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| Saturday, 19 June 2004 |
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by Nadira Gunatilleke Sri Lankan children are happy with their life and in particular in their school life says a survey carried out in collaboration with the Swedish Children's Ombudsman, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), Sri Lanka National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) and the Sarvodaya Movement. Swedish Children's Ombudsman Ms. Lena Nyberg disclosing their findings in the survey at a press briefing held at Galle Face Hotel, Colombo yesterday said that boys and girls were equally happy. There are almost no differences between age groups. Only IDP areas (Internally Displaced Persons) have lower score which is about 53. "School" is more popular than "friends" with scores 83 and 80 followed by "family relations" which is 76. The average is 72 on a scale from zero to 100. This can be compared to 88 in Sweden, 66 in Peru and 60 in Kosovo where the survey has been carried out so far. But the main problem faced by Sri Lankan and Swedish children is lack of opportunities to express themselves in the society and through mass media, she added. Sri Lankan children are least satisfied with their possibilities to "participate in the society and in media" which is 55. This is followed by the "safety from crime" which is 57 and from "external threats" (war, natural disasters and HIV/AIDS) with the score of 59. The survey has arrived at these conclusions after perusing through the response they collected from children. The questions posed were in the areas of food, housing, health, family economy, family relations, friends, leisure conditions, leisure activities, school conditions, school participation, other participation, safety from crimes, afraid for threats and vulnerability to things such as hunger, parents divorce or desertion, poverty, bullying, domestic violence and sexual abuse. The methodology followed in carrying out the survey gave the impact how the different life components connected to children's well-being. Family relations, housing, leisure activities and confidence for the future have the strongest impact on the total quality of life for children in Sri Lanka. The survey has covered about 2000 children live in 19 districts all over the country including North and East. She also said that in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Vietnam, Tanzania and Peru similar studies are conducted and the findings of Sri Lankan study will useful for making Sri Lankan children's life better. |
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