The kitchen is not only the heart and soul of a home but also where many decisions – apart from food - are discussed and taken! This new series replaces the weekly commentary but deals with the same issues, concerns and developments, perhaps laced at time

Heck – this was one great way of delivering a serious development sermon laced with wit, entertainment and zany facial expressions. It indeed woke up the audience and the hour passed with everyone wide awake and glued to their seats.

This is about a presentation at an recent ILO event in Colombo hotel this week. Like the song ‘If Irish eyes are smiling’, Irishman Joe Connolly, ILO Consultant and former, Chief Technical Advisor of the ILO’s LEED Project, kept the audience spellbound with a 60-minute journey on how an ILO post conflict empowerment project, four years later had helped communities, empowered war widows and fishermen, raised issues, provided lessons, solutions and results. Even over lunch, Joe was seen cracking jokes with others at the table.

Never boring, it was like listening to a cricket commentary by legendary, the late Tony Greig complete with wit, history and facts. Some ‘nuggets’ from Joe’s discourse on the project to economically empower communities in Vavuniya, Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu:

· Dr. Upali Ranasinghe, Chairman of CR exports was a great help in providing markets for producers. Overnight ‘papaya was jumping out of a ground’. This guy (Upali) should be given a prize for believing in these conflict-affected men and women and their ability to deliver.

· Who knows, one fine day a New York entrepreneur might find that palmyrah toddy is great to remove the wrinkles off your face and make you beautiful. If that happens the palymrah industry will soar to another level.

· In the many countries I have worked, the leadership says “it cannot be done” when suggestions (from outsiders) are made. I then ask for their guidelines or manuals on processes and 90 per cent of the time there are