ILO - improving livelihoods and empowering war widows

VAVUNIYA - The Local Empowerment through Economic Development (LEED) project is an AUSAID (Australian Government through the Australian Agency for International Development) funded initiative that is implemented by the International Labour Organization (LO) in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Labour Relations.

With US$ 800,000 the project commenced operations in February 201 and now covers Vavuniya, Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts. It is most likely to be continued up to June 2015 with additional funds of $300,000, according to ILO sources.

At the ILO Sub-Office In Vavuniya, two weeks back, Joe Connolly, Chief Technical Officer, ILO LEED Project said that the objective of the project has been to promote inclusive economic development by creating descent jobs for all and ensuring sustainable livelihoods.

The sectors covered under this project are paddy, fruit and vegetables and fisheries and the ILO has made various negotiations to connect these activities to supply chains, production, processing, and markets through producer associations, large companies, SMEs and trade chambers.

The main thrust and the core basis has been propoor policies and practices, extending benefits to the members of the community involving mainly cooperative centres. Under the project already paddy mills, fruit processing plants, crab meat processing plants and fibre glass boat manufacturing yard has been established.

In these areas due to the prolonged war many have lost their livelihoods and in many families the bread-winners were lost forcing many widows to lead their families in female-headed households. The core of this LEED project is to ensure livelihoods as much as possible to these most needed persons, including a number of war widows.

More than 250 fruit out-growers have been helped. In this manner a large number of people are being assisted to establish themselves in various businesses. War widows are employed in the factories such as crab meat processing, in the boatyard and in the paddy mills.

From the beginning all these activities are linked with the nine multi-purpose cooperatives in these districts and now ILO is concentrating on building up the management capacity development, the training needs of these cooperatives and to enhance their membership drive.

To take stock of the progress already on the project and to update on cooperative development, a two day ‘Development Planning Workshop was held recently in Jaffna. Ms Madumathi Wasanthakumaran, Cooperative Commissioner, Northern Province appraised the Cooperative Society officers numbering around 50 of the correct procedures to be followed in making the cooperative movement successful and to ensure its continuous existence.

Along with Mr Connolly, Ms Simel Esim, Pro- gramme Manager, Cooperatives Branch, Job Creation and Enterprise Development Department, ILO Headquarters, Geneva was present during the entire workshop to share the international experience and to make these Cooperative Society Officials aware of many cooperative success stories in various parts of the world.

The workshop educated the participants how to streamline the accounting systems, how to develop management skills, transparency and how to involve the membership in the activities of these cooperative societies, rather than confine to the chairmen and directors.

Upali Herath, an expert on the cooperative movement in Sri Lanka and other countries, conducted the workshop and analysed the current status of participating cooperatives as social enterprises and to develop strategic plans for them.

Mr Herath discussed the need for legislation for cooperatives in the North; governance systems in cooperatives; capitalisation; economic activities; management; member relations and concern for community.

His analysis and enumerations were based on field observations made by an ILO Consultant from Geneva earlier after field visits to these cooperatives.

An ILO spokesperson told the BT on the sidelines of the workshop that their main approach now is to develop partnerships by these cooperatives with potential private sector companies to make marketing linkages for the products of these cooperatives. He said that in the beginning what they did was, they analysed the potential economics of paddy, fisheries, fruit and vegetables in the northern province.

Then, he said, they have identified the sectors and their value chain and how the price mechanism impacts on the conventional consumer. They have identified the weak areas in the value chain, where those poor people can be empowered to increase their income.

By this process, the ILO spokesman said that the poor are given an additional source of income. As in the case of paddy the ILO has provided training mostly for war widows on how to par boil paddy.

In the fruit and vegetable sector they have involved 200 vulnerable men and women. The spokesman said that eventually the members of the cooperatives receive more and more facilities

Different officials of the ILO Vavuniya unit are assigned to supervise and monitor the activities of the project and to maintain rapport with all the stakeholders.

Vavuniya North and Mulaitivu districts is assigned to S. Vasudev; Kilinochchi district comes under S. Thabesan while M. Farzan assists in the value chain development and looks after the cooperative development component of this project. Mr Connolly who is stationed in Vavuniya is in charge of the entire project.