LATEST BATCH OF JICA VOLUNTEERS ARRIVE IN SRI LANKA

The latest batch of JICA volunteers arrived in Sri Lanka on October 11. These young Japanese volunteers are here to provide services in their specific fields of expertise. JICA volunteers are sent to developing nations as a part of the Japanese Government’s Technical Cooperation Programme, and their activities are aimed at providing assistance in economic and social development at grassroots level. All such volunteers undergo prior training in the languages of their host countries, and with regard to Sri Lanka, they conduct their activities in Sinhala or Tamil, depending on the region they are assigned.

This new batch of nine JICA volunteers will be engaged in the provision of services in a wide range of fields which include environmental education (in Kandy and Kundasale), Baseball (in Kandy), photography (in Colombo), soccer (in Jaffna), elderly care (in Batticaloa), primary education (in Mannar), dress making (Jaffna) and marketing (in Jaffna). The volunteers will be attached to institutions coming under several ministries. Eights of the nine volunteers will work in Sri Lanka for a period of two years, while the other will be in the country for a period of 20 months.

Currently there are 60 volunteers working in all 9 provinces, and since the introduction of the programme in 1981, over 1100 JICA volunteers have served in Sri Lanka.