Community self-reliance objective, says HC:

Australian Direct Aid 2010 grants Rs 27 m

Dharma SRI ABEYRATNE

Australian Government Direct Aid Program granted Rs 11 million to nine community based organizations, conducting small scale development projects at grass roots level.

The grants were made by the Australian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Kathy Klugman on Wednesday, under the Direct Aid Program (DAP). The DAP has been granting funds on a non-profit basis activities to individuals and local community groups to carry out community based small scale projects.

Under this, water projects, livelihood development projects, self employment development projects, sanitary facilities, income generating means for low income families, establishing libraries etc will be carried out. The progress of these projects will directly be evaluated by the Australian High Commission in Colombo. Speaking at the granting ceremony, the High Commissioner Klugman said that, Australia has long taken pride in the DAP. The DAP provides community groups with direct benefits at grass roots level, to enhance their quality of life.

"Through DAP we are able to assist a number of disadvantaged groups, including women, children and the disabled. Therefore we are happy to support many community groups working in Sri Lanka to help their communities overcome challenges", Klugman added.

The projects encourage community participation in identification, designing and implementation of projects. The DAP has supported 28 projects in the 2009/2010 financial year with total funding of Rs 27 million.