Small scale development projects:

Australia grants Rs 9.8 mn

Hemanthi GURUGE

The Australian Government's Direct Aid programme yesterday granted Rs 9.8 million to eight community based organizations for small scale development projects in the country.

The grant is available for non-profit community development activities.

The programme provides assistance to a wide range of groups including women, children, elderly, disabled, rural, poor etc. It encourages community participation in identifying, designing and implementing projects. Acting Australian High Commissioner Sophia McIntyre said during the ceremony that the programme assists local organizations seeking to reduce poverty and support sustainable development in their communities. "Arrangements are being made to monitor the progress of the project," she added.

The organizations which received funding from the Direct Aid programme included Community Development Services, Kurunegala to provide training for aspiring migrant workers, Equality based Community Support and Training, Galle to build inclusive villages to assist the disabled community, Wilgamuwa Women's Development Association, Matale for an income generation project, Sri Lanka Council for Visually Handicapped Graduates, Moratuwa for the development of digital audio books, Child Vision/Forum Against Gender Based Violence, Puttalam for capacity building of children and disabled, Society for People Centered Development, Colombo for the eradication of squalid conditions of basic amenities in underserved settlements, Association for War Affected Widows in Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Batticaloa to upgrade sanitation facilities for disabled persons and James Cook University and Jaffna University for the delivery of block mode medical immunobiology course for third year medical faculty students.