“Development is about transforming the lives of people, not just transforming economies”
– Joseph E. Stiglitz –
Community Economic Development involves the identification, dissemination, and application of effective best practices for Community Action Agencies and Allied Groups. The goals of community economic development include community revitalization, construction and rehabilitation of affordable housing, promotion of sustainability, attraction of investments, creation of wealth, encouragement of entrepreneurship, and the creation of job opportunities. As branches of the Rotaract movement, each club has the responsibility to execute programs to energize the community’s economic development. The 32nd Rotaract District Assembly highlighted three such outstanding projects under the heading of “Community Economic Development” that had a profound effect on society.
ප්රජා ආර්ථික සංවර්ධනය වනාහි ප්රජා ක්රියාකාරී නියෝජි ආයතන සහ අනුබද්ධ කණ්ඩායම් සඳහා ඵලදායී හොඳම භාවිතයන් හඳුනා ගැනීම, බෙදා හැරීම සහ යෙදවීම ආදිය ඇතුළත් වන පුළුල් විෂය පථයකි. ප්රජා ආර්ථික සංවර්ධනයේ ඉලක්ක අතරට ප්රජා පුනර්ජීවනය, දැරිය හැකි මිලකට නිවාස ඉදිකිරීම සහ පුනරුත්ථාපනය කිරීම, තිරසාරත්වය ප්රවර්ධනය කිරීම, ආයෝජන ආකර්ෂණය කර ගැනීම, ධනය උත්පාදනය කිරීම, ව්යවසායකත්වය දිරිගැන්වීම සහ රැකියා අවස්ථා නිර්මාණය කිරීම ඇතුළත් වේ. රොටරැක්ට් ව්යාපාරයේ ශාඛාවන් වශයෙන්, ප්රජා ආර්ථික සංවර්ධනයට ශක්තියක් වන වැඩසටහන් ක්රියාත්මක කිරීමේ වගකීම සෑම සමාජයකටම ඇත. 32 වැනි රොටරැක්ට් දිස්ත්රික් සභාව මගින් සමාජයට ප්රබල බලපෑමක් ඇති කළ “ප්රජා ආර්ථික සංවර්ධනය” යන මාතෘකාව යටතේ එවැනි කැපී පෙනෙන ව්යාපෘති තුනක් ඉස්මතු කරන ලදී.
சமூகப் பொருளாதார மேம்பாடு என்பது சமூக நடவடிக்கை, முகமைகள் மற்றும் அதனுடன் தொடர்புடைய குழுக்களுக்கான பயனுள்ள சிறந்த நடைமுறைகளை அடையாளம் காணுதல், பரப்புதல் மற்றும் பயன்படுத்துதல் ஆகியவற்றை உள்ளடக்கியது. சமூகப் பொருளாதார மேம்பாட்டின் குறிக்கோள்களில் சமூக மறுமலர்ச்சி, கட்டுப்படியாகக்கூடிய வீட்டுவசதிகளை நிர்மாணித்தல் மற்றும் மறுவாழ்வு செய்தல், நிலைத்தன்மையை மேம்படுத்துதல், முதலீடுகளை ஈர்த்தல், செல்வத்தை உருவாக்குதல், தொழில் முனைவோர் ஊக்குவிப்பு மற்றும் வேலை வாய்ப்புகளை உருவாக்குதல் ஆகியவை அடங்கும். ரோட்ராக்ட் இயக்கத்தின் கிளைகளாக, சமூகத்தின் பொருளாதார வளர்ச்சிக்கு ஊக்கமளிக்கும் திட்டங்களை செயல்படுத்தும் பொறுப்பு ஒவ்வொரு கிளப்பிற்கும் உள்ளது. 32வது ரோட்டராக்ட் மாவட்டச் சபையானது சமூகத்தில் ஆழமான தாக்கத்தை ஏற்படுத்திய “சமூகப் பொருளாதார மேம்பாடு” என்ற தலைப்பின் கீழ் இதுபோன்ற மூன்று சிறந்த திட்டங்களை எடுத்துரைத்தது.
Gold – Wew Diyawara Aswaddannata – Rotaract Club of Uwa Wellassa University – Badulla
“WEW DIYAWARA ASWADDANTA” is one of the most exceptional projects carried out by the Rotaract Club of Uva Wellassa University – Badulla to enhance rural agriculture by focusing on Nochiyagama-Katumulugama village and on the farmers who are currently engaged in farming.
The key objectives of this initiative are to educate farmers who are the main beneficiaries of this project, on the fundamentals of consistently producing organic fertilizer and to increase the usage of organic fertilizers. Along with these primary goals, they paid attention to providing clean, sanitary tanks and eradicating pollution to provide irrigation facilities for agricultural activities, reduce the number of harmful chemicals released while farming, and ensure a sufficient supply of drinking and hygienic water.
Community meetings, asset inventory, surveys, interviews, focus groups, and community mapping are the six tools used to conduct the community assessment. They collect information by visiting local councils, questionnaires, and conducting interviews with relevant authorities and responsible persons. Finally, by establishing an Agrarian Service Committee they conclude the project successfully.
Silver – Gamwardhanaya – Rotaract Club of University of Colombo, Faculty of Management and Finance
“Gamwardhanaya” is one of the greatest projects carried out by the Rotaract Club of the Faculty of Management and Finance – at the University of Colombo to elevate the living standards of 42+ families of the village named Kindagalla in the Bibile area of the Uva Province, Monaragala district. This project comes to a reality with the utmost financial and nonfinancial contributions of the Mitsubishi Corporation.
The project was conducted in 3 phases covering the following SDGs.
Phase 1 – “Diyawara” (Clean Water and Sanitization)
Phase 2 – “Nanawara” (Developing and refurbishing the village school – Naagala Sri Piyarathana Kanishtha Vidyalaya)
Phase 3 – “Mehewara” (Maternal Health and Childcare, Economic Development, Disease Prevention, Protecting the Environment, Peace and Conflict Management)
Phase 1 – “Diyawara”
The construction of the well, the pump house, and the water tank structure was the largest aspect of this project, highlighting the SGD goal 06 Clean Water and Sanitation and the third Rotary Focus Area of “Water and Sanitation.” Villagers had a great deal of happiness and satisfaction after this phase. They expressed their gratitude to God through the Dewa Danaya, exactly what was intended in exchange for all the effort, commitment, and sacrifice.
Phase 2 – “Nanawara”
Naagala “Sri Piyarathana Kanishtha Vidyalaya” – Village School was developed and renovated under this phase. Members of the Rotaract Club painted the exterior of the school’s eight buildings. They offered some gifts of sporting goods, carpets, chairs, and tables for the school’s library and computer lab to provide the kids with the best possible use of the facilities. On the other hand, some talented kids had won multiple music competitions by borrowing from nearby schools due to a lack of musical instruments. This allowed them to donate a few musical instruments, including a surpina, violins, and flutes.
Phase 3 – “Mehewara”
Covering the Rotary Focus Area of “Maternal Health and Childcare”, they provide dry rations and baby goods to 25 pregnant mothers. Under economic development, they were able to provide tools for a group of villagers including sewing machines, masonry tools, and fishing rods that facilitates self-employment. In line with disease prevention, a medical camp was held to raise awareness of the condition known as “Anemia”.
To cover up the Rotary Focus Area of “Environmental Protection”, they have cultivated plants and made the school’s exterior attractive and tidy. The establishment of a registered society with the participation of a few villagers to maintain, clean, and carry out daily tasks like paying the electricity bill of the water system focus on the area of peace and conflict management.
Bronze – The Beekeeper – Rotaract Club of Kandy
Rotaract Club of Kandy has determined that poverty has been a persistent problem in our society for many years. This affects people’s living standards, which ultimately results in a lack of access to a good education and necessities. They have also examined there is lack of knowledge among the general public about honeybees and their uses.
RAC Kandy commenced the “Beekeeper” project, a bee farming initiative carried out in a predetermined neighborhood in the Gatembe Grama Sevaka Division. It is chosen based on the government authorities’ recommendations. Gatambe, nearer to the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens, provides a favorable environment for bees. They chose 10 households for whom they would provide instruction and the tools required for bee farming, as well as customers for their honey. Consequently, creating beehive habitats while giving families a reliable source of extra money.
The first phase of “Beekeeper” was launched on 24.05.2022 at the Sri Subadhraramaya Temple, by giving instructions and a brief overview of bee husbandry. They believe that society at large will be benefitted from this project, as also it provides safe places for Bees to breed and expand their nests, which would directly and positively affect our ecosystem. It’s anticipated that the remaining phases will also begin in the upcoming months.
These projects are well deserved for the awards they won, and finally, we, RACUOCFMF, appreciate the great work done for society by executing such valuable projects.
Thank you to all fellow clubs and fellow Rotaractors for providing us with the details necessary for this article. Stay tuned for the tenth article of this novel series.
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