Social work: A nourishing agent for rural development in Sri Lanka

Dr. Mathu H. Liyanage

Social services is the provision of services to meet the basic needs of an individual such as food, clothing and shelter and other services geared towards this end by providing material aid whereas social work focuses on the strengths and weaknesses of an individual and provides him/her support to sort them out in order to realize his/her potential and become a self-reliant, self-confident and a productive person in the community. It is really self-actualization - to turn potentiality to actuality. The person becomes the best he/she can be.

This mentality on the part of the successive governments in Sri Lanka forced most of the officers professionally qualified in social work to seek employment in other countries such as USA, UK and Australia. Those who did not possess qualifications equivalent to a degree in social work were unfortunately left out.

Even the Ceylon School of Social Work in the 1960s and 1970s produced only diplomats with a 2-year diploma certificate. This fell far too short as other countries insisted on a degree in social work or equivalent qualifications. For instance, Australia insisted that the qualifications should be approved by the Australian Association of Social Workers to migrate to Australia.

It is laudable that the government of Sri Lanka established the National Institute of Social Development (NISD) in 1992- the premier institution of higher learning in social work education, training and research. The University Grants Commission recognized it as a degree awarding institution in Sri Lanka. The primary aim of NISD is to produce professional social workers to service the social welfare system by enhancing human resources for social development.

The Ceylon School of Social Work, which comes under the umbrella of NISD, now conducts a 2-year Diploma program in social work, 4-year Bachelor of Arts program in social work, and 2-year Master of Social Work degree program.

Sri Lanka is predominantly an agricultural country with an agriculture-based economy. About 80 per cent of the population lives in rural areas. The incidence of poverty is high in the rural sector compared with the urban and estate sectors.

Poverty in Sri Lanka is mainly a rural phenomenon, the rural sector accounting for about four to fifths of aggregate poverty according to the Department of Census and Statistics survey, 1990-91.

It is heartening to note that the World Bank’s Sri Lanka Director Naoko Ishii, in a recent communiqu‚, commended the rural poverty alleviation program ‘Gemi Diriya’ in empowering the poor and raising incomes in some poorer provinces such as Uva, Southern and Sabaragamuwa. It has financed 2,140 community infrastructure sub-projects, generated about 18,500 jobs and provided livelihood activities to 140,000 households. It has also proved highly successful in transferring control over decision-making and financial resources to rural communities.

Nevertheless, the incidence of poverty prevailing in rural areas speaks loudly for the upliftment of agriculture and agrarian services. President Mahinda Rajapaksa was quite right when he recently declared that Sri Lanka should develop its agriculture-based economy in preference to industrialization favoured by the Western countries. He believes that, once the agriculture based economy is well-developed, other industries and trades would follow on the heels of the improved and sustainable agricultural economy.

To give effect to this far-sighted thinking, it is essential that officers with social work qualifications should be involved in projects at grass root levels. They are equipped to execute programs of development than any other as they have learnt the theories and techniques of working with individuals, groups and communities, including leadership roles.

This might also enable them to realize their own potentials by involving themselves in rural developmental projects. In the course of their duties, they may well be in a position to suggest or recommend who should really be able to maintain and sustain such projects without allowing them to lapse into inaction or decay, as has been the case in the past.

Needless to say that correct planning, organization and execution of rural projects with socially-biased skilful workers at grass root levels can make a tremendous contribution to realize the government mission to make Sri Lanka a model country with an agriculture based economy to surpass or be on a par with other countries that opt for industrialization.