Samurdhi Federations formed

Lakshmi de SILVA

Samurdhi Federations were formed at Thalahena and Gampaha recently to help the Samurdhi families who had stopped receiving poverty alleviation assistance and were engaged in income generating self employment to further enhance their economic status.

More than 400 selected participants from all the districts attended the inaugural work shops of the Samurdhi Federation, held under the Gama Neguma program at Thalahena and Gampaha, Samurdhi Director General Bandula Thilakasiri told the Daily News.

He said more than 300,000 Samurdhi beneficiaries have gone off the poverty alleviation assistance list as they no longer needed such help. From 1.9 million Samurdhi beneficiaries in 2006 now only 1.6 million remained, Thilakasiri said.

Sri Lanka’s poverty alleviation program with its loan schemes has provided Samurdhi families micro finance to start small scale business ventures in different fields such as animal husbandry, fishery, agriculture and other businesses.

Some of the Samurdhi families have achieved great success through these ventures and had raised their economic and living standards. Such families after some time do not come under the same category as Samurdhi beneficiaries, he said.

The new Samurdhi Federation would assist the samurdhi entrepreneurs would also get more bank loans from the Samurdhi Bank. Bank of Ceylon and People’s Bank.

The Federation will also find markets for their products, while facilitating bank loans

The Samurdhi Authority plans to form such Federations in Divisional Secretary areas in all the districts so that the higher income earner category could join the Federation and others who are lagging behind would also be encouraged to do better and progress, he noted.