or problem solving as a way to rebuild trust. In Q2, RDF commenced preparatory work to launch their community-led reconciliation activities in Q3 by convening five inclusive project induction discussions in the target communities (covering two GN divisions in Vavuniya and one GN division in Jaffna) involving the community members, stakeholders and beneficiaries. These entry discussions provided the space for communities to understand and become aware about SCORE and to develop a representative community platform for project implementation. RDF conducted these project start-up discussions with the support of the respective local government Development Officers and Grama Niladari Officers.
Among the community-driven reconciliation activities that were identified and prioritized for implementation is a small project to provide reliable water supply to the Primary Health Center (PHC) for Tamil and Muslim women and children in the ethnically mixed community of Chekkaddipilavu, a GN division in the Vavuniya district. The population of Chekkaddipilavu (approximately 3000, with 60% Tamil and 40% Muslim) lacks sources of steady income and the recent droughts have pushed families, especially women-headed households and other women into very vulnerable situations. The continuing trend of predatory lending by micro-finance institutions aggressively promoting their products, and women borrowing from multiple sources to service loans, is a pressing problem that is severely undermining social cohesion. Perceptions that Muslims receive more support through housing, employment and livelihood assistance due to the influence of Muslim politicians from the area is a major source of conflict. Clashes between Tamil and Muslim youth erupted in the area recently over stolen cattle causing a further rift between the two communities. Limited access to clean drinking water, alcoholism and drug- abuse, and derelict access roads are also sources of major grievances for both communities. In multi-ethnic community platform gatherings, members of both the Tamil and Muslim communities identified providing clean water to the health center as a top priority affecting both communities. In multi-ethnic community platform gatherings, members of both the Tamil and Muslim communities identified providing clean water to the health center as a top priority affecting both communities. As a result, RDF is now poised to implement a small pipeline project to connect the health center to a nearby well as a way to strengthen inter-ethnic relations between local Tamil and Muslim residents. Tamil and Muslim women and children will be able to access water and sanitation facilities at this health center, providing more equitable access to clean water for both communities and reducing the risk of water-borne diseases. RDF will work in eight communities
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in the Jaffna and Vavuniya districts to help communities engage in inclusive inter- and intra-ethnic participatory planning and decision-making to implement activities that assist the most vulnerable; to restore livelihoods and deliver services to strengthen mutual understanding and trust within and among communities and create an environment for reconciliation.
The Primary Health Center (PHC) in Chekkadippilavu, Vavuniya for Tamil and Muslim women and children. Chekkadippilavu is an ethnically mixed GN division with a population of 3000 with 60% Tamil and 40% Muslims. Both communities wish to provide the center with clean water. (Photo by: N. Sathyaruban)
Result 1.3: Improved local and national government institutions and processes promoting social cohesion and reconciliation
In Q2, the SCORE team continued to deliver training and technical assistance to national and local government partners to promote social cohesion and reconciliation. Given the dynamic nature of GoSL reconciliation efforts, the SCORE team, in consultation with USAID, takes a flexible, opportunistic approach to determining which national-level reconciliation stakeholders to support. In Q2, SCORE continued its support to the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to study and report on Communal and Religious Harmony in Sri Lanka. The PSC was set-up in April 2018 following the ethnic violence that erupted in the Galle (November 2017), Ampara (February 2018) and Kandy districts (March 2018), to consult directly with communities affected by the violence and provide recommendations on how to promote communal and religious harmony throughout the country. Following a highly successful SCORE-supported PSC Summit in Ampara in Q1, the PSC requested SCORE’s support to provide technical and logistical support for the upcoming regional PSC Summit in Galle, scheduled for March 1st, 2019. The Galle Summit which was originally scheduled to be held in January had to be re-scheduled for March 2019 due to the political crisis. The upcoming Summit in Galle will bring together parliamentarians, national and local government officials, religious leaders, civil society representatives and media representing all ethnic communities to debate and recommend actions to the PSC. In SCORE’s discussions with the PSC, it was agreed that women and youth voices were under-represented at previous PSC Summits held in Kandy and Ampara. At the request of the PSC, SCORE is working with Galle-based CSOs including inter-faith and religious organizations to increase the involvement of women and youth to design reconciliation programming around this event.
In Q2, at the PSC’s request, the SCORE team completed an interim report for the PSC to present to parliament. This interim report compiles recommendations made during the four previous PSC
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events (in Colombo, Kandy and Ampara) as well as an action plan to guide respective line ministry interventions in promoting communal and religious harmony. Some of the key recommendations made in the draft report include: Establish a Race Relations Board with the authority to address religious harmony and a Human Rights Commission sub-committee to deal exclusively with complaints of communal incitement and violence and with the power to conduct investigations and initiate criminal proceedings. Establish a civil, statutory watchdog mechanism under the Human Rights Commission to monitor political parties, the media and the military to ensure individuals in these institutions refrain from inciting communal hatred. Conduct a comprehensive island-wide survey to gauge public perceptions and expectations on national unity and reconciliation while reviewing new developments with the support of the relevant line ministries and to organize future proceedings of the PSC on the basis of the survey results. Institute trilingual amity schools to reduce tension and encourage unity by regulating admissions to state schools in urban areas to achieve minimum 20% minority student body.
Beginning in Q3, the SCORE team intends to engage with respective line ministries to discuss follow-up activities that can help deliver on these recommendations. Currently, SCORE’s official institutional partner within the GoSL is the Ministry of National Integration, Official Languages, Social Progress and Hindu Religious Affairs. In Q2, in coordination meetings with this ministry, Minister Mano Ganeshan requested that SCORE support the ministry’s efforts to build the capacity of GN-division based Local Co-existence Societies and District Reconciliation Committees (DRCs), where these are established. Both of these sub-national level bodies are tasked by the ministry to promote reconciliation at the GN/village and district levels, respectively.
Fishermen carrying their catch a long distance from the jetty to a refrigerated vehicle in Illawlai, North West-Jaffna. The community wishes to significantly improve livelihoods by rehabilitating this jetty road to enable access for refrigerated vehicles. (Photo by: N. Sathyaruban)
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In Q2, SCORE partner the National Peace Council (NPC) designed and began implementing SCORE’s training and capacity building of local government officials in SCORE’s Y1 target districts. NPC engaged with local officials in target Divisional Secretariats in the four target districts to establish four Divisional Advisory Panels (DAP) in Thelippalai (Jaffna), Vavuniya North (Vavuniya), Buththala (Monaragala), and Seruwila (Trincomalee). These advisory panels serve to coordinate NPC capacity building efforts involving numerous District, DS and GN-Division level government offices. In Q2, NPC delivered SCORE orientation sessions to each DAP to present the SCORE model and instruct participants on the principles and approaches underlying conflict mitigation and reconciliation activities in their constituencies and communities. It should be noted that the DAP is an ad hoc body formed to implement SCORE activities and is headed by the respective Divisional Secretary. Each DAP comprises approximately 20 government and non- government members and includes a minimum 30% youth and women members. NPC training is fully integrated in SCORE-supported community-driven reconciliation and social cohesion initiatives and networks that strengthen and promote intra- and inter-communal social cohesion and reconciliation. DAP information sessions were held on November 14th, 2018 (in Vavuniya North Divisional Secretariat, Vavuniya); November 16th, 2018 (in Walikaamam North Divisional Secretariat, Thellippali-Jaffna), November 27th, 2018 (in Seruwila Divisional Secretariat, Trincomalee) and on November 28th, 2018 (in Buttala Divisional Secretariat, Monaragala). The roles and responsibilities of the DAP, composition and why such composition and representation is required, sustainability and exit plan of the project and future activities were discussed. Feedback forms were provided to all participants at the end of each session to assess their usefulness, and an overwhelming majority said that they received sufficient information on the SCORE Activity (97%) and expressed their willingness to support SCORE (93%).
At a DAP orientation session in the Buttala Divisional Secretariat Office Auditorium in the Monaragala District on November 28th, 2018, Ms. Abeysekara, Assistant Divisional Secretary, Buttala, welcomed “the timely initiative” and noted that it is essential to address the ethnic and religious tensions prevalent in the country in order to build reconciliation among the divided communities. She urged participants to give their fullest support for the SCORE Activity to be successfully implemented in the Buttala division. On November 30th, 2018 NPC convened a community facilitator’s training on community-based social cohesion and reconciliation with PALTRA (the training and curriculum development consultant on the training modules) to train 28 selected government and non-government actors from the four SCORE target districts on implementing community-driven social cohesion and reconciliation programming at the village (GN-division) level. Participants were selected through a competitive application process which includes an interview for short-listed participants, and emphasizes female and youth representation. Asked about the value of this training event, K. M. S. Kumara, Cultural Officer at the Buttala Divisional Secretariat noted: “We should create opportunities for people to mingle with each other and allow them to share experiences. It is good to have cultural exchange visit programs as people will get to know about the cultures, food and other unique features of other ethnic and religious groups. This will give them a better understanding about people who belong to various other groups. Misunderstandings primarily arise from misconceptions of the other.”
In Q2, in the wake of these orientation sessions, NPC proceeded to convene meetings with district government officials to select 28 suitable local government officials (including Grama Niladaras and DS staff) for the Q3 Training of Trainers (ToT). The objective of the TOT is to empower trainers to become community “connectors” and mobilizers in their SCORE target GN divisions and help implement SCORE activities along with other partners (AWAW, Shanthiham) and sub- grantees. The ToT is intended to enhance the knowledge of these local government officials to
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identify conflict stressors and threats to social cohesion and reconciliation and to build resilience through participatory, pro-active identification of conflict stressors - and subsequently help community platforms design and implement appropriate community-driven conflict-mitigation / reconciliation initiatives to address these priority stressors using the PACE methodology.
NPC in collaboration with ECRDF organized a DAP information session on November 27th, 2018 at the Seruwila Divisional Secretariat in Trincomalee to introduce the SCORE Activity and its objectives, and to explain the role to be played by the participants in guiding and implementing social cohesion and reconciliation programming in their communities. (Photo by: Sumudu Jayasuriya/NPC)
NPC in collaboration with WDF held a DAP information session on November 28th, 2018 at the Buttala Divisional Secretariat in Moneragala to introduce the SCORE Activity and its objectives, and to explain the role to be played by the participants in guiding and implementing social cohesion and reconciliation programming in their communities. (Photo by: Sumudu Jayasuriya/NPC)
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Sub-purpose 2: Reduce socioeconomic disparities and exclusion
The above Q2 SCORE results and activities to promote co-existence and reconciliation are closely integrated with the activities listed under sub-purpose 2 which focus on improving community resilience through improved and more equitable access to livelihoods and services that address core grievances, particularly for the most vulnerable. Our initial community engagement in Q2 suggests this integrated approach is necessary because underlying any effort to promote reconciliation and co-existence, let alone forge a cohesive Sri Lankan identity, must be a recognition of the basic demand for individual and group dignity. Hence, all SCORE supported community activities follow Sri Lanka’s National Policy on Reconciliation and Co- existence by focusing on community agency, empowerment, inclusion, equity and dignity.
Result 2.1: Recovery and resettlement of conflict affected populations advanced
In Q2, SCORE target community mapping exercises discussed above identified key physical, social and economic needs and barriers faced by conflict-affected populations who have resettled in targeted communities in Jaffna district. SCORE operates in five GN divisions (Kollankalladdy /Kankasanthurai; Illavali NW; Vasavillan E; Palai Veemankammam N; Palai Veemankammam S) in the Jaffna DS division of Tellipalai. In Q2, RDF engaged the Illavali NW Tamil community consisting of seven villages (pop. approx. 2,250). During the civil war, this area was under military control as a designated High Security Zone (HSZ) and the entire population displaced and forced into welfare centers. This area was recently “released” by the military and residents permitted to re-settle. Around 200 residents died during the war and the resettled families are still coping with this loss as well as the loss of properties and livelihoods with approximately 30% of residents requiring psychosocial support (according to SCORE’s strategic partner Shanthiham who are currently providing psycho-social trauma counseling services in this community, see 3.1 below). The community is divided along traditional caste lines based on occupations (fishermen, farmers, laborers, toddy tappers and others, with farmers occupying the highest caste). Livelihoods support is required to help promote social cohesion which is severely undermined by lack of clean drinking water, poor road conditions, a high level of youth unemployment, alcoholism, drug smuggling and related anti-social activities. With the support of RDF, the community platform has prioritized a project to rehabilitate a small jetty road that helps fishermen bring their catch to market and makes it easier for refrigerated vehicles to access the jetty. This community-driven project will be implemented in Q3 and will support livelihoods for the resettled families in this community to help strengthen social cohesion.
In Q2, SCORE also engaged target communities in the DS division of Vavuniya North, in the GN divisions of Puthukkudiyiruppu and Kanchooramodai, selected because they include high numbers of displaced and resettled communities that are economically marginalized with limited access to basic services. These are also multi-ethnic communities with ex-combatant reintegration issues and a need for PSS. SCORE, together with sub-grantees RDF and FOSDOO are working with community platforms in these communities to identify and address community socio-economic needs.
Result 2.2: Improved economic opportunities for the most marginalized communities
In Q2, SCORE responded quickly to design interventions to provide livelihood support activities to vulnerable and marginalized communities who in December 2018 were affected by severe flooding in SCORE’s Y2 target districts of Kilinochchi and Mullaithivu. Inland fishermen who fish
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the reservoirs (tanks) in these areas suffered major losses when their boats, nets and other fishing equipment was damaged or destroyed by flash floods. SCORE, in collaboration with local government, local Fisheries Societies and the National Aquaculture Development Authority of Sri Lanka (NAQDA), determined that the most effective form of livelihoods support was to provide affected fisherman with nets that enable them to get back to work. This support helps strengthen social cohesion within these Tamil communities whose immediate needs are not being met by local authorities, leading to ongoing tension where some groups are seen as receiving more or less support than others based on political or caste affiliation. This SCORE intervention provides livelihoods support to inland fishing communities who feel isolated, underserved and discriminated against by the existing caste system, with most aid and services being directed to the surrounding farming communities who constitute a higher caste. V. Krishnaswamy, a fisherman from Muttayankaddu said, “We need fishing nets as a matter of priority. We can catch only 2kg of fish per day with the damaged nets; that is enough for our consumption only.” In Q3, SCORE, in partnership with eight of the areas’ inland fisheries societies, is distributing 120 fishing nets (40 sets) benefiting 215 fishermen and their families.
In Q2, the SCORE team reviewed grant concepts and requested full grant applications (for submission to USAID approval at the beginning of Q3) that focus on improving economic opportunities for marginalized communities in Trincomalee and Monaragala. Chrysalis, a local CSO, are proposing to leverage their EU-funded community governance work in Monaragala district to promote reconciliation and social cohesion among plantation Tamils and neighboring Muslim communities. Chrysalis also propose to intervene in Badulla, a hotspot of ethnic tension between Sinhalese and Muslims and work through selected Praja Mandala's which represent villages where diverse communities live together and share opportunities as well as challenges including tensions over economic and social resources. The selected Praja Mandala members, particularly youth and women, will be trained to identify and implement community-driven reconciliation initiatives that address challenges as well as build on socio-cultural and economic connectors in their communities. Such initiatives will be identified through the Village Development Plans and Economic Development Plans developed by the Praja Mandala’s. The training and the community driven action will enable communities to realize the need for equitable sharing of resources across ethnic divides and within communities.
With their boat yard submerged by the recent floods, fishermen were able to salvage some boats but lost most of their equipment, including nets.
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Muttayankaddu, Mullaithivu on January 4th, 2019. (Photo by Thangavel Sathiyalingam)
Result 2.3: Local governments and CBOs strengthened to provide sustainable services to the most marginalized communities and populations
In Q2, the SCORE team engaged local governments in target districts to identify and implement improvements to the delivery of services to marginalized communities and populations that are or have been underserved. SCORE provides TA and training to build the capacity of service providers to deliver services inclusively and equitably and assist communities to address grievances. In Q2, in a bid to promote reconciliation, reduce service delivery disparities and enhance community trust in local government, SCORE launched a Sinhala language training program for the majority Tamil local authority staff in the Vavuniya North Pradesha Sabha on November 21, 2018. Currently, 25 percent of Vavuniya North’s population are Sinhala speaking, while there is only one Sinhala speaker among the 57 Vavuniya North local government staff. The 40-hour training curriculum launched by SCORE was approved by the National Institute of Language Educational Training for government servants, under SCORE’s partner Ministry of National Integration, Official Languages, Social Progress and Hindu Religious Affairs. Currently, the Sinhala speaking community in Vavuniya North have severe difficulties accessing basic services. The PS, however, is committed to deliver quality services in both national languages in order to build inter-communal trust. This SCORE-supported initiative strengthens ties between the Sinhala-speaking community and the VNPS, and fosters greater trust between the Tamil and Sinhala communities. Sinhala classes for the Vavuniya North PS staff commenced in the first week of December 2018 with 15 PS staffers (11 males; 4 females) participating.
In addition to the language training, this activity also provides assistance to translate 17 local authority service request forms into the Sinhala language for use by Sinhalese constituents (e.g. motor cycle number plate requests, registration applications, road side business license applications, three wheeler driver details application forms, building construction permits and environmental clearance applications). VNPS Chairman Mr. S. Thanikasalam claims that “The need for language training for Tamil local authority staff to deliver services to Sinhala residents is critical at this stage and USAID SCORE’s investment will have a positive impact. Further, it is our duty to treat everyone equally; this activity will help us provide more equitable access to services”. According to VNPS Council Member Mr. N.V.A Nishantha Gamini Wickramapala, “Sinhala language training and document translation has been a long-felt necessity because of the lack of staff members’ proficiency in the Sinhala language and documentation in Sinhala. Thanks to this USAID SCORE support, this shortcoming, which caused friction between the two communities, will be addressed”. The official handing over of the translated documents is planned for January 2019. The North Vavuniya PS is committed to deliver quality services in both national languages in order to build inter-communal trust and be compliant with the law and the 2017 National Policy on Reconciliation and Co-Existence which stipulates that the “state has the obligation by law and policy to create conditions that all citizens obtain written and oral responses in any of the official languages or link language of his or her choice at all state institutions, be they governmental, provincial, local governmental.”
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Vavuniya North Pradeshiya Sabha (VPNS) Chairman Mr. S. Thanikasalam (Center), Sinhala language instructor Mr. V. Thamilchelvan (Left from Chairman) and some of the language trainees at the launch of the Sinhala language program on November 21st, 2018 at the VPNS auditorium. (Photo by: Kantharaja Nithilan)
Sinhala language classes for Tamil-speaking officers of the VPNS in progress at the VNPS auditorium in order to improve services delivery to Sinhala residents who constitute a minority in the area. (Photo by: Kantharaja Nithilan)
Sub-purpose 3: Enhance community resilience
Result 3.1: Increased access to psychosocial and trauma healing services
In Q2, SCORE strategic partner Shanthiham continued to address collective recovery from trauma through the psychosocial rehabilitation of conflict-affected populations in SCORE’s five Jaffna target communities. Shanthiham’s positive healing interventions and referrals to clinical services, are now being directly linked to SCORE’s livelihoods support and other services through sub-grantees like RDF in SCORE target GN divisions (Kollankalladdy /Kankasanthurai; Illavali NW; Vasavillan E; Palai Veemankammam N; Palai Veemankammam S) in the DS division of Tellipalai in Jaffna. For the families resettling these GN divisions this has been a highly traumatic
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experience, as their villages were destroyed and still lack access to basic services, such as education and potable water. The need for psychosocial intervention is great as social ills abound in these communities including alcoholism and domestic violence.
Shanthiham PSS counselor addressing the community core group on December 13th, 2018 in Palai Veemankamam. Palai Vemmankamam is a mono-ethnic GN division in Tellipalai, Jaffna made up of former IDPs and a large number of female- headed households. The protracted war and displacement, life in IDP camps, and loss of loved ones, properties and livelihoods have had a negative bearing on the psychosocial health of this community (Photo by: Shanthiham)
Shanthiham began on October 1st to deliver their Training of Trainers (ToT) program in psycho- social trauma counseling in accordance with their well-established Core Group Model method. Shanthiham selected 20 ToT participants (19 female, and 1 male) and delivered didactic and field- based TOT and supported trainees to establish, train and mentor core groups to spearhead community-based psychosocial support. A core group helps to identify individuals in a community who are in need of psychosocial support; assists counselors/psychosocial workers in interventions; prepares those in need for social integration and/or referrals; contributes to village level awareness programs; and collaborates with CSOs like RDF and government and other stakeholders for better service provision and referrals. Core groups are also a vital resource in helping to remove the stigma associated with mental illness and raising awareness on access to services, while also lobbying for better services.
ToT participants were selected competitively from the 5 target communities listed above and were given practical training in community psychosocial principles. Their ToT was combined with class room learning based on Mental Health and Psychosocial (MHPS) work using the manual, ‘Mental Health in the Tamil Community’, which is a cultural adaptation of the WHO/UNHCR manual, ‘Mental Health of Refugees’ (De Jong, 2002). Field training included hospital visits and exposure to the MHPSS Organizations where psychosocial interventions include education on issues concerning common psychosocial problems, child rights, gender, elderly, disability, alcohol and drugs, and other social problems, counselling and listening, cultural methods, networking with other services, group and family work, and use of creative arts. Shanthiham’s 30-day PSS training equipped these volunteer trainees to address mental health and psychosocial issues in their communities and refer trauma cases (including SGBV) to divisional and district based government and NGO service providers. In Q3, Shanthiham will also engage local government staff to raise
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awareness and increase knowledge about mental health and the need for trauma healing, and to promote referrals and mainstream PSS considerations into sectors such as economic development, civil documentation and public administration.
In Q2, in order to support PSS and trauma healing outside of northern Sri Lanka, SCORE solicited and reviewed grant applications from organizations who are able to address PSS needs outside these regions. In Q2, USAID approved a grant to the Family Rehabilitation Center to implement the ‘Rehabilitate Services for People Affected by Violence Related Trauma (RESPECT) project in the Monaragala and Trincomalee districts, where there is significant need for Psychosocial Support Services (PSS) as a result of the trauma experienced through conflict, which has consequently led to the deterioration of social structures and social values, and the onset of poverty. Beginning in Q3, FRC will contribute to the restoration of individual, family and community well-being through the provision of psychosocial care for survivors of violence related trauma caused by conflict and/or gender-based violence, and the promotion of active participation in community leadership and reconciliation.
Shanthiham core group members engage in interactive training in Vasailan East on December 21st, 2019. The training was on ‘Understanding Psychosocial Problems’ and core group members discussed the psychosocial problems encountered in their villages. (Photo by: Shanthiham)
Result 3.2: Increased opportunities for youth and women to exercise leadership in promoting responsible citizenship and reconciliation
In Q2, SCORE strategic partner the Association for War-Affected Women (AWAW) continued to deliver training and networking opportunities to female political leaders in SCORE’s priority districts to increase their engagement in their respective constituencies and enable them to advocate for women’s rights. In Q2, the AWAW delivered a three-day workshop in Vavuniya for 25 Jaffna-based female political leaders to empower them to take action in their communities to promote social cohesion and reconciliation. The venue was changed from Jaffna to Vavuniya and conducted as a residential program to promote greater bonding and understanding between the participants who represented several GN divisions in Jaffna. A lesson learned from the AWAW
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Monaragala workshop in Q1 was that the female political leaders did not opt for a residential training as they were from the area and went home immediately after the day’s program. Thus, they were not able to spend much time discussing issues pertaining to the district and agree on a common approach. Shifting the venue paid dividends in the form of closer interaction between the participants, and generating a greater interest in SCORE activities. Training participants were encouraged to demonstrate leadership to address conflict stressors in their constituencies that are dividing communities; conceptualize proposals for meaningful intervention with the guidance of both SCORE and AWAW; and apply for SCORE grant funds to implement those activities. Thus, the training event provided a platform for female leaders from the same district to bond over the need to address issues of common concern. Training participants were encouraged to use their knowledge and skills gained to mitigate disputes and advance social cohesion and reconciliation in their communities and beyond. According to Ms. Sivakala Kantheiya, one of the training participants, those attending “learned how to solve conflicts and felt that workshop activities were extremely practical and useful.”
Participants engage in group work at the AWAW workshop, December 13th - 15th, 2018, Vavuniya. The AWAW workshop provided an opportunity for women political leaders to network and receive training on how to promote reconciliation. in their communities.
On October 31st, SCORE supported the Association of War Affected Women (AWAW) to hold its “18th Anniversary Celebration of UNSCR 1325” in Kandy. AWAW convened a multi-ethnic audience to discuss the progress made and challenges remaining in Sri Lanka since the UN Security Council passed this resolution on Women, Peace and Security on October 31st 2000. AWAW produced a 5-minute video for the occasion entitled “1325 Journey”. The event also featured a panel discussion entitled “Implementing UNSCR 1325 on Women Peace and Security in Sri Lanka – the Opportunities and Challenges”. On November 10th, the Association of War Affected Women (AWAW) and other Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) convened a half-day conference on “The Road to Reconciliation: Justice, Hope and Dignity in Sri Lanka” at the BMICH in Colombo. The event was attended by H.E. President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumarathunga and included a panel discussion on the “Ground Realities on Sri Lanka’s Road to Reconciliation”, which SCORE staff moderated. In addition to highlighting and discussing policy priorities related to advancing the national reconciliation agenda, the event also served to strengthen and unite Sri Lanka’s CSO community in their determination to advance the reconciliation agenda regardless of the current political crisis.
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In Q2, USAID approved sub grants to train youth from SCORE’s Y1 priority districts on reconciliation, peace building, community mobilization, collaboration for local development, and to engage and advocate with local authorities to build public awareness on these topics through collaborative activities. Beginning in Q3, SCORE sub-grantee FOSDOO, through their ‘Strengthening youth to promote mutual understanding and co-existence among multi-ethnic communities’ project, will implement a youth development and leadership program in multi-ethnic villages in Vavuniya district to engage youth productively in community development initiatives that promote reconciliation and social cohesion. FOSDOO will sensitize selected youth leaders on their roles and civic responsibilities and create a platform for young people to foster multi- ethnic understanding.
In Q2, USAID approved a sub-grant to Search for Common Ground Sri Lanka (SfCG) to, in partnership with the National Youth Model United Nations (NYMUN), empower youth from different ethnic backgrounds to collaborate to lead efforts to promote reconciliation and pluralism using social media. Given the outsized negative role played by social media in the area of reconciliation and inter-communal relations in Sri Lanka, SCORE took the first step in Q2 with the SfCG sub-grant to begin to define SCORE’s social media strategy and determine what constructive role SCORE should play in the social media space. The SfCG grant will support youth to create social media content; and collaborate with external stakeholders to engage across identity groups with the aim of creating content that transcends respective group echo chambers and promotes reconciliation, pluralism and co-existence on social media platforms to counter negative stereotypes, prejudice and hatred. For example, online rumors that a shop in Ampara was lacing their food with sterility drugs and serving it to Sinhala customers resulted in attacks on the Muslim shopkeeper and surrounding Muslim community in late February 2018. It is often impressionable youth, riled by rumors spread through social media who instigate inter-ethnic violence.
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Priorities for the next reporting period (Jan – Mar 2019)
Conduct Baseline Data Collection; Gender and social inclusion analysis; EPI coordination Q3 Pause and Reflect Learning & Adapting Review (Analysis of EPI research)
Result 1.1: Communities engage constructively in reconciliation processes Identify and support community platform members to identify conflict stressors & threats to cohesion and to design initiatives to address these; conduct participatory conflict analyses; Award sub-grants support for community-identified priorities (incorporating EPI research) Train government representatives on PACE, conflict sensitivity, and dispute resolution Result 1.2: Citizen-driven initiatives and networks strengthened to promote social cohesion and reconciliation across divided communities Facilitate community platforms to engage other communities to identify and propose solutions to shared stressors Award sub-grants/in-kind grants to support cluster activities that address shared stressors Foster linkages among CSOs and community platforms to plan joint activities; Result 1.3: Improved local and national government institutions and processes promoting social cohesion and reconciliation Provide TA to national stakeholders (e.g. PSC) based on identified opportunities such as policy implementation training for local authorities;
Result 2.1: Recovery and resettlement of conflict affected populations advanced Provide TA to local authorities and CSOs to improve recovery and resettlement services and award sub-grants to support livelihood interventions for conflict-affected populations; Work with VT providers/businesses to link to training opportunities for conflict-affected populations Result 2.2: Improved economic opportunities for the most marginalized communities Facilitate RCPs to identify and prioritize projects to address community socioeconomic needs Provide sub-grants/in-kind grants for community-prioritized socioeconomic projects Provide grants to CSOs to provide financial literacy training to target communities Result 2.3: Local governments and CBOs strengthened to provide sustainable services to the most marginalized communities and populations Train CSO and community representatives on the government administrative system, responsibilities of local authorities and strategies to assist communities to address grievances; Provide TA and training to service providers to build their capacity to deliver services equitably and inclusively; build capacity of village-level women’s groups and community leaders to support women to access services and resources;
Result 3.1: Increased access to psychosocial and trauma healing services Raise awareness among local government staff to promote referrals and mainstream PSS considerations; solicit sub-grants for public awareness campaigns to reduce the stigma of trauma and improve recognition; Result 3.2: Increased opportunities for youth and women to exercise leadership in promoting responsible citizenship and reconciliation Award sub-grants to train youth on reconciliation; advocacy; and community mobilization and collaborative action and support youth-led public awareness and advocacy programs Identify opportunities to mobilize youth and women’s networks to provide input into advocacy initiatives on reconciliation plans.
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Learning and Adaptation
The SCORE team takes a purposeful approach to creating, sharing, using and managing the knowledge and information generated on the SCORE project. SCORE has been designed with a flexible approach to data collection, frequent real-time analysis and knowledge sharing, and responsive management to inform programmatic adaptations that maximize learning and the achievement of program objectives. Collaborating, learning, adapting (CLA) is integrated into all phases of SCORE implementation and MEL activities and guides program operations and decision making through the LOA. The SCORE approach to CLA acknowledges that learning is a continuous process that must be participatory, systematically planned for, adequately resourced, and well integrated into the project life cycle.
SCORE Team Q2 Partners’ Meeting: On November 29th the SCORE team used its quarterly pause and reflect session to convene strategic partners NPC, AWAW and Shanthiham and six prospective sub-grantees to present ongoing and proposed activities for the purpose of closer coordination, collaboration and integration of ongoing and upcoming SCORE activities. The SCORE team presented on SCORE’s holistic model of grassroots, bottom-up community-driven programming to show how each partner contributes to promoting an integrated model of community-driven social cohesion and reconciliation programming. In addition, SCORE partner USIP presented on the status of United States Institute of Peace’s Everyday Peace Indicator (EPI) research activity in SCORE target areas.
USAID SCORE partners convene to discuss their collaboration, learning and adapting on SCORE and learn how the activities of each partner fit into the SCORE model of bottom-up grassroots community-driven reconciliation programming. (SCORE team Quarterly Pause and Reflect meeting on November 29th, 2018 at Sri Lanka Foundation, Colombo. (Photo by: Ayesha Zuhair)
Everyday Peacebuilding Indicator research: In Q2, SCORE continued close collaboration with USIP on the implementation of the EPI research activity which is eliciting micro, local-level indicators of reconciliation from 30 Grama Niladhari (GN) divisions across Sri Lanka and serves as an external learning tool to inform and complement SCORE and provide information and
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analysis on reconciliation dynamics in Sri Lanka to the broader USAID Mission. The diagnostic EPI research serves to inform, adapt and evaluate SCORE’s community-driven reconciliation programming. In Q3, SCORE will leverage EPI diagnostics to guide interventions through active participation in a series of learning sessions, to be facilitated by USIP. The EPI research activity is on track and is expected to be completed around mid-March 2019. USIP will consolidate EPI indicators into a report with accompanying analysis by end March 2019. Meanwhile, a USIP team will plan for a learning event on EPI indicators in March. Once the EPI report is issued, USIP, SCORE and USAID will review and agree on: (a) how best to adopt and integrate the findings into SCORE programming; and (b) select indicators used to conduct a baseline survey. SCORE will also coordinate with USIP on the USIP baseline survey to be launched in May 2019. Applying the EPI methodology on SCORE constitutes a significant effort to promote USAID Collaborating, Learning and Adaptive (CLA) programming.
SCORE Baseline Survey: In Q2, the SCORE team undertook preparations to launch the SCORE baseline survey in Q3. The baseline assessments will provide critical reference points for assessing change, effectiveness, and impact over the life of the activity (LOA). The baseline assessments will also provide a snapshot of the conditions in selected SCORE-targeted GN Divisions before the start of programming, as well as to catalogue the challenges and opportunities faced by specific constituencies in the target areas including local government, CSOs/CBOs, women and youth. The baseline assessment will also establish a reference point for local government capacity and citizen perceptions surrounding social cohesion and reconciliation. Specifically, the baseline provides: baseline values to be able to assess tangible progress (or lack thereof) of key performance indicators in select target GN Divisions related to social cohesion and reconciliation, such as citizen knowledge and perceptions of local reconciliation mechanisms and national reconciliation policies or initiatives levels of intra- and inter-communal trust in local institutions; awareness of available resources and services at the village, GN Division, and District levels; baseline information about citizen priorities for development, service improvements, or economic opportunities in each GN Division and village.
SCORE’s comprehensive gender and social inclusion (GSI) analysis: In Q2, the SCORE team laid the groundwork for conducting the GSI survey in Q3. The GSI analysis will help the SCORE team understand: 1) the gender-based constraints experienced by women and men (youth and adult) and girls and boys from different ethnic and religious groups at the grassroots level; 2) provide sex and age disaggregated data related gender and youth dynamics at the village level; 3) provide an accurate distribution of men, women, youth, and members of marginalized groups in target villages to ensure that opportunities and benefits of SCORE-related outcomes are equally distributed; 4) provide the framework for an inclusive AMEL System that will be used throughout program implementation to guide learning and adaptation. Recommendations from the analysis will be incorporated directly into activities and materials, including all conflict mitigation and reconciliation and leadership training and materials, and psychosocial support services’ and the design of reconciliation and coexistence initiatives so as to ensure that women’s human rights are respected, protected and fulfilled. And while recognizing that large numbers of women have been victims of conflict and violence and require redress and reparation, they must be actively engaged as equal partners in the reconciliation and coexistence process with space to contribute and participate in dignity.
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In Q2, the SCORE team also laid the groundwork for other research initiatives that may be launched in Q3, including: a survey of Sri Lanka’s private sector CEOs to elicit the thoughts and opinions of the private sector on Sri Lanka’s efforts to promote reconciliation and what role the private sector might play. as part of SCORE’s community engagement in Q2 we learned about the harmful impact of predatory lending on community cohesion, especially in rural areas. SCORE will look to commission research on this phenomenon to understand its impact on community social cohesion throughout Sri Lanka. exploring what positive role community radio might play to address psycho-social trauma in Sri Lanka.
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Actual Expenditures vs. Budget
Expenses for Previous Expenses for Authorized Period Current Period Budget Categories Ceiling Fy18 Q4 FY19 Q1 Balance
Personnel 1,654,477.50 83,274.19 54,335.74 1,516,867.57
Fringe & Allowances 841,317.74 54,930.23 41,354.16 745,033.35
Consultants 105,321.86 17,992.08 40,547.63 46,782.15
Travel 349,847.07 41,196.98 6,823.96 301,826.13
Equipment & Supplies 216,239.75 8,828.47 31,669.43 175,741.85
Contracts 63,500.00 - - 63,500.00
Partner Sub-awards 1,468,999.00 30,214.00 54,551.00 1,384,234.00
Grants Pool 3,000,000.00 - - 3,000,000.00 Other Program Activities 218,529.35 4,125.86 8,458.78 205,944.71
Other Operating Costs 671,367.38 9,974.55 36,153.77 625,239.06
Total Direct Cost 8,589,599.65 250,536.36 273,894.47 8,065,168.82
Indirect Cost 1,410,346.93 55,356.92 59,533.44 1,295,456.57
Total Cost 9,999,946.58 305,807.00 333,427.91 9,360,711.67
Quarterly Report: Sri Lanka Social Cohesion and Reconciliation Activity (SCORE) Report Period: October – December 2018 1
Annex 1: SCORE Grants Summary Matrix
SCORE USAID Grants Matrix.xlsx
Quarterly Report: Sri Lanka Social Cohesion and Reconciliation Activity (SCORE) Report Period: October – December 2018 2
Annex 2: Q2 Performance Indicator Tracking Table
Summary PITT For report.xlsx
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