Latest tsunami brings back difficult memories

As news broke of the typhoons in the Philippines and Vietnam and the earthquakes and tsunami in Indonesia and the Pacific last week, staff of the Foundation of Goodness found themselves on a boat in turbulent monsoon seas off the coast of Phuket, Thailand. This visit to an eco-tourism project set up to help rural youth rebuild their lives after the tsunami of December 26th 2004, was one of many learning opportunities experienced during the IYF-Nokia Tsunami Reconstruction Initiative Final Evaluation Workshop attended by the Foundation of Goodness last week.

IYF USA, in partnership with Nokia, launched the Tsunami Reconstruction Initiative in 2006, to build employability and entrepreneurship of young people affected by the tsunami.

The Foundation of Goodness was recognised by IYF as a suitable partner for delivering training and skills development of rural youth from South Sri Lanka, along with the Hambantota District Chamber of Commerce. Other organisations involved include Youth-Reach and the Community Collective Society for Integrated Development in India, IBL and the Centre for Community Development and Education in Aceh, Indonesia and the National Council for Child and Youth Development (NCYD) in Thailand.

The Foundation of Goodness received funding from IYF in 2007 to support its Women’s Enterprise and Business Skills Development sectors. And in 2008, a loan fund was converted into a grant to support the establishment of the Seenigama Diving & Training Centre, to retrain previous coral divers to become professional divers.

Across all countries, many young people have received hard skills training, life skills training and support to set up their own businesses  from this Initiative. The Foundation of Goodness alone has provided training to 1030 young people to date, with 20% going on to establish their own micro-businesses, which in turn have employed a further 20 people. In addition, 6% of graduates from the Foundation of Goodness have gone on to gain employment, including 17 of the 39 students trained at the Seenigama Diving & Training Centre.

The Women’s Enterprise Centre provides skills development courses in Dressmaking, Beauty Culture,  Patchwork, Beralu Lace, Bakery and General Cookery. To date, 739 women have completed the courses which are provided free of cost and delivered by local trainers. Of these women, 84 have been able to start their own micro-businesses, including beauty salons and handicraft boutiques. In addition, 12 students have been able to gain employment after completing their course and many are using their skills to help in their homes.

The Business Skills Development Centre provides courses for school pupils (Generate Your Business), and for school leavers (Start Your Business and Improve Your Business). These courses are provided free of cost and delivered by the ILO. In addition, particular industries are developed, through courses such as Photography, Electrical & Home Wiring and Mushroom Cultivation. 662 young people have graduated from these courses and 121 (22%) of these have been able to start their own business. In addition, 42 businesses have been improved and 11 graduates have found employment.

The Seenigama Diving & Training Centre provides professional diving and underwater welding & cutting training for rural youth previously diving for the coral-mining industry. These youth have been aimless since their skills were made redundant following the banning of coral mining after the tsunami. But today they are honing their skills in a professional manner to enable them to compete in a job market that brings great rewards both in Sri Lanka and overseas. A subsidiary company, Dive Seenigama Lanka, run by student and staff stakeholders, gives access to large industrial diving contracts that provide the sustainability strategy for the Centre as well as unbelievable opportunities for all involved. 39 students have graduated and 17 of these have gained employment so far since the Centre was opened in August 2008.

Lessons from our collective experience

The key successes of this IYF programme come various models of intervention based on a response to local context, but there are common ingredients that include a focus on life skills training (communication skills, leadership and confidence building, CV writing and so on), hard skills training in areas relevant to the local economy (motorbike maintenance in Thailand, crab fattening in southern India, diving in Seenigama) and a focus on promoting entrepreneurism as a viable option for income generation, including providing the business skills needed to start a small business (writing business plans, accounting, stock control, marketing and so on).

 It is hoped that the lessons compiled and promoted by IYF in the coming months will provide guidance for any organisation wishing to deliver youth entrepreneurship programmes, particularly in those countries affected by natural disasters  struggling to come to terms with the loss and to cope with the task of rebuilding.

While we remember all too well the terrible experiences felt in our village after the tsunami waves receded, we can only say that this too will pass, and a new day will dawn. And if we work together, with kindness and compassion, we can help the children and youth to live good lives full of happiness, wellbeing and prosperity so that it may be possible one day to look back and see the blessings, just as in Seenigama, in this Village in the Wake of a Wave, the waves of compassion have overcome the waves of destruction.

Kushil Gunasekera, Founder and Trustee of the Foundation of Goodness, comments that “in Seenigama today, 20,000 people a year are benefiting from our holistic community development approach. This would not be possible without the generosity of donors such as IYF and Nokia, who also help us to go the extra mile to uplift our standards and strive for excellence for the betterment of rural communities. I would like to personally thank all those involved for a conference that was informative and has inspired us with new ideas to take our skills development and entrepreneurship work to the next level for benefit of the enterprising youth of our rural communities.”

2009.10.05