A Bottom-Up Approach twoards Poverty Alleviation

United Nations ESCAP
HRD Section

A Bottom-Up Approach towards Poverty Allevation

Attacking the poverty problem in Sri Lanka

Poverty alleviation has been one of the main challenges to the Government of Sri Lanka in recent years. Despite its impressive achievements in such fields as health and literacy, it continued to face the difficult task of generating more income-earning opportunities for its growing work force. Despite satisfactory growth in the national economy, Sri Lanka's unemployed and underemployed (standing at some 18 per cent of the labour force), and the poor (about one-third of the population) were not reaping the benefits of this growth.

Accordingly, in 1991 the government of Sri Lanka initiated the Janasaviya programme, under which each poor family was to receive Rs. 2,500 a month, over a period of two years, of which each month Rs. 1,458 will be allocated for consumption, while the balance of Rs. 1,042 will be invested on behalf of the recipient. The intention was that with the grant people are encouraged to start a small enterprise or create other means of self-employment.

In 1991, the Government decided to complement the Janasaviya Programme by establishing a second project called the Janasaviya Trust Fund. Ideally this programme would benefit not just the individual poor but those communities which to date had been deprived of development.

The Janasaviya Trust Fund was designed to operate through Partner Organizations. The Partner Organizations would ensure that all project proposals are chosen by the people who will benefit, guided by this Partner Organization, and that the Partner Organizations would act as intermediaries between the Trust and the beneficiaries.

The Trust Fund represented a large injection of aid monies from overseas sources, while many other elements of the scheme came also from these sources. In many ways the scheme was a departure from Sri Lanka's previous approach to poverty alleviation. For example, the Sri Lanka Government had not before worked through NGOs, yet this was a significant element in the Trust Fund. It was also the first time that a "bottom-up approach" had been adopted.

One among several NGO Partner Organisations supported by the Trust Fund was The Hambantota District’s women’s Development Federation.

The Hambantota District is a coastal region in the south of Sri Lanka. It is one of the dry areas of the country, a harsh and arid zone that for many years generated little more than poverty. The district was at the receiving end of many government programmes, which, while they kept people going, did nothing to alleviate the poverty.

In 1989 the Janasaviya Programme was introduced to the area, with 7,722 families selected through which to launch the Janasaviya philosophy of assisting the poor to strengthen themselves. From all reports the Programme brought a new lease of life to the district, laying a foundation for economic restructuring by influencing action at the grassroots level.

The Women's Development Federation was one of the organizations to emerge in 1989 from the introduction to the district of the Janasaviya Programme. It commenced its work by conducting a survey of the district, a survey which detailed some of the impact of poverty. The survey found, for example, that 31 per cent had no protection against malaria, 30 per cent no safe water, 22 per cent no toilet, and that health realities were a major reason for indebtedness. It found that money-lenders were thriving in this context, charging on average 240 per cent interest.

The basis for the economic activities of the Women's Development Federation was the establishment of a network of banking societies (Janashakthi Bangku Sangam). They were essentially credit schemes for the poor, supported and sustained by social mobilisation. Initially they could only encourage the poor to save and then use those savings to lend to members. Initially the Federation established 20 Bank Societies, and by 1994 it had 52 societies.

The core of the credit arrangement is the formation of groups of five women, which then become members of the Society. The groups meet regularly in each other's homes and adopt a set procedure in their activities. They are supported by the Bank Society to which they belong, where there are well-trained paid staff. In their turn, the Bank Societies are formed into zones, in each of which there are two staffs to supervise and support the Societies.

The work of the Women's Development Federation thus represented a grass-roots movement of women which created a support network grounded in the small hamlets and centred in the town of Hambantota. At each level there were group support and the leadership of either trained volunteers or paid staff. The social mobilisation programme raised awareness levels among women, resulting in a realisation that only they could act to relieve their poverty and a determination to engage in action.

At this point the Janasaviya Trust Fund came into existence. By its acceptance of the Women's Development Federation as a Partner Organization, it was able to inject a significant level of resources into the work, while not undermining the essential self-help approach that existed in the Federation. For example, the Banking Societies could use Trust Fund monies to expand their credit capacity, but they did not change their nature.

The loans are provided to women who are members of the 5-person groups of which the Banking Societies are comprised. This arrangement has the potential of alienating male support, but this is avoided through several strategies. The enterprises supported are sometimes family enterprises, and men can in effect secure a loan through their wives. Emergency loans are for family emergencies and so on.

The development facilitated is of families and communities, but the empowerment of women is nonetheless an important factor. All loans are in the name of the woman member but, more important, involvement in all aspects of the movement is of tremendous importance in raising women's knowledge levels and boosting their confidence.

Taken from the publication: “Making an Impact: Innovative HRD Approaches to Poverty Alleviation”, ESCAP, 1997