A fishing community’s prize catch
With help from Norway’s Stromme Foundation a group of villagers of Munnakkaraya, Negombo learn to assist each other to build up their lives. and report
November 28 was a day of celebration for the villagers of Munnakkaraya, a fishing village in Negombo, as two of their own crossed the ocean to receive on their behalf the Help for SelfHelp Award presented by the Stromme Foundation of Norway.
Among the past recipients of this honour have been Nobel Prize winner Dr. Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh, Durga Ghimire of Nepal, and Bishop Paride Taban of Sudan. The village of Munnakkaraya was bestowed the Help for Self- Help Award for their commitment and community spirit in working towards independence and empowerment.
The award citation read: “Munnakkaraya Thrift and Credit Cooperative Society receiving the award this year recognises an extraordinary civil society group that has empowered a community and lifted them out of poverty.”
The Munnakkaraya Cooperative Society, begun in 1985 has seen sustained growth long years after support from the initial funding agency and implementing agency ended. The project was initiated and funded by Stromme Foundation and implemented with assistance from the organisation, Mary’s Friends of Norway.
Consultant to The Foundation Naseer Mohammed recalling its beginnings said he and a few others were determined to break the vicious cycle of poverty the villagers were trapped in, completely in the grip of local loan sharks who charged exorbitant interest rates. No bank would grant loans to this community given the risks of them being unable to repay. The Stromme Foundation helped set up small groups of five in which people saved money together. This proved to be the roots of the Munnakkaraya Thrift and Credit Co- Operative Society.
“There is a belief that fishermen cannot save. I think through the society we managed to change this idea,” the first president of the Society, Bernard Stanley told the Sunday Times. “Initially we used to save as little as five rupees. The total collection was about Rs 65,000. My first loan was just 500 rupees which I used to buy fishing nets,” he said.
As time went on, these little groups managed to save enough to lend money among them. Once people had a taste of how advantageous saving could be, the small groups were assimilated into one co-operative society.
Today, the Munnakkarya Sanasa Committee that began with 94 members in 1987 has grown to 1760 members and amazingly 95 percent of the membership consists of women.
The birth of this life-changing idea began in Norway when a Rev. Stromme, along with several members of the Church initiated a group called “Mary’s Friends”, dedicated to serving the community. Having been involved in community work here in Sri Lanka as well, the society attracted several local youths, among them Nimal Martinus. Coincidentally in Negombo, Sister Rosary an Irish nun who had dedicated her life to the rehabilitation of delinquent girls was conducting a sanitation project in the Munnakkaraya area. The group realised that though the area was rich in fishing resources the fisherfolk were living in dire poverty, under the iron thumb of money lenders and more established fisherman who monopolised the trade. Nimal was keen to help organised groups within the village where their problems could be openly discussed and resolved. Slowly the group “Mary’s Friends” joined forces with the community leading to the birth of the Munna-kkaraya project.
“At that time women did not come out of their homes. Society was too dangerous. Men would get drunk and create problems in their family. The children also missed school,” said Sujatha Fernando, a member of the Munnakkaraya Thrift and Credit Co-operative Society, adding that in these difficult circumstances, women were compelled to save discreetly. Faced with the prospect of coming back home to irate husbands and leaving