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Support for Professional and Institutional Capacity Enhancement (SPICE)

October – December 2014 Quarterly Report

Submitted to USAID/Sri Lanka

This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development.

It was prepared by Management Systems International.

Grantee: Counterpart International

Associates:

Management Systems International (MSI)

International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL)

International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES)

Cooperative Agreement Number: AID 383-LA-13-00001

GCSS Associate Cooperative Agreement Number: DFD-A-00-09-00141-00

Alex Sardar, Vice President, Programs

asardar@counterpart.org

Counterpart International

2345 Crystal Drive, Suite 301 Arlington, VA 22202

Telephone: 703.236.1200

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CONTENTS POLITICAL CONTEXT................................................................................................................................................... 7

ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................................................................................... 9

SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES ......................................................................................................................................... 10

Component 1. Support National Targeted Indigenous Organizations .......................................................... 11

Component 2. Support Regional Indigenous Organizations to Promote Responsive Citizenship

and Inclusive Participation ......................................................................................................................................... 16

Component 3. Strengthen Internal Management Capacity of Indigenous Organizations .......................... 39

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND MONITORING ..............................................................................................455

Performance Monitoring Plan Update..................................................................................................................455

Subawards – Grants .................................................................................................................................................477

Subawards – In-Kind Grants ..................................................................................................................................... 53

Subawards – Subcontracts ........................................................................................................................................ 54

ACHIEVEMENTS ............................................................................................................................................................. 55

Management/Administration .................................................................................................................................... 55

Grants ............................................................................................................................................................................ 55

Capacity Building ......................................................................................................................................................... 55

Project Activities .......................................................................................................................................................566

BEST PRACTICES AND CHALLENGES ................................................................................................................... 57

Best Practice ................................................................................................................................................................. 57

Challenges ..................................................................................................................................................................... 57

EXPENDITURES .............................................................................................................................................................. 58

PROGRAMMING PRIORITIES FOR NEXT QUARTER ....................................................................................... 58

Project Management/Administration ...................................................................................................................... 58

Grants ............................................................................................................................................................................ 58

Capacity-Building ......................................................................................................................................................... 59

ANNEX A: Performance Monitoring Plan Update .................................................................................................. 61

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ACRONYMS AND OTHER ABBREVIATIONS AOR Agreement Officer’s Representative APS Annual Program Statement ASNN Ampara Social Needs Network AWA Akkaraipattu Women’s Association AWF Affected Women’s Forum BASL Bar Association of Sri Lanka BBS Bodu Bala Sena BOA Basic Ordering Agreement CAMID Center for Accessibility, Monitoring and Information on Disability CBDPT Capacity Building Delivery Planning Tool CBO Community-based Organizations CBPs Capacity Building Partners CDO Community Development Organization CFH Centre for Handicapped CHOGM Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting CHR Center for Human Rights and Research CHRD Center for Human Rights and Development CID Criminal Investigation Department COO Chief Operations Officer CPA Center for Policy Alternatives CPPHR Center for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights CRPC Community Resources Protection Center CSO Civil Society Organization CSR Corporate Social Responsibility CWC Ceylon Workers’ Congress DAP Differently-abled people DDF Divisional Deshodaya Forum DGP Development Grants Program DIRC District Inter-Religious Reconciliation Committees DOs Delivery Orders DPO Disabled persons Organizations DS Divisional Secretaries DSD Divisional Secretariat Divisions DSG District support Group EG Equal Ground EHED Caritas – Eastern Human and Economic Development ERD External Resources Department ESVE Election Support through Voters Education

EVESDOW Eastern Voluntary Social Development Organization for Women EVI Extremely Vulnerable Individuals FES Friedrich Ebert Stiftung FGD Focus Group Discussions FOG Fixed Obligation Grant FOSDOO Federation of Social Development Organizations FRC Family Rehabilitation Center FY Fiscal Year GBV Gender-Based Violence GN Grama Niladhari Officer GPG Good Practice Group GVP Governance and Vulnerable Population HHR Home for Human Rights HRC Human Rights Council HRD Human Rights Defenders HUDEC Human Development Center ICES International Center for Ethnic Studies ICNL International Center for Not-for-Profit Law ICS Institute for Constitutional Studies Guarantee Limited ID Identity Cards IDAHO International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia IDP Internally Displaced Persons IFEJ Islamic Framework on Gender Equality and Justice IFES International Foundation for Electoral Systems INGO International Nongovernmental Organizations IPV Intimate Partner Violence IWARE Islamic Women’s Association for Research JBS Jathika Bala Sena JHU Jathika Hela Urumaya LAP Legal Assistance Program LDC Landless Disabled Committees LGBT Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender LGBTIQ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Questioning LLRC Lessons Learnt Reconciliation Committee LRFHR Lanka Rainwater Harvesting Forum LRWHF Lanka Rain Water Harvesting Forum

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LST Law and Society Trust LTTE Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MCC Mannar Citizen Committee MED Ministry of Economic Development MRL Muslim Religious Leaders MSI Management Systems International MWDRF Mullaitivu Women’s Development and Rehabilitation Federation MWDT Muslim Women’s Development Trust NAFSO National Fisheries Solidarity Movement NCEASL National Christian Evangelical Association of Sri Lanka NCPA National Child Protection Authority NewAROW Network for Advocating Requirements of Women NFA Northern Fisheries Alliance NGO Nongovernmental Organization NHRAP Sri Lanka’s National Human Rights Action Plan NIC National Identity Cards NNAF NGO National Action Front NPC National Peace Council NRC Norwegian Refugee Council NVC Nonviolent Communication NWAAN Northern Women’s Advocacy and Action Network OCA Organizational Capacity Assessment ODF Organizational Development Facilitators OIP Organizational Improvement Plan ORHAN Organization for Rehabilitation of the Handicapped PALTRA Partners in Alternative Training PARL People’s Alliance for Right to Land PCA Peace & Community Action PCM Project Cycle Management PGBV Prevention of Gender-Based Violence PIL Public Interest Litigation PMP Performance Management Plan PO Probation Officer PPCC Professional Psychological Counselling Center PTA Prevention of Terrorism Act PTF Presidential Task Force R2L Right to Life RFA Request for Application RIG Regional Inspector General

RIID Reconciling Inter-Religious and Inter-Ethnic Differences RPK Rajarata Praja Kendaraya RPR Resources for Peace and Reconciliation SACLS South Asian Centre for Legal Studies Sama Vimarshi Peace Monitor SDJF Sri Lanka Development Journalist Forum SEED Social Economical and Environmental Developers SGBV Sex- and Gender-Based Violence SIPL Strategic Inspirations (Pvt.) Ltd SLCDF Sri Lanka Center for Development Facilitation SLMC Sri Lanka Muslim Congress SPICE Support for Professional and Institutional Capacity Enhancement SPIDER Strengthening Pluralism, Integrity, Diversity, and Equality toward Reconciliation SSO Social Service Officers SuRG Supporting Regional Governance Program SWDC Suriya Women’s Development Center TAF The Asia Foundation TDYD AHAM Trincomalee District Youth Development, “AHAM” TEC Technical Evaluation Committee TISL Transparency International, Sri Lanka TJ Transitional Justice TNA Tamil National Alliance TOT Training of Trainers UDA Urban Development Authority UNCAT United Nations Convention Against Torture UNHRC United Nations Human Rights Council UPFA United People’s Freedom Alliance USAID United States Assistance for International Development VAW Violence against women VCRMCs Village Child Rights Monitoring Committees VOVCORD Voluntary Organization for Vulnerable Community Development VWG Village-Level Women’s Group WANT Women Action Network WDF Women’s Development Foundation WDO Women Development Officers WRDS Women’s Rural Development Societies ZOA ZOA: Relief, Hope, and Recovery

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Operational Context Due to an announcement on Nov. 19, 2014, that presidential elections would take place earlier than planned, the focus of the government during this period was on its political adversaries rather than civil society organizations and activities. The elections, which took place Jan. 8, 2015, led to the defeat of incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The ruling party’s general secretary defected to be the common opposition candidate, which led to the disintegration of the government coalition. Several parties in the ruling coalition and a number of high profile ministers defected to the opposition and more than 30 civil society groups and SPICE-supported nongovernmental organizations (NGOs ) campaigned for the opposition. Government policy in relation to governance, human rights or accountability issues did not change. Civil society organizations, including SPICE grantees, put major effort into monitoring the elections. They observed that large-scale violations of election law occurred, and including substantial misuse of state property and resources.

The opposition campaign focused on corruption and abuse of power while committing to reform the presidential system and the 18th Amendment, both of which have contributed to an overconcentration of power. In addition to emphasizing economic hardship, the election stressed governance issues at the core of the objectives of the Support for Professional and Institutional Capacity Enhancement (SPICE) project.

Both the opposition and government lacked solutions to ethnic conflict in their manifestos and campaigns.

The government’s campaign stressed its past economic successes and its massive infrastructure development schemes, but focused more attention on international threats to the country’s sovereignty. It gave particular attention to efforts of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to revive with international support and to allegations of war crimes that could pose a threat to the country’s political and military leaders. The government also engaged in a propaganda campaign focusing on the war period and warning of the possibility of a similar situation recurring if it is defeated. Rural Sinhalese voters responded with majority support for the government, although the government failed to get an overall majority. However, the ethnic minority vote was overwhelmingly against the government, indicating the president’s unpopularity with Tamil and Muslim voters.

Achievements This quarter, SPICE focused on several achievements:

• SPICE regional offices in Batticaloa and Vavuniya continued operations, building grantee confidence in the face of a volatile environment for donor-funded activities.

• SPICE commissioned an internal midterm review of its project. • Steady progress in the area of grants.

o At the cutoff date for the quarter (Dec. 15, 2014), 34 grants were active and five more received approval a few days later.

o During the quarter, SPICE awarded 11 grants, and five that were active at the beginning of the quarter have ended, with closeout work now in progress.

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o Two rounds of Component 2 Annual Program Statement (APS) applications cleared this quarter. In the first round, six of 35 concept notes received last quarter proceeded to the full application stage and six others are pending further review. The rest were rejected. Of the six full applications, five were approved and processed while one is pending review. In addition, SPICE received and processed 42 applications this quarter, 11 of which submitted full applications. Six of those are on a shortlist for submission to USAID. The rest are under assessment pending a balance of thematic priorities and availability of funding.

o SPICE issued Request for Application (RFA) III and sought applications for it.

• The SPICE project’s capacity-building initiatives rolled out on schedule, and included grantee-specific interventions and general trainings. Thirty-six organizations — 22 SPICE grantees and 14 Development Grants Program (DGP) grantees — are receiving capacity-building support.

• Services for gender-based violence (GBV) reached 128 people. • SPICE grantees provided at least one legal document to, such as an identity card or birth

certificate, to 3,631 people.

• The project’s activities to raise awareness of human rights issues (including GBV) reached 3,025 people; 73 people received training to be human rights defenders (HRDs).

• SPICE’s portfolio of legal action added 16 new cases.

• The project completed 35 activities, including inter-religious group discussions and peer group discussions, in support of peace and reconciliation.

• The project’s reach includes 151 organizations (SPICE grantees or civil society organizations (CSOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) supported by SPICE grantees) that represent marginalized communities in pushing the government to implement policy or conduct oversight.

Challenges The announcement of the elections and the campaign period triggered a general slowdown among partners that work primarily on democracy and governance. Their attention and efforts focused mostly on Sri Lanka’s most important election in recent times. Because the government was preoccupied with the presidential elections both before and after it announced them, it did not focus on civil society. Draft NGO legislation that was in development did not emerge. However, NGOs that got involved in activities related to the presidential election campaign were subjected to physical attack and intimidation when supporting the opposition in public propaganda activities.

Significantly, the government did not try to impede the work of the election monitoring organizations, although it criticized them publicly. It also did not launch a campaign against NGOs in general, instead devoting its energy to the political struggle with opposition parties. However, at the local level, NGOs had to comply with government surveillance of their activities, especially in the North and East. The election of President Maithripala Sirisena, whose platform stressed good governance, likely will lead to less pressure on civil society and open more space for work.

Programming Priorities in the Next Quarter • Reassess program activities in light of the election results. • Complete grant awards under the APS and RFA processes fully committing all funds

budgeted under grants.

• Commence CORE VALUES training program for second-tier civil society leaders.

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• Complete the operational environment and regulatory framework for Sri Lankan civil society study.

• Revise and update the SPICE performance management plan (PMP) targets. • Commence capacity-building process for four to six APS grantees. • Review benchmarks, the sixth step in the SPICE capacity-building cycle. • Provide follow-up training for organization development facilitators (ODFs) by Dr. Darcy

Ashman, MSI technical director and capacity-building adviser. • Support capacity-building partners Paltra and Strategic Inspirations (Pvt.) Ltd. (SIPL) to

develop their internal organizational capacity, including the developing consultant skills.

POLITICAL CONTEXT

Summary The presidential election on Jan. 8, which resulted in the defeat of incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa, was the dominant political development in the period. Rajapaksa’s declaration in November that elections would take place in January ended months of speculation about the possibility of a snap election. The opposition made a surprise announcement that their choice of joint opposition candidate would be the ruling party’s own general secretary, Maithripala Sirisena, prompting a few government members to defect to the opposition. This included members belonging to a key government ally, the Sinhalese nationalist Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), who explained that they united with the government to defeat the LTTE, but that threat was now over; the present need, they said, is to achieve good governance in the country. Subsequently, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SMC), representing mainstream Tamil and Muslim politics, joined the opposition alliance on the grounds that the government had failed to protect their interests. Only the Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC), representing up-country Tamils, remained affiliated with the government. Voter turnout at the election was high at 81 percent, reflecting the intensity of the contest.

Both the opposition and government manifestos and campaigns noticeably failed to include solutions to ethnic conflict. The opposition felt vulnerable to attacks for being pro-minority and anti-national if it addressed ethnic minorities issues, and instead highlighted corruption and abuse of power. Among their commitments, the opposition promised to reform the presidential system and abolish the 18th Amendment, both of which contribute to an overconcentration of power. They pledged a new constitutional system that will ensure the depoliticization of state institutions, which in turn will make government leaders accountable for their actions. In its own campaign, the government stressed its past economic successes in boosting the growth rate of the economy and the massive infrastructure development schemes it has initiated. It also focused on international threats to the country’s sovereignty, with particular reference to LTTE efforts to revive with international support and the use of war crimes allegations that could threaten the country’s political and military leaders.

Election law violations took place widely as the voting day approached, with monitors noting the misuse of state property and resources; these abuses did not cease, but continued until the day of elections. Many acts of violence committed in public and in view of law enforcement officers took place during the campaign. The bitterly fought election was marred by the use of war imagery and the fanning of people’s fears to win votes. This perhaps may have enabled the former President to win the majority in 10 electoral districts, in which the ethnic minority population proportionately

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was small, and obtain 47.6 percent of the over-all vote. The opposition candidate won in 12 electoral districts including all 5 in the Northern and Eastern provinces and obtained 51.2 percent of the vote. General elections are expected to be held in April 2015 and are likely to be as closely contested as the Presidential elections.

Continuing Problem of Power-Sharing Failure to implement the 13th Amendment and to devolve adequate power to the Northern and Eastern provinces continues to be a problem.

After visiting Jaffna in October, Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma called for a scaling-down of the Sri Lankan army’s role in the North to address the “legitimate concerns” of the Tamil population. Despite this advice, the Sri Lankan military took steps to block any public remembrance of the war dead Nov. 27, which LTTE observes as Heroes’ Day. Government’s use of land in the North continued to be a contentious issue, with the TNA opposing government policy on land distribution and takeover. Land power-sharing remains unresolved, with the 13th Amendment’s provisions on land not being implemented and no Land Commission being appointed.

The government named a sixth member, from Japan, to its team of international advisers on the Commission of Inquiry into Missing Persons. Concern also remains about the status of investigations. An international human rights watchdog on Sri Lanka, the Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice, noted that the appointment of international legal experts to oversee this process is questionable, improper and seemingly effective. In addition, the Center for Policy Alternatives, a SPICE grantee, assessed the commission’s work in a report, noting that although the commission has received close to 20,000 complaints, no investigations appear to be underway.

Civil Society Space Government’s focus under the previous ruling party was on political issues with the scheduled election. Consequently, attention to civil society activity diminished later in the quarter as elections neared. Election monitoring organizations highlighted that CSOs mobilized in favor of the opposition during the elections.

Election-related activities took precedence over other commitments for some SPICE partners. They engaged in the political process at many different levels: participating and contributing to campaigns, monitoring polls and raising civic awareness. Trade unions, university lecturers, human rights activists, fisher and farmer groups, artists and NGOs mobilized to campaign in favor of the opposition. Some SPICE grantees used street performances by cultural troupes to support the opposition, organizing exhibitions, hosting discussions, performing street drama, singing, drum-beating and kavi bana (preaching in poetry) by Buddhist monks, and handing out leaflets. Physical attacks against activists took place as police stood by and watched, with several participants suffering injuries and needing hospitalization. Two activists from a SPICE grantee organization received threatening phone calls, culminating with each finding a severed head of a dog tied to their gates at home.

Other civil society organizations, including SPICE grantees, monitored the elections, with the main monitoring organizations pointing out that the government has committed the vast majority of elections violations. In particular, they noted the enormous abuse of state resources, which they said was three times greater than during the previous presidential election. The government accused these election monitors of bias, but did not try to impede their work. It also did not campaign against NGOs generally, as it focused on the political struggle. However, at the local level, the government required NGOs, especially in the North and East, to comply with surveillance of their activities. With the new government, NGO work restrictions will likely abate.

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ANALYSIS This quarter was the busiest for SPICE so far. The team was managing 39 grants in various stages of completion while seeking new grants through the APS and RFA processes. During the quarter, SPICE maintained momentum on grant awards, executing 11 new grant agreements and shaping, designing and processing paperwork for another five that USAID has since approved.

A heightened security situation continued through the quarter, with the environment for CSOs continuing to deteriorate. Steady implementation required working closely with the partners and being sensitive and supportive. The situation, particularly in the North, also called for limiting field visits and travel. The office and staff maintained a general security alert. The developments left many regional CSOs feeling vulnerable. As outlined in the annual workplan, SPICE responded by commissioning a study on the operational environment and regulatory framework with the primary purpose of empowering civil society actors in the field to better cope with and respond to the security situation. USAID has also directed SPICE to pursue a comparative analysis of civil society space, which could inform the intervention.

SPICE carefully chose the grants it awarded during the quarter to contribute to achieving the project’s objectives and to meet the mission’s emphasis on people-to-people approaches. These grants invariably conformed to one or more thematic cluster that had evolved over the period of the grant: to protect citizens’ rights; to foster reconciliation, youth, peace-building and active citizenship; and to address gender-based violence and improve women’s status. In addition, the concept notes and grants were evaluated for their potential to bring in different ethnic communities to address issues of understanding, trust building, and problem solving. Some of these were shaped to meet with the USAID’s request to adopt a people-to-people approach. The activities under these projects are beginning to show positive outcomes and can now be described as achievements under these thematic areas. As a result of this progress, SPICE has needed to apply its monitoring and evaluation (M&E) resources to collect more success stories and results starting next quarter.

The overall portfolio of grants also indicated a few gaps that SPICE addressed this quarter, including funding more work in the South and the Plantations. The portfolio underrepresented journalist and labor rights groups, two types of civil society groups that could improve the rights and governance situation in Sri Lanka. SPICE took steps to process some grants to rectify this gap. Similarly, the portfolio showed a shortage of peace-building and reconciliation work organizations that have different approaches toward achieving their goals.

Because the two current capacity-building partners were already stretched with their commitments, SPICE sought three new capacity-building partners who could provide discrete services to the DGPs. Their basic order agreements (BOAs) and contracts were finalized this quarter; collectively, they will ensure that capacity-building activities proceed as planned.

The addition of the new grants requires amendment to the PMP targets that SPICE set for itself. This will be a priority in the next quarter.

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SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES

Program Administration and Management Internal Midterm Review

Ms. Ellen Seats, a consultant and former staff member of MSI, conducted an internal midterm evaluation of the project this quarter. She spoke to a number of grantees, capacity-building partners and ODFs in Batticaloa, Vavuniya and Colombo. She also reviewed the M&E systems. Some changes to the scope of work, as requested by USAID, were incorporated during the evaluation. The report will be available early next quarter.

Staffing

During the quarter, SPICE recruited four personnel to be based in Colombo: a program manager, a program officer, a CORE VALUES training program coordinator and a finance officer. These staff will help in the processing of additional grants to be managed from Colombo and to coordinate the CORE VALUES training program. One program officer left SPICE during the quarter to join another organization.

Annual SPICE Staff Review

SPICE staff engaged in an annual review of the project, which was also designed to include a team-building exercise, from Nov. 26–28, 2014. The objective of the review was to improve grant management practices and project results to date. The review also focused on ensuring adequate documentation of output and ways of capturing impact at the grant and project levels.

Interaction with the Mission

Interaction with the Mission during the quarter related mostly to fund disbursement, expenditure projections and actual burn rates. SPICE provided the required information for the Mission’s internal review process in November. The Mission approved the annual work plan for the period through the end of the project.

The SPICE capacity-building team met with the Mission’s M&E specialist and discussed ways to measure capacity-building work that SPICE is implementing with DGPs. The M&E specialist also reviewed the SPICE M&E plan. The project’s M&E team is incorporating these suggestions, which will be completed early next quarter. The agreement officer’s representative conducted a data quality assessment during this quarter.

The Mission gave directions on a civil society strengthening activity, about which SPICE is consulting with the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL). The plan is to do a comparative analysis of civil society regulations, drawing lessons from other countries; the findings will facilitate discussions among prominent civil society actors in Sri Lanka. The specifics of this task will be developed next quarter, after the election results are known.

SPICE and its partners contributed to the Mission’s coverage of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence. Many of the partners and SPICE staff that work on violence against women took part. SPICE and many of its partners provided inputs to the Mission’s ongoing consultations on legacy planning.

Government Approval and Taxation

This area remains unresolved. After the memorandum of understanding between Ministry of Economic Development (MED) and USAID is formalized and a process of seeking letters of

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recommendation for tax exemption is instituted, this issue could be pursued with the Inland Revenue Department. The allocation for this expenditure would remain in the budget until this is accomplished.

Security

Security continued to be a primary area of concern through the quarter. The government instituted a special defense clearance process for foreigners seeking to travel north. SPICE staff discussed security issues at its meetings, and reduced field visits continued to some partner locations in the North due to military scrutiny. The district field offices of SPICE ensured close support to grantees in the field and changed their schedules accordingly. SPICE nominated a participant to the USAID security training.

Component 1. Support National Targeted Indigenous Organizations Grant Disbursement

There are seven active grants under this component as of this quarter’s cut-off date. This includes grants that are sourced from both components 1 and 2 to the Center for Human Rights and Development (CHRD), Lanka Jathika Sarvodaya Shramadana Sangamaya (Sarvodaya) and the National Peace Council (NPC). The other ongoing grants under this component are being implemented by International Center for Ethnic Studies (ICES), Center for Policy Alternatives (CPA), Equal Ground (EG) and Right to Life (R2L). One grant (NAFSO), which was active at the start of the quarter, ended; closeout work is in progress. A follow-on grant to this organization was submitted to USAID this quarter and is expected to commence, subject to USAID approval, next quarter.

Requests for Application (RFAs)

SPICE issued RFA III and evaluated applications it received, then submitted NAFSO and National Christian Evangelical Association of Sri Lanka (NCEASL) proposals to USAID this quarter. The remaining applications received through RFA I & II for Component 1 national grants with the objective of (a) consolidating the work done through the initial round of non-competed grants were processed during the quarter. Pursuant to this, second grants to NPC and R2L were awarded this quarter. The remaining RFA applications will be processed next quarter considering the availability of funds.

Grantee Activities

(Please note that the cut-off date for activity reports is Dec. 15, 2014, for the purpose of this quarterly report.)

The Center for Human Rights and Development commenced activities under a follow-on grant through the SPICE project this quarter. This grant builds on the initiatives of the first phase to provide continued support for victims of human rights abuses and their families, as well as to further strengthen the network of human rights defenders and activists.

Legal Cases Ongoing: At the end of the first round of the project, 49 legal cases were in process from the

International Plaudits for CHRD

CHRD won the Asian Human Rights and Democracy Award 2014 from the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy.

Thirteen organizations in Asia competed for this award.

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first round of SPICE funding. However, at the commencement of the follow-on second round grant, this dropped to 39, due to the funding gap between the rounds. The grantee transferred some cases to another donor-funded project.

Free Legal Advice and Support for Target Communities: CHRD postponed two legal clinics that were planned for this quarter until next quarter. The legal clinics will follow human rights defender (HRD) coalition meetings in designated areas, so the HRDs will be able to help community members seek legal assistance. The two clinics are scheduled for the Pattipalai and Kokadicholai divisional secretariats (DS) in Batticaloa.

Relatives Receive Assistance to Visit Detained Family Members in Prison and Provide Care Packs: Six families received support to visit a detained relative this quarter. CHRD pays families’ travel, food and accommodation costs and supports them to purchase items like towels, soap and clothes to give the detainee. The families also receive support for legal consultations on behalf of the detainee.

Regional Human Rights Defender Coalition Workshop in East: The workshop this quarter included participation of 23 HRDs, 12 of whom were women. The participants shared their experiences in the field and identified related issues. Building HRD networks is a core element of CHRD’s human rights protection response. CHRD is extending its network to Pattipalai and Vavunathivu divisional secretariats in the Batticaloa district, areas selected on the basis of vulnerability there in seeking legal support for human rights issues. The support empowers communities to engage on human rights issues affecting local constituencies and to build a platform to bring local authorities and CSOs in for lobbying and advocating. CHRD also supports related litigation, creating awareness, building information networks and developing a local database on human rights violations. Initial meetings this quarter discussed building a network in the two identified areas. Women and youth actively participated at the meetings.

Human Rights Defenders Trained: Two trainings took place this quarter, with one targeting women and the other for a general audience. In the first, 23 participated (16 women), and in the second, 24 participated (16 women). The Women HRD training focused specifically on gender-related issues including domestic and societal-level human rights violations. Participants shared their experiences on the ground during these meetings.

The Center for Policy Alternatives (CPA) identifies the continuing and critical need to bridge the widening democratic deficit in the country by strengthening the civil society contribution to public policy through a targeted program of research and advocacy on democratic governance. It will continue to pursue these broader national objectives through the second grant, which commenced in September 2014. Strengthening civil society’s contribution to public policy is an objective in the organization’s mandate. The program engages key institutions and constituencies and helps set agendas through public interest litigation, opinion surveys and publications. Likewise, it underpins policy implementation through judicial review, evidence based research and focused international and national advocacy. The grant enables CPA to carry out its core research, advocacy and coordination function, while preserving the organization’s management capacity.

Public Interest Litigation (PIL): CPA challenged the possibility of the Sri Lankan president contesting a third presidential term. It filed a written submission on “why the president cannot contest a third term based on interpretation of the Constitution” to the Supreme Court of the country. The Supreme Court, however, upheld the rights of the incumbent president to contest a third term.

Advocacy Journal Published: The group distributed 4,000 Peace Monitor journals (3,000 copies in Tamil and 1,000 in English). This is intended to create and enrich public discourse and increase citizen awareness on peace and reconciliation issues.

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Policy Brief Released on Presidential Investigation into Complaints on Missing Persons: CPA formulated a policy brief critiquing the work of the Presidential Commission on Missing Persons, then printed and issued 100 copies in English and began work on a Tamil translation.

Equal Ground (EG) commenced activities under its grant in February 2014. This grant has three focus areas: (1) enhance the knowledge of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people on gender, sexuality, health, available support services and legal rights and procedures; (2) establish a local mechanism to support LGBT people and ensure greater public awareness of the inequalities they encounter; and (3) provide emergency support to 25 LGBT people who encounter violence because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. This quarter, EG carried out the following

activities:

Developing Strategic Plan: EG conducted a one-day workshop for 13 LGBT, intersex and questioning (LGBTIQ) community members in Colombo to develop a strategic plan to address issues they identified. They noted three priority issues: lack of legal protection, lack of activism and support and negative social attitudes with a lack of social acceptance and social awareness.

In Solidarity: Solidarity meetings for members of the

LGBTIQ community took place in Anuradhapura (attended by 19 men and one woman) and Colombo (four men and one woman from Colombo and 15 men from Anuradhapura). The discussion centered on developing a strategic plan. District support group meetings also took place this quarter, and included review and discussion of the strategic plan.

Field Officers Trained: A field officers’ training was conducted with the participation of 16 people (11 men and five women). It included a session on sexual health by the Family Planning Association Sri Lanka and basic counseling awareness by Samutthana, a local civil society organization. This is the second training funded by the grant.

Support to Community Members: Six LGBTIQ community members facing severe social discrimination received psychosocial counseling.

The International Center for Ethnic Studies (ICES) commenced activities under its grant in October 2013. The grant involves a qualitative research study to improve understanding of the knowledge, attitudes and practices of domestic violence intervention service providers in psychosocial and legal counseling, and references the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act. The study focuses on service providers in Batticaloa and Anuradhapura. The following activities were carried out this quarter:

Research Published: Two research reports were finalized during the reporting period and submitted for printing. The reports are “Everyday Practices, Everyday Discourses: Counseling for Intimate Partner Violence in the Two Districts of Anuradhapura and Batticaloa” and “Battered Wives or

Priority Issues

The following priority issues were identified at EG’s strategic planning meeting.

Networking. To support one another and to stand as a single community.

Awareness and Understanding. To increase knowledge about rights within the LGBTIQ community and knowledge about the LGBTIQ community within the general community.

Advocacy. To advocate to amend or remove sections of the Penal Code of Sri Lanka that criminalize homosexuality.

Documentation. Maintaining records of violence against LGBTIQ community members.

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Dependent Mothers: Navigating the Law to Redress Intimate Partner Violence.” Summaries of the reports were developed in Sinhala and Tamil.

Much of the activity revolved around finalizing research findings and presenting them. Completion of the draft report involved consultations with female counselors and lawyers specializing in this area from Anuradhapura. A one-day workshop in Colombo enabled participants to share draft research reports and discuss the guiding principles on counseling for domestic violence, with 34 women in attendance, representing 15 organizations.

The finalized research was presented to counselors, lawyers involved in legal aid, journalists, representatives of women’s CSOs, clinical psychiatrists, academics and psychologists involved in training and supervising counselors.

The second grant to Lanka Jathika Sarvodaya Shramadana Sangamaya (Sarvodaya) commenced this quarter. This grant will build on the earlier one and help enhance citizens’ engagement in local governance and decision-making processes. The community monitoring exercise conceived through the grant will allow citizens to engage with local government officials and to participate in local governance through the demand for space and change. More participatory decision-making at the local level will result from the collaborative efforts of the trained and organized rights-based citizens’ pressure groups and community monitoring teams supported by the grant.

Orientation and Training on Rights-Based Approach: A two-day staff orientation workshop drew participation of 35 Sarvodaya district staff members (21 women and 14 men) from 10 districts. The staff also received trained on “a rights-based approach as opposed to a needs-based approach.”

Community Monitoring Training: Workshops in Kegalle and Kandy district centers drew participation from 72 community monitoring team members (39 men and 33 women). The training included conducting community needs assessments, identifying and prioritizing issues and the use of relevant tools in civil engagement. They were also exposed to the concept of human rights, good governance and the role of the citizen in ensuring good governance.

The Law and Society Trust (LST) grant was approved by USAID this quarter and will commence activities next quarter. The grant, Integrating Communities through Grants for Active Citizenship, Social Cohesion and Gender Empowerment in Sri Lanka, focuses on media freedom. Crimes against media and journalists include murder and forced disappearances, harassment and threats, bombing and attacking newspaper offices and destroying their property, disrupting training sessions and workshops of journalists and banning websites. Authorities block many websites about minority issues and extrajudicial killing, disappearances and credible allegations of war crimes; they cannot be viewed in Sri Lanka. This grant was designed to empower journalists and bloggers with increased understanding of their rights and improving networking among them. The grant focuses on the Northern, Eastern, Southern and the North Western provinces.

Starting a Conversation on Intimate Partner Violence

ICES hosted a discussion on the research in collaboration with the Good Practice Group. It involved a presentation of the study findings, followed by a discussion of core competencies required for personnel who provide counseling and psychosocial support for survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV). This meeting provided insights into how good quality training on counseling or psychosocial support for survivors of IPV can be provided. The discussion provided a forum to take this research forward and started a conversation on identifying core competencies of counselors engaged in counseling for IPV and developing guidelines for their evaluation and further training.

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The National Fisheries Solidarity Movement (NAFSO) commenced activities under its first grant in the first quarter of FY 2014 and concluded activities this quarter. It ended a month later than planned through a no-cost extension of the grant agreement. The grant supports fisher communities in the North to address post-war issues of intrusion by South Indian fishermen and unfair competition posed by migrant fishermen from the south of Sri Lanka, and supports members of the Northern and Southern communities to address lands rights issues. NAFSO will commence activities under a second grant early next quarter. The second grant will build on achievements in the first grant for greater impact.

Main Achievements

NAFSO successfully united the fishery societies of Mullaitivu, Mannar, Jaffna and Kilinochchi under the umbrella of the Northern Province Fisheries Alliance. The alliance’s top achievement was a public petition to the Northern Provincial Council on the intrusion of Indian fishing trawlers into Sri Lankan waters.

The North-South Joint Advocacy of Fisher Community Rights grant bridged the Northern and Southern fisher communities to campaign jointly for their rights and enabled monthly meetings between fisher community members from the South, North and East. The meetings sought to create a common platform to discuss issues affecting the fisher community across the geographic and ethnic divide.

Greater Awareness on Need to Protect Fisheries Resources: NAFSO produced a video to educate wider civil society on the South Indian trawler intrusion issue and showed it to populations in the North/East and the South at awareness workshops and seminars. NAFSO found that no real change in the perception of issues concerning Northern fishermen among those nationally. However, a positive change emerged in the level of awareness and concern about the adverse impact on marine resources. The audience better understood the negative impact of South Indian fishing on fisheries resources as a whole — methods used and over-exploitation.

Awareness on Land Rights, New Regulations and Circulars: Some success emerged around activities to raise awareness about land rights, and new regulations/circulars including the Lessons Learnt Reconciliation Committee (LLRC) recommendations, motivating people to act collectively to vindicate their rights. This spurred people in Valigamam North in Jaffna District to petition for a formal intervention into land issues affecting them. The community in Polpithigama suspended the construction of an elephant corridor through their village, which would endanger both their lives and livelihood.

Expansion of Network: NAFSO expanded its network through the amalgamation of all representative fisheries societies in the North and linked with other alliances, most notably the People’s Alliance for Right to Land, consisting of 37 local NGOs/CSOs.

A follow-on grant approved through the RFA process has been submitted to USAID for approval.

Northern Fisheries Alliance Acts to Resolve South Indian Trawler Issue

The principal success was consolidation of membership in the Northern Fisheries Alliance and the ensuing collective action to bring attention to South Indian trawlers intruding into Sri Lankan waters. NAFSO facilitated greater awareness on the Indian trawler issue among the chief minister of the Northern Provincial Council and the Indian Consulate in Jaffna while drawing more focused attention from the media. Acting collectively, the Northern Alliance presented a petition to both the chief minister and the head of the Indian Consulate.

This act will help build the confidence of the fisher community to advocate for their rights.

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The National Peace Council (NPC) commenced its second grant this quarter. It builds on work with religious collectives at the district level to improve linkages with provincial-level religious leaders. The District Inter-Religious Committee network will expand to a few more districts under the new grant. The NPC will also revitalize the National Inter-Religious Committee (NIRC), comprising representatives of DIRCs, under the grant.

Preparatory Work: During this quarter, NPC conducted seven of nine introductory workshops planned for nine DIRCs in Batticaloa, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Ampara, Matara, Galle and Mannar. At these meetings, 213 people participated, including 73 members of clergy. The workshops for Jaffna and Puttlam were completed by end of December 2014.

Collaboration with Buddhist University Following Inter-Religious Symposium

The NPC is collaborating with the Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka, on invitation, to organize an international conference on religious tolerance (not funded by SPICE) scheduled for April 2015. This invitation followed NPC’s Inter-Religious Symposium in September2015, which showcased the work of the District Inter-Religious Committees. The DIRCs are supported under SPICE. NPC will draw from its experience in working with the DIRCs in contributing to the project.

By September 2014, the Right to Life (R2L) Human Rights Center completed its planned activities under the previous grant, which was funded from Aug. 15, 2013, through Oct. 31, 2014. R2L’s second round of activities began Nov. 1, 2014. R2L anticipates capitalizing on the networks built during the first round of the grant; therefore, present project activities are strengthening the network of civil society stakeholders, trade unions, religious groups and other actors engaged in advocacy efforts to facilitate broad-based public discussions. Engaged in this process, R2L would act as a civil society watchdog by actively participating in discussions, lobbying, monitoring and submitting shadow reports to the UN, with the goal of convincing the government to implement Sri Lanka’s National Human Rights Action Plan (NHRAP) and the recommendations of LLRC and the United Nations Convention Against Torture (UNCAT).

Activities in October 2014 related to the old grant. They were limited to publicizing cases of torture in social media. In November and December 2014, new grant activities primarily included planning and organizing: 10 events for training 125 HRDs on extrajudicial killings and use of minimum force by police; one people’s tribunal against torture; an orientation for 25 activists to lead reform campaigns against torture, use of excessive force, etc.; and a pilot effort to build up community monitoring groups in the Negambo police.

Component 2. Support Regional Indigenous Organizations to Promote Responsive Citizenship and Inclusive Participation Grant Disbursement Under this component, 27 grants were active at the quarter’s cut-off date of Dec. 15, 2014. This includes CHR, which is sourced from both components 1 and 2. Another five (second grants to Muslim Women’s Development Trust (MWDT), Women’s Development Foundation (WDF) and Network for Advocating Requirements of Women (NewAROW) and first grants to Law and Society Trust (LST) and Berendina) were approved a few days thereafter. In addition, four grants that were active at the beginning of the quarter under this component ended during the quarter (NewAROW, MWDT, MWDRF and SDJF) and closeout work is in progress.

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Annual Program Statement (APS) The APS grant application process for component 2 continued throughout the quarter. The APS was released Oct. 21, 2013, and applications are accepted on a rolling basis. The selection process is in two stages: (1) concept notes are assessed and (2) successful organizations are called to submit full applications. A technical evaluation committee (TEC) of three to five members, including the chief of party, evaluates the concept notes. After selections are made, the shortlisted applicants are called for a workshop to introduce the full application process.

Two rounds of the component 2 APS applications cleared this quarter. In the first round, six of 35 concept notes received were short-listed for the full applications stage and another six were pending further review of the organizations. The rest were rejected. Of the six applications received, five were approved and processed while one is pending review. In addition, 42 applications were received and processed for approval this quarter; 11 were shortlisted to submit full applications. Six of these have been shortlisted for submission to USAID. The rest are being assessed and decisions will depend on balancing the thematic priorities and availability of funding.

The TEC also reviewed concept notes and applications from previous rounds that had been put on standby for various reasons (geographic balance, thematic balance, organizational profile check, etc.). These include proposals focused on working with female youth in the free-trade zone, trade unions and people with disabilities and marginalized communities. Successful concept notes/applications will be processed in the next quarter.

Grantee Activities

(Please note that the cut-off date for activity reports is Dec. 15, 2014 for the purpose of this quarterly report)

Multi-Regional Grants

The Institute for Constitutional Studies (ICS) commenced activities in May 2014. The grant’s objective is to improve governance structures at the provincial level through greater understanding of the constitutional provisions and by building their capacity and skills to draft statutes in exercising devolved powers. The grant supports trainings and workshops for senior members of the Northern Provincial Council to build their financial and administrative capacities and provides training and assistance on statute drafting to all provinces.

Training on Statute Drafting for Senior Officials of the Eastern Provincial Council: This was the principal activity for this quarter. The training is in two parts; the first part provides basic knowledge of constitutional provisions relating to statute-drafting and legal aspects related to the process. Thirty-nine officials, including eight women, participated in this training. The second part of the training is planned for early next quarter.

The NGO National Action Front (NNAF) grant, Strengthening Pluralism, Integrity, Diversity and Equality Toward Reconciliation (SPIDER), supports efforts to develop a code of conduct (CoC) for NGOs and grassroots-level organizations to help govern their activities. The NNAF, an offshoot of the voluntary services organizations in Sri Lanka, developed a CoC after consulting Southern NGOs. This largely reflects the interest of Southern NGOs and is not fully accepted by Northern and Eastern NGOs.

The initial phase of this grant will restructure and strengthen the NNAF as a secretariat and strengthen its coordinating role by setting up five district consortia in the North, East and Central provinces. The second phase will be dedicated to developing the CoC and capacity building of member NGOs to adhere to the CoC. The code can improve organizational standards and quality

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of work and ensure improved accountability to stakeholders, including community members, donors, governments, beneficiaries, staff and the general public. The grant commenced activities in October 2014 and will complete activities by July 2015. This quarter’s activities included:

District Consortia Revitalized: NNAC established five new NGO district consortia in the North, East and Central provinces. The district consortia include a cluster of local NGOs and CBOs from the relevant districts.

CoC Revised: As an initial measure to develop a CoC acceptable to all member NGOs, the existing CoC was translated into Tamil and sent to district consortia in the North, East and Central provinces to get feedback.

The Secretariat for Muslims (SFM) commenced activities under its grant in September 2014. The grant, Promote Religious Tolerance and Dialogue Between Different Religious Communities and Within the Muslim Community, aims to create awareness among policymakers at different levels on ethnic and religiously motivated incidents and attacks against members of the Muslim community, and to create awareness among the Muslim community on the need for inter- and intra-communal co-existence and harmony. The grant was designed against the backdrop of attacks against Muslims by extremist Sinhala-Buddhist groups. Following are key activities this quarter:

Religiously and Ethnically Motivated Violence Monitored: Through scanning 30 newspapers and more than 50 websites, SFM has recorded 26 incidents and discriminatory statements against Muslims. The SFM team also visited two locations — Darga Town, a Muslim majority area in the Southern province, and Nawalapitiya in the Central province — to investigate and obtain firsthand information on the assault of a Muslim teacher and the police detention of a group of Muslim youth.

Supporting Inter- and Intra-Communal Co-existence: A curriculum for madrasa (Islamic religious school) students incorporating the concepts of Fiq Ul-Aqalliya al-Muslima is being developed. This will help cultivate values such as harmony and inter- and intra-communal co-existence among madrasa students.

The Sri Lanka Development Journalists’ Forum (SDJF) grant focuses on developing an Islamic framework on gender equality and justice (IFEJ) through the wider engagement of Muslim religious leaders, community members, youth and civil society organizations. The grant will draw 24 selected Muslim religious leaders (MRLs) from the Eastern and North Central provinces to analyze the content of the Quran on equality and justice in relation to gender. The group will study the Quran verses from spiritual, economic, social, family and legal/political perspectives, demonstrating that men and women should be treated equally in the religion. Other activities under the grant will seek to increase knowledge and recognition of gender equality and justice among MRLs, community members, youth and CSOs per the IFEJ. Achievements from the quarter include:

IFEJ Reviewed: Much of the quarter’s activities focused on review consultations with different stakeholder groups. Seven civil society meetings drew participation from 284 individuals (214 men and 70 women) to get feedback on articles written about the IFEJ. These took place in Oddamavadai, Semmanodai, Vaalaichenai, Sammanthurai, Kinniya and Muttur in the East and Anuradhapura town in the North Central Province. SDJF also coordinated consultations with members of Arabic Colleges, with 322 youth (228 men and 94 women) participating. Three meetings at universities, the National College of Education in Attalachenai, South Eastern University in Attalachenai and Islam Faculty in the Eastern University, drew 91 students (50 women and 41 men).

Documentaries Produced: SDJF produced three documentaries (not included as a grant activity) on its work done so far as a tool to advocate for change. They are online at:

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Training workshop for Muslim Religious Leaders on Equality and Justice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgi6YZiGyrE

SDJF at the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npV0k3wd8Zo

Developing an Islamic Framework on Equality and Justice IFEJ Photo Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqZf9hVVvKA

Self-Realization

“Abdul” holds office in a Muslim social service organization and is a respected academic. He was a trainer at the Muslim Religious Leaders workshops conducted under this grant.

After the training, Abdul conducted a session on personal reflection, where participants were encouraged to speak about how their wives might have felt ignored, left out and disrespected as a result of the leaders’ behavior. Abdul shared that he knew about the concept of equality for women in Islam but failed in its application. He reflected that although he knew that many of his actions did not make his wife happy, he ignored how she felt, feeling superior because he is a man. At this point he got emotional and shed tears, saying he considered his wife to be powerless, so he repeated his mistakes. He then openly spoke of his shame at his conduct. Interviewed after the training, Abdul said he was finding it difficult to show that his views had changed. He has written a letter for his wife to find, requesting pardon for his actions. This shows how difficult it is for a Muslim man to change, given his socialization from a young age.

Many others shared similar experiences: a Moulavi who is also a member of a conservative religious group said the workshop has made him reconsider and halt his divorce from his wife.

The Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) grant commenced in September 2014, aiming to enhance the country’s civil society space to engage in democratic work and strengthen democratic values, promote good governance and national integration and transparency in development activities in the Northern and Southern provinces. The grant supports victims and witnesses of corruption, particularly at the grassroots level, to access legal aid and increase awareness among citizens to demand accountability and transparency from the public sector. The grantee staffs also mediate between state institutions and citizens to find lasting solutions to their grievances and strengthen the governance and service delivery of state institutions. Achievements include:

Increased Access to Legal Aid: TISL’s work strengthened the Shelters for Integrity and Participation (SIP) program in the North and the East. The center’s staff provides free legal advice to victims and witnesses of corruption. The SIP centers have received more than 300 complaints. Of the complaints received, 60 percent were land related, 30 percent were on beneficiary selection in internally displaced persons (IDP) housing projects and 10 percent were on legal documentation. Follow-up of the cases is ongoing.

Outreach Campaigns: An advertisement ran in English, Tamil and Sinhala language daily newspapers to give publicity to SIP centers and the support they provide. A poster and a leaflet campaign in the North and South aimed to increase public awareness of SIP centers’ legal support.

Increased Public Demand for Accountability and Transparency: TISL established eight citizens’ committees in the Vavuniya, Mannar and Jaffna districts. Next quarter, committee members will receive training on the citizen charter, participatory governance and advocating on LLRC recommendations.

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Local Governance Mapping in the North and South: In consultation with local communities, TISL mapped the governance structure and created a basic profile of five selected districts.

Findings of Governance Mapping in the North and South

The community lacks knowledge of available (limited) mechanisms for citizens’ participation in governance.

Access to information has significantly improved over the last five years.

Service delivery is more satisfactory in the Southern provinces than in the Northern provinces.

Despite the end of the civil war, the space for civil society continues to shrink.

Civil society actors, particularly from the North, encounter constant government scrutiny and bureaucratic obstacles.

Communities from both the North and the South fear challenging illegal actions of powerful politicians or their supporters.

They also lack knowledge on available avenues for legal redress, other than the judiciary.

Viluthu, Center for Human Resource Development (Viluthu) The grant, Sasunata Diriya — Pirivenin Gamata (Strengthening Stakeholders of Buddhism — from the School of the Monks to the Village), supports student monks in 30 pirivenas to enhance their knowledge of coexistence and respect for human rights. These pirivenas are under the purview of the Ministry of Education. Achievements include:

Workshops Conducted: Viluthu conducted eight two-day workshops for 380 (male) student monks in Rideegama, Udubaddawa, Pilessa, Wahara, Alawwa and Polgahawela in the Kurunagala District, Wijayapura in Anuradhapura and Puttlam districts and Sri Sariputhra Pirivena, Medagama and Bibile in the Moneragala District. They included sessions on the objective of monkhood and its meaning in a multicultural society (attitudinal change session); the role of a community leader; locating Buddhism within globalization; Buddhism and human rights; and “A Woman in a Buddhist Society.” Participants included 20 Buddhist clergy who are either principals or teachers of pirivenas.

Developing a Training of Trainers’ Curriculum: Viluthu developed the curriculum in consultation with four resource people. The organization is compiling a supplementary reader for the course, which it will finalize next quarter.

Student Monk Reflections on the Attributes of a Village Leader

Devoid of anger; acts prudently; walks the talk; observes sil and the five precepts of Buddhism.

Empathetic; socialist; virtuous; devoid of race and caste discriminations; fair and able to take decisions; productive citizen.

Cares about the environment and animals; an unselfish Buddhist who loves the village; respects one’s race; looks into the difficulties of villagers.

Knowledgeable; a good citizen; confident; has a good personality; is patient; works for others.

Displays kindness, compassion, love and honesty; is a good Buddhist and fair.

Teaches what is right and wrong.

(These answers are drawn from a pre-program questionnaire answered by workshop participants.)

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Eastern Grants

Ampara Special Needs Network (ASNN) commenced activities under its grant in June 2014. The grant proposes an enabling environment to ensure the rights of people with disabilities by establishing a community-support mechanism, increasing the quality of services offered and advocating for the inclusion of people with disabilities in mainstream services. This grant seeks to establish and enhance the capacity of action groups in four selected divisional secretariats in the Ampara District. ASNN will work toward protecting the rights of people with disabilities (PWDs); improving the knowledge of high-level and middle-level duty bearers on a rights-based approach and the rights of PWDs; training teachers in special needs schools on improved teaching practices; and improving community knowledge on the rights of PWDs. ASNN’s activities during the reporting period include:

Formation and Strengthening of Action Groups: ASNN facilitated three action group meetings in the Addalaichchenai, Naavithanveli and Akkaraipattu DS divisions. The Akkaraipattu action group found 86 children with disabilities who are not attending school and initiated action to enroll these children in school. ASNN conducted four workshops on topics including community-based rehabilitation of people with disabilities; national policy and its application; inclusive education; and the importance of special needs education. Participants in these workshops included 56 group members (26 women and 30 men).

Workshop for School Teachers Working with People with Disabilities: ASNN conducted four workshops for 36 teachers working in special needs units in schools.

Awareness Sessions for School Children: To improve integration of children with disabilities with other school children, ASNN conducted an art and essay competition. Participants included 195 students from 20 schools in four DS divisions in the Ampara District. Art and essay topics focused on rights, social inclusion and community acceptance of PWDs.

Akkaraipattu Women’s Association (AWA) commenced activities under its grant in June 2014. The grant seeks to reduce violence against Muslim women by empowering women’s groups in Muslim communities in Akkaraipattu in the Ampara District. This grant support knowledge and skills enhancement for 10 women’s groups, strengthen community support in combating violence against women and provide emergency support to 20 GBV victims. AWA’s activities during the reporting period included:

Training of Trainers: AWA completed training sessions to train and develop 25 trainers in the community. The sessions began in July 2014; 12 sessions have been conducted. Thirty-two females attended at least one session and 21 have completed at least 10 important sessions.

Enhancing the Capacity of Village-Level Women’s Group Members:

To improve integration of children with disabilities with other school children, ASNN conducted an

art and essay competition.

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• AWA conducted eight community-level awareness programs, with 286 women participating. The awareness sessions highlighted the need for women leaders and Muslim personal law.

• AWA selected potential women leaders to develop their knowledge and skills on identifying and reporting Muslim women’s issues. AWA trained these 27 potential women leaders on case management, highlighting ways to record and report abuse for further assistance.

• AWA conducted an exposure visit to Mannar. Fifteen village-level women leaders participated. The Mannar Women’s Development Foundation (MWDF) facilitated the visit and shared its experience in working with Muslim and Tamil ethnic communities on women’s rights, GBV and violence against women (VAW). They addressed field visits to quazi courts, discussions with village level women’s groups and how to handle cases.

Meeting with Stakeholders: AWA held a second meeting with stakeholders, including 56 representatives (30 female and 26 male) from DS offices, women’s rights NGOs and village-level women’s groups. They elected forum members to handle Muslim women’s issues.

Strengthening Women’s Societies: AWA continued to support women’s societies in conducting monthly meetings. During the quarter, three meetings each drew participation from an average of 24 women.

Quazi Court Support: To improve effective case handling in quazi courts, AWA submitted 400 case application forms to the Akkaraipattu Quazi Court and conducted three visits to follow up on progress. AWA staff supports preparation of affidavits and letters and further guides Muslim women.

Provision of Emergency Support: Ten women received assistance under this category during this quarter.

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The Affected Women’s Forum (AWF), Ampara ended work on its grant in July 2014 and work on the follow-up grant commenced in November 2014. This grant supported efforts to reduce VAW in the Ampara District. Through this follow-on grant, AWF aims to establish a divisional level multi-stakeholder task force on the prevention of gender-based violence in seven divisional secretariats, empower a group of youth to promote gender equality in villages, continue to support GBV victims and carry out village level awareness raising. The forum’s activities during the reporting period included:

Establishment of Division-Level GBV Prevention Mechanism: AWF facilitated the establishment of a task force on the prevention of GBV in the Karaithivu DS. Twenty-two participants, including women’s development officers, police officers, members of women’s rights NGOs and community-level women’s rural development societies, participated in the initial meeting.

Training of Trainers (ToT): The Path to Improving Local Technical Support to Help Muslim Women

The Akkaraipattu DS division in Ampara District is predominantly Muslim. To reduce violence against Muslim women, AWA organized a series of events to help village-level women’s groups better deal with problems women face. As one of the interventions, AWA trained a group of young local women to support village women’s groups. The selected group participated in 12 training and coaching sessions. The training sessions focused on Muslim personal law, GBV and domestic violence law, women’s rights provisions in the Quran, women’s leadership, gender equality, equity and counseling. Thirty-two women participated in at least one training session and 21 participated in the 10 most important sessions. So far, the trained women have conducted 18 awareness sessions for 10 village-level women’s groups. More than 250 village women participated in these sessions.

“This ToT program supported to build up my self-confidence. Now I am able to facilitate women’s rights, Muslim personal law and gender equality awareness session in villages,” said Ms. D. Rosairo, a women’s development officer for the Akkaraipattu DS. She added that “the ToT program provided knowledge on Muslim personal law, case handling and legal remedies for Muslim women’s issues. I hope I can now support to reduce violence against Muslim women in our division.”

Ms. F. Azeema, a newly appointed DS Office staff member, stated: “I would say that this ToT has given in-depth knowledge on gender and upgraded my skills to disseminate this message to the community. Now I am helping women who need maintenance support for themselves and their children, support pregnant women (to) get their allowances and guide women to take legal action with further assistance from the AWA.”

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Village-Level Women’s Group Meetings: Village-level women’s groups established in six villages continued meeting to discuss and report on women’s issues. During the reporting period, 11 meetings took place.

The Center for Accessibility, Monitoring and Information on Disability (CAMID), Batticaloa, commenced its grant activities in November 2014 to enhance the capacity of disabled people’s organizations (DPO) to engage in rights-based advocacy and social inclusion. The grant focuses on enhancing operational capacity of DPOs in five DS divisions, improving the involvement of duty bearers in guiding and monitoring DPOs and supporting them to advocate on issues affecting PWDs at the district level. CAMID’s activities during the reporting period included:

Capacity Assessment of DPOs: CAMID conducted a capacity assessment for five DPOs and will incorporate identified gaps into a capacity action plan to implement in the next quarter.

Rights-Based Approach Training for DPOs: CAMID conducted a training session on Rights-Based Approach for 16 executive members (nine males and seven females) of five DPOs.

Eastern Human and Economic Development (EHED), Batticaloa, commenced grant activities in July 2014 to raise awareness on rising debt and its adverse impact on vulnerable communities, and to advocate to improve the situation. This grant supports community members, particularly those from marginalized communities and vulnerable families, to learn rules and procedures related to microfinance, consumer credit and household financial management. The grant facilitates a multi-stakeholder forum at the district level, an effective mechanism to raise, discuss and address problems related to policies and practices of consumer credit and micro-finance. EHED’s activities during the reporting period included:

Microfinance and Consumer Credit Awareness for CSO Representatives: EHED conducted two workshops on microfinance and consumer credit rules, procedures and practices for 33 CSO members (26 females and seven males). These CSO members are expected to disseminate this information in their communities.

Awareness on Micro Finance and Consumer Credit Rules, Procedures and Practice. EHED conducted two awareness sessions in Manmunai Pattu and Manmunai South West DS divisions with 85 women participating. These sessions focused on managing microfinance loans and the responsibility of microfinance institutions in recovering these loans. EHED facilitated two street drama performances to create community awareness on the negative impact of microfinance-related malpractices. More than 250 people (45 males and 205 females) observed the street drama performance. Additionally, EHED distributed 2,000 handbills and leaflets highlighting the negative impact of microfinance-related malpractices.

Scenes of the street drama.

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GN Officers received information posters to

mobilize community members

The aboriginal (Veddah) community is one of the most marginalized communities in Sri Lanka. A majority of them do

not have birth certificates and find it difficult to obtain a NIC. CHR conducted a mobile service with support from the Department of Registration of Persons (DRP) at the Mahiyangana DS where this community lives. The mobile

service helped 15 community members apply for the NIC. The DRP and CHR provided this special service to overcome NIC issues of the aboriginal community.

District Multi-Stakeholder Microfinance Forum: EHED facilitated an inaugural meeting to establish this forum. The district secretary chaired the meeting and 51 participants from government institutions, microfinance service providers and representatives of CSOs participated. They formed a five-member committee to continue forum activities.

Workshop to Train CSO Members on Microfinance Service Providers: EHED conducted a workshop to train CSO members in collecting and documenting formal microfinance service providers and available services at the divisional level. Eleven CSO members (four males and seven females) participated.

The Center for Human Rights (CHR) completed its first grant in April 2014 and commenced work on its second grant in August 2014 to help members of marginalized communities in Badulla, Matara and Trincomalee districts obtain national identity cards (NICs) and other essential documents, including birth and marriage certificates. CHR’s activities during the reporting period include:

Pre-Planning Session to Commence Mobile NIC Service in Badulla and Trincomalee: CHR facilitated two district-level planning sessions to commence NIC mobile services. High-level officers from the Department of Registration of Persons, District and Divisional Secretariats and Line Departments participated at the sessions. A total of 36 (27 males and nine females) officers participated in sessions in Badulla and Trincomalee districts.

Training for Government Officials on Amended Procedures for Obtaining NICs: To educate relevant government officials in Badulla and Trincomalee Districts on amended procedures for obtaining NICs, CHR facilitated 10 training sessions with support from the Department of Registration of Persons (DRP). Participants included 473 government officials (261 males and 212 females). DS-level officers received 727 copies of the instruction book developed by DRP as a guide for future reference.

Needs Assessment to Identify NIC Needs: CHR carried out 15 division-level pre-assessment meetings in 15 DS divisions in Badulla and Trincomalee districts. These assessments identified more than 14,900 people who needed NICs. The assessment covered new NICs, modification and losses. So far, CHR has carried out 25 mobile services in the Badulla District. More than 6,303 people (3,276 males and 3,027 females) benefited. During this period, DRP has accepted 6,003 NIC applications and 3,572 people (1,885 males and 1,687 females) have received birth certificates.

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The Center for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights (CPPHR) completed its grant in July 2014. The follow-on commenced in September 2014. This grant builds on work carried out via the previous grant and focuses on human rights protection for marginalized populations in the Trincomalee District. The grant helps CPPHR provide legal representation to detainees and prisoners, develop youth to support activities to raise awareness of human rights and support CSO members in identifying and documenting human rights violations. Activities during the reporting period included:

Adult Group Formation: CPPHR formed an adult group to improve integration of vulnerable/ marginalized members in communities. Twenty people (eight males and 12 females) from five DS divisions in Trincomalee participated. The group has representation from people whose family members have disappeared, rehabilitated LTTE members, woman-headed families and family members of people in rehabilitation/detention centers. CPPHR conducted three workshops on land rights and conflict management with the participation of 20 group members.

Support for Prison Visits: CPPHR provided four cycles of care packs and travel allowances to family members of people in detention or rehabilitation centers.

Court Representation and Legal Advice: CPPHR’s lawyers continue court representation for marginalized people in Trincomalee and Colombo courts. During the reporting period, they filed 14 new cases, including fundamental rights violations (one), Prevention of Terrorism Act cases (five) and other civil cases (eight). Additionally, 20 marginalized people are receiving legal advice.

‘Youth for Peace’: CPPHR commenced team-building activities for 15 youth (11 females and four males). The youth arranged a “Shramadana” with community participation, celebrated Children’s Day and carried out commemorations on Human Rights Day.

Training for CSO Members: To enhance CSO members’ ability to identify and document human rights violations, CPPHR conducted a workshop in Vavuniya for 28 people (19 males, nine females).

Participation at Human Rights Forums: CPPHR participated in three human rights forums. A forum organized by the Human Rights Office in Kandy addressed mental health issues of victims and family members of disappeared people . CPPHR contributed to the Colombo forum initiated by NPC to discuss the space for civil society in peace-building and brought CSO representatives to the Tamil Civil Society Members Forum for a discussion in Vavuniya on Tamils in North and East.

Distribution of ‘Law and You’ Booklets: CPPHR published an additional two sets (1,000 copies total) of “Law and You” booklets. The first book’s content focused on civil law, especially cases related to endorsement of properties and promise of marriage. The second booklet related to criminal law focused on first investigation report (FIR), detention and responsibility to prove crime in criminal cases.

‘Youth for Peace’ – Engage Youth in Community Activities

CPPHR initiated ‘Youth for Peace’ activities under the SPICE grant in October 2013. More than 20 youth are involved in these activities. The previous SPICE grant funded trainings on Playback Theater, leadership, filmmaking, advocacy and women’s rights. The “current political and security situation is not conducive for these youth to act as human rights activists. However, this initiative supports youth to become involved in social activities,” said the Rev. Fr. V. Yogeswaran, director of CPPHR.

‘Shramadana’ at Kaddaipparichchan IDP Welfare Center

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Women representatives from VWG conduct a

monthly meeting in the Seruwela DS Office.

Youth for Peace members arranged a Shramadana at the Kaddapparichchan IDP welfare center in November to curb the spread of mosquito-borne and other infectious diseases during the rainy season. More than 200 people from the IDP center, host community and youth took part in the activities. People at the IDP center were displaced from Sampoor in 2007 and are unable to return their villages as their lands are now in high-security zones.

Children’s Day Celebrations at T/M/ Vipulanda Maha Vidyalayam

Youth for Peace members arranged a Children’s Day celebration at a rural school in the Muttur DS Division in October 2014. Seventy-five children participated in the event and showcased their talents in a cultural performance, followed by several sports activities. Exercise books and other study materials were distributed to the children.

Human Rights Day Commemoration in Trincomalee

CPPHR and ‘Youth for Peace’ jointly organized a commemoration for human rights day. The bishop of Trincomalee and members of the media were invited as guests of honor. Youth for Peace members carried out a performance to show the plight of marginalized community members in Trincomalee. Participants included 195 people, including students, family members of people in detention camps or rehabilitation centers, CSO members, victims of human rights violations and youth.

Eastern Voluntary Social Development Organization for Women (EVSDOW), Trincomalee commenced work on its grant in April 2014. The grant supports the reintegration of war-affected women by improving their knowledge and economic status. The geographical focus of the project is Muttur and Seruwila divisional secretariats in the Trincomalee District. EVSDOW is supporting eight village-level women’s groups in Seruwila and six village-level women’s groups in Muttur DS divisions. EVSDOW established a divisional-level forum to address violence against women in Seruwila DS, where GBV-affected women receive emergency assistance and livelihood support. EVSDOW’s activities during the reporting period include:

A group cleans the main access road.

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GBV Forum meeting In Seruwila Divisional

Secretariat with the participation of stakeholders and service providers.

Formation and Strengthening of Village-Level Women’s Groups in Seruwila DS: EVSDOW conducted four initial meetings to restart the Village-Level Women’s Group (VWG). The registration process is taking place this quarter in the Seruwila DS office.

Awareness Workshops on Rights: EVSDOW conducted three awareness workshops on women’s rights, GBV and community response mechanisms for GBV in the Seruwila DS division. Participants included 86 women.

Training for Women Leaders: Forty women leaders, previously trained, had two meetings with the women’s development officer at the DS office. These meetings helped them identify and discuss issues, especially GBV/ VAW, as well as challenges faced and solutions.

Divisional-Level GBV Forum in Seruwila Divisional Secretariat: During this quarter, EVSDOW conducted two meetings with an average of 33 stakeholders at each, including a child probationary officer, a child development officer, a lawyer from the Human Rights Commission, a social services officer, an economic development officer, a development officer from the Foreign Employment Bureau and representatives from EVSDOW. Issues discussed included early marriage, migration of domestic workers with small children, child labor and child abuse.

Strengthening Village-Level Women’s Groups in Muttur DS: The previously formed six VWG are actively functioning, with regular monthly meetings. Topics discussed include women’s rights, gender-based violence and child abuse. It is expected that this information will reach the community through the members.

Provision of Emergency Assistance to GBV Survivors: Ten female GBV survivors received emergency assistance in Muttur and Seruwila DS divisions.

Provision of Livelihood Support for Women: Ten female GBV victims were given assistance to commence livelihood activities in Muttur and Seruwila DS divisions.

Awareness Workshops on Legal Documentation: EVSDOW conducted awareness workshops on legal documentation in six villages in the Muttur DS division for 163 women participants. The participants learned about the importance of legal documents, including birth and marriage certificates and NICs, how to obtain them and the challenges faced.

Study on Cause and Effect of Early Marriage and Teenage Pregnancies: EVSDOW conducted a survey to identify reasons and associated issues of child marriage and teenage pregnancy in 14 villages. The survey found that early marriage is declining in the post-war period.

Islamic Women’s Association for Research and Improvement (IWARE), Batticaloa commenced work under its grant in June 2014. The grant addresses Muslim women’s sociocultural issues through a women’s rights perspective in the Kattankudy DS. The grant is funding efforts to 1) increase understanding and knowledge of women’s rights among women and youth, especially school children; 2) enhance solidarity and support for affected women to identify and solve or seek redress for their issues; and 3) strengthen IWARE’s networks for combating violence against Muslim women and girls. Following are IWARE’s’ activities during this reporting period:

Student Trainings on Rights and Responsibilities of Muslim Women: IWARE continued training workshops for students on women’s right to education under Islam, the importance of female

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leaders and responsible use of social media. IWARE carried out three workshops for 67 students (38 female and 29 male) aged 16–18.

Community-Level Awareness Workshops on Leadership for Women: IWARE carried out a series of workshops to enhance community-level women leaders’ knowledge on rights and responsibilities in Islam for women and the importance of community leaders who are women. During this period, 60 women participated in three workshops.

‘Befrienders’ Group to Support Vulnerable Women: IWARE selected 27 women to train as “befrienders” and conducted three workshops on human rights, women’s rights, understanding of women’s position in society and effective referral systems in the country. The befrienders are expected to provide psychological support and legal assistance to victims.

Provision of Victim Support and Emergency Assistance: Ten women victims received emergency assistance. IWARE carried out visits to quazi courts every Wednesday. These visits facilitated legal advice for Muslim women.

KOINONIA, Batticaloa commenced activities under its grant in March 2014. This grant supports advocacy and assistance to people with disabilities (PWDs), many affected by the war, including ex-combatants struggling to reintegrate into society. The grant targets the Manmunai West and Manmunai Southwest divisional secretariats in the Batticaloa District and provides livelihood assistance to PWDs, supports the repair or replacement of artificial limbs, carries out increased stakeholder awareness on the rights of PWDs, supports the strengthening of disabled persons’ organizations (DPOs) and promotes advocacy activities on identified PWD rights violations. KOINONIA’s activities during the reporting period include:

Provision of Livelihood Assistance to PWDs: KOINONIA provided assistance to 25 PWDs (18 males and seven females) to expand or initiate income-generation activities.

Repair or Replacement of PWDs’ Artificial Limbs: Eight people (two females and six males) received assistance to repair or replace their artificial limbs during this period.

Advocacy Events: KOINONIA facilitated an advocacy event of disabled persons organizations (DPOs) in Vavunateevu and Kokaddichcholai. Thirty-five representatives (20 males and 15 femlaes) of DPOs participated. Exposure Visit: KOINONIA conducted an exposure visit to the Center for Handicapped in Kandy. The visit aimed to estabilish a network between the center and DPOs in Batticaloa. The Center for Handicapped develops artificial limbs and other instruments for disabled people. Twenty executive-level members of DPOs in Manmuani West and Manmunai Southwest participated. Strengthening of (DPOs): Two DPOs held four meetings during the quarter KOINONIA support Peace and Community Action (PCA) commenced activities under its grant in May 2014. The grant is in response to what PCA perceives to be a lacuna in the government’s action plan based on the 2011 LLRC report, which recommended that civil society carry out activities to address reconciliation issues, highlighting multi-ethnic/multi-religious group relations, using arts and engaging youth. Through this grant, PCA works with Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim youth (aged 18 to 25) in Matara and Ampara districts. The youth receive training to lead and practice nonviolence, helping address ethnic and religious tension that has been increasing in their districts since the end of the civil war in 2009. PCA’s activities during the reporting period included: Training for Youth: PCA conducted three trainings for 30 youth (17 male, 13 female). The trainings emphasized facilitation and leadership (one training in Matara) and gender equality and GBV (two trainings in Ampara and Matara). The trained youth shared their learning among their peers.

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Formation of Youth Peer Groups: PCA supported the trained youth group to form an additional 12 peer groups. So far, 36 peer groups have formed in the Ampara and Matara districts and 555 youth (254 female, 301 male) participate in peer group activities. This group creates the space for youth to disseminate information on their learning, motivating them to become involved in community activities.

Conducting Exposure Visit: PCA conducted two exposure visits with participation from 30 youth (18 males and 12 females).

Exchange Visits Improve Inter-Community Relations

PCA is working with youth in DS divisions in Ampara and Matara districts. The Navithanveli DS is predominately Tamil and Sammanthurai has more Muslims. The Malimbada DS division in Matara District is predominantly Sinhalese. To enhance understanding of cultural values, norms and practices of different ethnic groups, PCA conducted two exposure visits between youth from these divisions. Muslim and Tamil youth from Ampara visited Matara and the Sinhalese youth visited Ampara.

“Before the exposure visit, we had misconceptions about other ethnic groups, especially the Sinhala community. I was apprehensive of how the Sinhala community would treat us. I was worried about how I was going to say my daily prayers in the house where I was staying. But I was surprised and very happy as they treated me very well and provided all facilities. They gave me a separate room for my prayers. The father of the Matara youth was very happy about our visit. They taught me Sinhala and I taught them Tamil. This made me understand that we can all live happily together,” said Inzamamul Haque from Ampara. He added, “Sinhala community members are very supportive and participated in all our activities. A shramadana campaign was carried out in the Akurugoda village to clean the road. Even elders of the community joined us and worked with us. Neither was familiar with the other’s language. But we worked happily side by side. These kind of activities help to create peace and ethnic cohesion among communities.”

Professional Psychological Counseling Center (PPCC) commenced activities under its grant in March 2014. The grant supports reintegration of affected people into the community to lead peaceful and normal lives through psychological counseling at established “listening homes” or counseling centers. The project is implemented in 10 locations in the Batticaloa and Ampara districts. The grant supports training workshops for former combatants and their families, war widows and family members of people who have disappeared. The grant is also enhancing counselors’ capacity to improve counseling services in the region. PPCC’s activities during the reporting period include:

Establishing Listening Centers and Deployment of Psychosocial Volunteers: The counselors and volunteers provided 179 counseling sessions to 121 traumatized people. These sessions are continuing from the previous quarter.

Skills Development for Counselors: PPCC conducted a skills development session for 32 counselors (19 female, 13 male). Skills development activities included new counseling techniques, handling complex cases and feedback for counselors.

Psychological Counseling Workshop for War Widows: PPCC conducted one workshop for war widows with 25 participants. The workshop provided these women a space and a platform to share their stories and emotions. The workshop also provided a session on career guidance.

Northern Grants CHANGE Humanitarian Organization commenced work on its grant in June 2014. CHANGE proposes durable solutions for protracted IDP issues through information, counseling, documentation services and legal assistance. The group provides support to extremely vulnerable

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individuals (EVI), including IDPs in and around Puttlam to fill the gap in legal aid and support services. Activities for this quarter include:

Documentation Services and Legal Advice: Three mobile clinics helped 239 people obtain their legal documents, provided legal counseling for 110 people; CHANGE processed 18 legal cases after the clinic.

Awareness Programs: Five awareness programs and group information sessions were completed during the quarter: three on child rights, one on domestic violence and one on Muslim personal law. During the grant period, 20 of these awareness and information sessions took place, with 309 people participating.

Stakeholder Meetings: One stakeholder meeting took place, targeting members of five women’s rural development societies (WRDS). Twelve women listened to CHANGE’s activities and brought up a few issues prevailing in their villages. They also requested that CHANGE extend its services to their villages.

Support for SGBV Forum: CHANGE supported a sex- and gender-based violence (SGBV) forum meeting in Puttlam and six victims attended.

Madhuragama: Succor for the Isolated

A legal mobile clinic at Madhuragama village in Puttlam DS took place at the request of the Grama Niladari for the location. The village inhabitants are Sinhalese and their main economic activities are unskilled labor and farming. They face numerous difficulties due to their lack of education and the remoteness of their village. The village is surrounded by thick jungle and often faces attacks from elephants.

Polygamy, early marriage and domestic violence are common to the village. School dropouts and non-admission is another serious issue. The lack of transport facilities and the fear of wild elephant attacks restrict access of the population to essential services. CHANGE found two school dropout cases, nine national identity card issues, three late birth registrations and nine lost document cases and provided three legal counseling and help with several bigamy and polygamy issues. The organization will continue to engage with this isolated village through grant activities.

The Community Development Organization (CDO) focuses its work on youth empowerment and peace-building. Under this grant, CDO proposes creating an enabling environment for youth empowerment and promoting youth participation in community work. Grant activities started in July 2014. Activities this quarter included:

Stakeholder Meetings and Data Collection: Initial stakeholder meetings and data collection of sports clubs were took place in three DS divisions of Mullaitivu District. The grant objectives were explained to beneficiaries and other stakeholders and necessary data collection was completed with the support of divisional sports officers and sports clubs.

Capacity Assessment of Sports Clubs: Capacity assessments were carried out in all six DS divisions of Mullaitivu District, and draft reports were prepared. SPICE will provide technical support to analyze the findings.

Sports Club Networks: Clusters of sports clubs were formed in all six DS divisions of Mullaitivu with the intention of increasing interclub interaction.

Skills Training for Female Youth: Business skills training reached 94 youth, all female.

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Using Sports to Reintegrate War-Affected Youth in Mullaitivu District

Mullaitivu District was badly affected in the 30-year armed conflict in Sri Lanka. The war destroyed social structures, making post-war reintegration difficult. People who faced uncertainty for much of their lives returned to resettle in their original villages. Gradually, social structures were reconstituted as people sought to claim normalcy after the end of war in 2009. However, creating a platform to engage youth became a challenge. Any activity engaging youth is viewed with a certain amount of suspicion by authorities.

Sports clubs were selected as the focus for reintegrating youth. They were identified as a ground level social structure that could empower youth in the area. The aligned networking of all sports clubs in the district is viewed as reinforcing to club members. CDO conducted a capacity assessment of all sports clubs in the district which is being analyzed with SPICE technical support.

The Federation of Social Development Organizations (FOSDO) commenced work on its grant in March 2014. The grant proposes strengthening civil society to address GBV issues in Vavuniya and Kilinochchi districts. FOSDO is a federation of village-level organizations, which has now progressed to a civil society organization supporting women’s networks and carrying out work on gender-related activities. FOSDO activities this quarter include:

NWAAN Meetings: Three districts and eight division-level Northern Women Advocacy Action Network (NWAAN) meetings took place in Kilinochchi and Vavuniya to review GBV cases.

SGBV Forum Meetings: Four division-level SGBV forum meetings reviewed and evaluated cases with the participation of 101 people, including GBV activists, government and nongovernmental stakeholders.

Division-Level Case Conference: Two case conferences took place in Vavuniya and Kilinochchi, benefiting six women.

GBV Forum Members Training: During this quarter, 20 school counselors from Vavuniya South and 11 GBV desk staff received training and sensitization on interacting with psychologically, sexually and physically abused women and children.

Legal and Emergency Support for GBV Victims: Fourteen GBV victims received emergency support.

Training for NWAAN/CSN Members: Two trainings on advocacy and communication took place, benefiting 53 district and division-level civil society networks, including GBV activists, government and nongovernmental GBV actors in Kilinochchi and Vavuniya.

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16-Day Activism Program Against Gender Violence in Kilinochchi and Vavuniya

FOSDO actively engaged with the annual 16-Day Activism program commemorated by government and nongovernmental GBV actors in Kilinochchi and Vavuniya districts. This year’s theme was “World Peace Begins from Family.” The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence is an international campaign that starts on Nov. 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and ends on Dec. 10, Human Rights Day. The campaign seeks to raise awareness of gender-based violence as a human rights issue at the local, national, regional and international levels.

Advocacy events were organized in seven divisions: three in Vavuniya and four in Kilinochchi. The campaign group toured Kilinochchi in a decorated vehicle carrying messages, slogans and pictures about gender-based violence. The group focused on villages, where a high number of sexual violence cases were reported. Campaign activists distributed leaflets and performed street dramas to increase awareness of gender-based violence. More than 750 community members watched the performances.

A man from Pallikudah, a village in Punaheri Division, Kilinochchi, appreciated the awareness work. “We need this kind of awareness. I’m ashamed to be a man because of the way the men harass women in our community. This is exactly what is shown in the street drama. We should learn to respect women,” he said.

The events in Vavuniya were conference-based. Participants viewed a short film on GBV issues. Participants in the awareness discussions included 158 members of the community, both youth and adults.

“I’m very gratified to see the 16-Day Activism being commemorated in Vavuniya North DS office for the first time. Not only myself but also community members who participated came to know about the meaning of this event. We all gained knowledge about types of GBV that is prevalent and where to refer for such incidents. These events empower women in our community,” said Yuvaraj, a Vavuniya North DS Division child probation officer.

Human Development Center (HUDEC) commenced work in March 2014 on its grant, which seeks to empower Jaffna District families headed by women and affected by war. Activities this quarter included:

Livelihood Assistance: HUDEC helped 57 women heads of households with livelihood assistance, including support to start a small eatery and engage in animal husbandry. Livelihood exposure visits reached 62 women.

Awareness Activities: These included trainings on basic human rights understanding for 58 women from two DS divisions in Jaffna District, personal skills development for 74 women and legal remedies for violence against women and other solutions for 62 women. The personal skills development training included a component on stress management.

Women Receive Advice from a Jaffna Cattle Famer

“This is the first time I see a woman-headed family running a successful cattle farm in my life. This family is an example of how we can move forward in life, overcoming various troubles and difficulties. We learned a lot from her on the practical side of cattle rearing and on how to generate income from cattle rearing,” said Anisten Subansini, age 30, from Uduvil South, Manipay.

Mannar Citizens’ Committee (MCC) commenced activities under its grant in November 2013. MCC proposes developing a rights-respecting environment in the Mannar District for war-affected communities to seek justice and well-being. The MCC is a civil and human rights activist organization speaking out against rights violations at the district level. The organization is also working to develop a network of volunteers nationally. MCC’s activities covered three themes: a)

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establish an effective outreach and awareness-raising mechanism on human rights in the district; b) create greater public awareness on rights violations and collective action to sensitize stakeholders; and c) provide supplementary support for female-headed and vulnerable families of the disappeared and long-term detainees.

MCC completed its grant activities this quarter. Achievements include:

• MCC trained six staff and 21 volunteers. The volunteers report on rights violations in their areas for follow-up action by MCC, prompting MCC to expand its reach in the district through volunteers.

• The organization conducted 20 network meetings during the grant period, including interdistrict meetings with other citizens’ committees. Through this strengthened network, MCC was able to reach out to a larger group to stand against rights violations in the region.

• Basic human rights awareness sessions reached 1,381 people in 30 villages in the Mannar District, where the target was 1,200 individuals.

• Outreach efforts informed 506 individuals from 10 villages about the potential adverse impacts of the Kundankulam nuclear power plant in South India.

• MCC supported 166 students from 75 families of disappeared people and long-term detainees in the Northern region to pursue their education. This activity was supplementary support to female-headed and vulnerable families of the disappeared and long-term detainees.

MCC’s follow-on grant application is being considered under the APS process.

The Mullaitivu Women’s Development and Rehabilitation Federation (MWDRF) commenced activities in October 2013, seeking to strengthen institutions and stakeholders on issues of violence against women and provide holistic support for violence survivors. MWDRF is a CSO working primarily with Muslim and Tamil communities on women’s issues in the Mullaitivu District. Achievements this quarter included:

Village-Level Awareness Meetings on Violence Against Women: Introductory and advanced awareness-raising meetings took place in 20 villages. The meetings reached 806 village-level participants. Following the meetings, several victims of GBV or their advocates reported cases to MWDRF.

Volunteers Trained on GBV: A group of 20 volunteers 20 villages received training on GBV and relevant concepts, being coached and mentored through a series of meetings to be active in the field. These volunteers will interact and meet with community members regularly to identify cases of GBV and refer them to women’s development organizations and MWDRF.

Stakeholder Meetings: Two stakeholder meetings drew 125 participants. With MWDRF’s deepening involvement, doctors and women’s development organizations are referring GBV cases to the organization for follow-up.

Division-Level SGBV Forums. Five division-level SGBV forum meetings were supported by the grantee, with 218 forum members participating.

Legal and Emergency Support for SGBV Victims: MWDRF provided legal assistance to 104 victims, and 58 received emergency assistance. A total of 107 GBV survivors received support. Ten of the most vulnerable victims received livelihood support and all initiated livelihood activities. Reports indicate an increase in household income, but this has not been verified. The most significant impact was on the victims’ confidence levels after receiving support.

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Case Review Meetings: MWDRF case review meetings reached 60 women; critical cases will receive legal support. Participants obtained information on filing cases to claim maintenance from divorced spouses.

Muslim Women’s Development Trust (MWDT) commenced activities under its grant in October 2013. MWDT proposes legal support for and awareness-building of women’s rights. MWDT is a civil society organization working to protect the rights of Muslim women in the Puttlam area, carrying out awareness-raising on Muslim personal law and facilitating justice for affected Muslim women. The geographic focus of the grant is the Puttlam District. MWDT sought two broad outcomes through the grant: 1) an improved support system for Muslim women pursuing women rights using the existing legal system and 2) increased coordination between civil society and the public sector at the divisional and district levels in protecting women rights. MWDT completed its grant this quarter. Through its activities and outputs, MWDT supported improvements to the environment for Muslim women’s rights advocates within the existing legal system. Some achievements of the grant include:

• One-day training on Muslim personal law, marriage and divorce attracted 35 mosque committee members. This training enabled committee members to be more vigilant and nonbiased when hearing cases at the quazi courts, Muslim family courts (where some mosque committee members are jurors). Most shared their learning with the community via “bayan,” the sermon after Friday prayers, and guided affected women toward legal remedies.

• MWDT provided 25 volunteers with 10 days’ training on Muslim personal law and counseling. The volunteers observed quazi court proceedings and supported women in court to ensure that they get a fair hearing. They also advocated for acceptance to practice as jurors in the quazi courts in the four divisions. On two occasions, volunteers acted as jurors on request from quazi courts. These efforts empowered volunteers to be change-makers in the Muslim community. Volunteers now provide psychological support through counseling to affected women. The 25 change-makers conducted 75 visits to the quazi courts in Puttlam and supported 287 community women during the grant period; 153 of these women received the help they needed through the volunteers.

• One-day trainings on Muslim personal law reached 221 members of eight WRDS, enabling the women to act as change agents at village level.

• MWDT supported 17 legal cases during the grant period.

• A special action team made eight spot visits and assisted victims of gender-based violence. • MWDT provided support to 170 victims in need of emergency assistance with assistance

for travel, food, legal advice and counseling. • MWDT gathered 30 representatives from organizations working on Muslim personal law to

make a collective call for its reform. • MWDT reactivated the SGBV forum in Puttlam. The initial meeting began with 11 people in

the Puttlam ASP office; gradually the number increased to 33 and the venue changed to the district secretariat auditorium.

• The organization facilitated eight meetings between villagers and police, aiming to encourage close coordination and relationships between civil society and the public sector. Participants included 235 males and females from eight villages.

• MWDT’s success is reflected in women from outside areas like Mannar, Kurunegala and Colombo seeking counsel and support.

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Organization for Rehabilitation of the Handicapped (ORHAN) commenced activities in July 2014 on a grant that aims to enhance the capacity of people with disabilities and advocates for the rights of the disabled community in the Northern region of Sri Lanka. Activities this quarter include:

Formation of Landless Disabled Committees (LDCs): LDCs in four divisions took shape with active participation of both male and female members of the disabled community. The informal committees advocate the land rights of disabled people. Eight division-level meetings informed participants about the purpose of the committees.

District-Level LDC Meetings: Two district LDC meetings took place, including participation from divisional LDC members, district land officers and divisional secretaries of Vavuniya, Vavuniya North, Vavuniya South and Land Cheddikulam.

Intervention in Land Disputes: ORHAN recorded 59 land dispute cases throughout the district and referred them to the appropriate divisional secretary for necessary LDC committee action.

Livelihood/Business Plan Development Workshops: Workshops trained 27 beneficiaries (13 male and 14 female). Livelihood packages, in line with the business feasibility study and development plan, are being finalized.

Land Rights for Disabled Persons in Vavuniya

In the Vavuniya District, 160 disabled people either do not own land or have no proper documents to prove their land ownership. Their plight is compounded by their lack of awareness about land rights and the unavailability of necessary legal support.

The workshop objective was to create awareness on land issues for landless disabled people and form a network to advocate for their rights with government officials. At a practical level, the effort is to seek land allocation for landless people with disabilities and obtain required land ownership documents where they are missing.

The land rights awareness workshops took place in four locations, with 40 landless people participated in each one. They received an orientation on laws relating to state land and the procedure for requesting a special allocation for a disabled person.

“This land rights workshop has shown me how I can to resolve my land dispute. The helpless will become empowered to raise their issues with the knowledge they have gained about the law related to land rights,” said M.S. Naufer from Cheddikulam.

Following the workshop, landless disabled committees (LDCs) formed in each of the four DS divisions in Vavuniya the District. Each divisional committee has five members. Eight LDC committee meetings have taken place so far, ensuring continued focus on the land issue. The LDC committees received information on 59 land dispute cases, and have already followed up with division-level land officers, who have promised a speedy resolution of the cases.

The South Asia Center for Legal Studies (SACLS) grant promotes participation in transitional justice and reconciliation through awareness raising and capacity building. Started in October 2014, the grant focuses its activities on three major outcome areas: dispelling public misconception on the transitional justice process, increasing public awareness of other country experiences in transitional justice and training social activists and community leaders from the North and East to dispel such misconceptions and increase public awareness of the process. The grant is scheduled to complete its activities by July 2015. Activities for this quarter included:

Preparatory Work: SACLS completed its office set-up, hiring staff and making necessary equipment purchases.

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Film on Transitional Justice: The narrative framework for a film on transitional justice took shape, aiming to give viewers insight into the different stages of a transition process. It begins with human rights violations occurring systematically and evolves to a situation in which victims achieve their aspirations for truth, justice and reparations.

Social Economical and Environmental Developers (SEED) commenced work in August 2014 on its grant, WAY (War-Affected Youth) Forward, which seeks to empower youth and help reintegrate them to the community. It also helps youth make a positive contribution to society. The intervention has three major components: interaction among youth, promoted through forming and strengthening youth organizations; capacity building of youth with necessary knowledge and skills through training workshops along with various opportunities; and helping youth positively contribute to society. Activities this quarter include:

Club Formation: Nine committee formation discussions took place, resulting in seven clubs registering with the National Youth Services Council (NYSC). One of the grant’s early achievements is ensuring sufficient female participation; each club is at 36 percent now. Female youth participation was difficult to achieve and required direct intervention with parents.

Youth Group Discussions: Eight youth group discussions drew an average participation of 37 youth, enabling participants to know each other better and share problems and challenges. The discussions also helped the youth better understand the project purpose and activities.

Consultative Sessions: Three consultative sessions drew an average participation of 37, including 60 percent women. The first session focused on understanding community; the second on analyzing problems; and the third personal development plans. Participants expressed particular appreciation for the personal development plan session, which helped them map future progress. The main problems youth identified at the consultation included early dropout from school, the caste system (more so in some areas such as Achipuram) and the absence of parents who are employed abroad.

Youth Capacity Building: A three-day training on administrative skills drew 27 youth, of whom 49 percent were women. The workshop focused on training in documentation and financial management and managing a youth club and its roles and responsibilities. Following that, a three-day workshop on volunteerism drew an average of 29 participants each day, half of them women. Topics of discussion included the role of CBOs, types of volunteerism and the need for volunteers.

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Socializing Youth A four-day training for youth on human rights, gender, leadership and nonviolent communication attracted 29 participants (13 female, 16 male). Some participants had never engaged in outside social activities, and the grant team had to convince their parents of the value of the training. Feedback from participating youth reflects the value of the training. “I have never had this kind of an exposure in my life and I have never thought beyond my family or school. As a young girl, joining the youth club and participating in the training helped me to come out of ‘home’ and contribute to my community,” said Arulini, age 22, from Samangkulam. “I would like to apply a nonviolence approach to resolve my personal and community problems,” said Padma, age 20, from Elapparmaruthangkulam. “All this time my perception was that human rights is a political problem and needs to be politically tackled, It was proven to be wrong,” said Dheshika, age 20, from Kallatinakulam. “Only after the training about gender do I realize how cultural myths block us from understanding the problem and rights of sex workers, as well the responsibility of men in these situations,” said Suren, age 22, from Elapparmaruthangkulam. “I understood leadership is nothing about ‘power.’ It is all about being a role model and being together to guide a group,” said Kajendren, age 19, of Katkulam 2.

Women Action Network for Transformation (WANT) commenced work on its grant in March 2014. The grant proposes to strengthen women in the war-affected Kilinochchi District through participatory processes. Proposed activities aim to form and empower small groups in a focal area in the Kilinochchi District. WANT is a network of vulnerable and affected women in villages with a significant population of women affected by abuse. Activities this quarter include:

Generate Your Business (GYB) Trainings: Trainings reached 75 WANT members from three target villages. Project proposals they subsequently submitted showed that entrepreneurship skills had improved through the training.

Small Group Livelihood Intervention: WANT has an allocation to support eight group-focused livelihood interventions from its 15 small groups. Four groups received in-kind assistance based on their business plans to start group livelihood interventions.

Village-Level Bimonthly Meetings: WANT conducted eight bimonthly meetings in four focal villages supported through the grant. The meetings update and assess small-group activities in the villages and identify common issues related to women.

ZOA commenced work on its grant in March 2014. The grant deals with increased and more inclusive participation of vulnerable groups in development and governance, especially in multi-ethnic areas where conflict triggers are high. The ZOA initiative seeks to empower the excluded and reach the most vulnerable groups within these communities. Achievements this quarter include:

Livelihood Support: ZOA selected beneficiaries in five districts in the North. Selected beneficiaries received training in business planning, enabling them to identify an appropriate livelihood activity. The beneficiaries were advised to identify a suitable livelihood activity on a manageable scale to ensure sustainability, and completed a skills development activity aligned to the choice of livelihood.

Table 1. Summary of Livelihood project distribution

Adult males

Adult females

Youth males

Youth females Total

Maritimepattu 22 24 3 6 55 Karaichchi 27 14 7 8 56

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Welioya 17 11 4 3 35 Vavuniya North 30 22 0 1 53 Manthai West 29 21 14 12 76 Total 125 92 28 30 275

Table 2. Summary of training provided to date

Training summary Males Females Total Home gardening 57 44 101 Livestock development 27 20 47 Business planning 108 98 206 Total trained participants 192 162 354 Already reported 65 82 147 Trained this quarter 127 80 207

Component 3. Strengthen Internal Management Capacity of Indigenous Organizations Civil Society Strengthening – Operational Environment and Regulatory Framework

A two-part study commenced to understand the operational environment and the regulatory framework related to NGOs is underway. The intention is to support organizations in exploring options they could institutionalize in the event of regulatory frameworks being introduced to further curb the space of NGOs. The first part of the study will examine the operational environment for civil society. The findings will be disseminated among civil society actors who will be able to analyze the information and come up with ways cope with the evolving operational climate. The findings will also feed into the ‘core values’ training program. The consultant for the first part of the study made extensive field visits to districts in the Northern and Eastern provinces, and conducted interviews in and around Colombo among civil society activists. The first draft of the report is expected early next quarter. Engagement of the preferred consultant (Ms. Kishali Pinto Jayawardena) for the second part of the study to analyze the regulatory framework was delayed due to her other commitments. The study will take place next quarter, but with an alternate arrangement of a two-member team, including a senior researcher guided by Ms. Jayawardena. Both studies will be completed next quarter and will feed into subsequent civil society discussions.

Capacity-Building Process for SPICE Grantees

The capacity-building team continued to facilitate and support organizations to implement identified organizational development initiatives. Capacity-building support was provided to 14 grantees (AWF, CPA, CPPHR, EG, FOSDOO, MCC, MWDRF, MWDT, NAFSO, NPC, NewAROW, R2L, Sarvodaya and WDF), and organizational self-assessment workshops were conducted with six grantees (ASNN, CDO, EVSDOW, Koinonia, ORHAN and WANT).

The graphic that follows illustrates SPICE grantees’ progress in capacity building this quarter.

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Pre-visits by ODFs and Organizational Self-Assessments

• Ampara Special Needs Network (ASNN) • Community Development Organization

(CDO) • Eastern Voluntary Social Development

Organization for Women (EVSDOW) • Koinonia • Organization for Handicapped (ORHAN) • Women Action Network for Transformation

(WANT)

Organizational Improvement Plans • Ampara Special Needs Network (ASNN) • Eastern Voluntary Social Development Organization for Women

(EVSDOW) • Organization for Handicapped (ORHAN) • Women Action Network for Transformation (WANT)

Capacity-Building Activities

• AWF – Initial discussion with staff to commence the documentation of the organizational history.

• CPA – Review and revision of human resource manual and introductory workshop for all staff on performance management.

• CPPHR –Two workshops with identified staff to introduce classification and cataloguing of library books and registration in the accession register.

• EG – Sharing of skills audit recommendations with the management, and initial discussion on introducing a financial monitoring system.

• FOSDOO – Initial discussion to develop monitoring practices and tools to assess program impact.

• MCC - A simple set of organizational and program management working procedures introduced and institutionalized to guide organizational and program functions. Initial discussions with existing Board members on reforming the governance structure.

• MWDRF – A manual on administrative procedures introduced. Staff received continued support in handling basic electronic equipment such as printers, scanners.

• MWDT - A simple set of organizational and program management working procedures introduced and institutionalized to guide organizational and program functions.

• NewAROW – Final strategic planning workshop to develop the annual plan and budget.

• R2L – Review of media and communication practices. • NPC and Sarvodaya – Review of existing finance procedures, to

update and introduce a revised manual to all staff. Group Trainings

• Training workshop on Project Cycle Management (PCM) in Tamil medium for five SPICE grantees and four direct grantees of USAID.

• Training on monitoring in Sinhala medium for five SPICE grantees and two direct grantees of USAID.

Figure 1

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Capacity-Building Partners Paltra, Strategic Inspirations and the ODFs

Quarterly Review with Organization Development Facilitators (ODFs). A review of SPICE capacity building efforts was conducted this quarter. This is a routine feature of the SPICE capacity building process, and serves as a reflection on achievements, shortcomings, and concerns of beneficiary organizations. The meeting was attended by Capacity Building Partners (CBPs), the Organization Development Facilitators (ODFs) and SPICE capacity building staff.

The key concern for grantees, as identified by ODFs this quarter, was security. The grantees’ ODFs said they were primarily focused on heightened government scrutiny, and the added risks associated with being a recipient of USAID funding. Identified responses include sharing peer strategies for organizational security and supporting collective civil society efforts to set up security systems. The ODFs are also encouraged to do a risk analysis with grantee organizations during their engagement with them.

The review showed ODF – grantee relations to be positive, with most grantees who have been in the capacity building process for over a year appreciating the role played by ODFs in improving their interventions. Notably, the grantees have come to appreciate the pivotal role the ODF’s play in connecting all of the stakeholders in their organisation’s capacity building process and the positive effect this has on fostering change and growth. The grantees also noted that the relationship with the ODF is a very cooperative and focused one that enables the ODF to make a sound assessment of the organization’s gaps and advise accordingly. Grantee-ODF relations are greatly evolved, so much so that the ODF is able to guide the organization in selecting follow-on interventions, having understood the organization’s gaps and strengths and its positive and negative nuances. In two regional women’s organizations the ODF’s engagement is leading to a restructuring of the hierarchy, with improved co-ordination and closer relations among the management, field staff and organizational leadership in sharing responsibilities.

Contracting: Subcontracts executed 12 delivery orders (DOs) with Paltra and 11 with SIPL for various capacity-building initiatives of SPICE and USAID direct grantees.

Capacity-Building Activities

Group Training on Project Cycle Management (PCM): The third group training on project cycle management (PCM) addressed regional grantees in Tamil in Batticaloa. The sessions focused on the history of participatory development, conducting baseline surveys, needs assessments, designing projects using the log frame and developing activity plans for project implementation, monitoring

Grantee Perspectives on Capacity-Building Initiatives

“An important thing that has been adopted subsequent to the capacity-building process is the delegation of responsibilities; (we) learned to delegate and practiced it. It is now easier for the organizational leadership.” — director of a regional women’s organization

“There is an improvement in the monthly reporting process, review and improvement in the budgeting process.” — chief operating officer of a national-level NGO

“The working procedures introduced have helped a lot to make the staff understand their responsibilities and has contributed for the smooth functioning of the organization. The procedures have been fully institutionalized and staff is motivated and is responding to the procedures effectively.” — director of a regional women’s organization

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and evaluation. The participants also engaged in an exposure visit to the SWDC to learn about practical issues in project implementation and monitoring. The field visit helped participants learn how theories are applied practically, and how to use strategies to address security issues and face security situations.

Seventeen participants from five grantees participated; SPICE grantees included CPPHR, EVSDOW and MCC and the USAID direct grantees were Shanthiham and the Sri Lanka Center for Development Facilitation (SLCDF).

Project Cycle Management (PCM) training, Oct. 14–16, 2014, Batticaloa Left: Fr. Yogeswaran from CPPHR presents the problem tree.

Right: Staff from SWDC explain challenges in project implementation and monitoring and strategies to overcome barriers.

Basic Training on Financial Systems and Procedures. The review of financial systems of several regional grantees had identified the need to develop the knowledge of finance officers on basic financial procedures to be adopted by organizations for effective and transparent financial management. Accordingly, a three-day training took place for 11 SPICE regional grantees in Tamil, aiming to increase participants’ skills in recordkeeping, finance management and adaptation of internal controls. Leaders of the participating grantees joined on the first day. The training sought to emphasize to the organizational leadership about the importance of financial management in the NGO sector, internal controls and principles of accountability and transparency, as well as to encourage and ensure their support and guidance to their finance teams.

The training sessions also focused on accounting records, financial planning, budget preparation, key elements in basic accounting systems, cash book maintenance and reporting. Several simple formats such as advance request and settlement vouchers, payment and receipt slips were introduced and explained to the participants. Subsequent to the training, WANT has introduced the advance request form within their organization.

In their feedback on the training, participants noted that the learning will be integrated into practice to remove identified bottlenecks in routine financial management, organizational accounts and budgets. They also said it would be useful to ensure transparency and accountability within organizations.

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Basic training on financial systems and procedures, Sept. 24–26, 2014, Batticaloa

Top: Participants engaged in group work on preparing a cash book. Bottom: Organizational heads of grantees participating on the first day of the training

Training on Monitoring. A preliminary assessment questionnaire was developed and shared with the proposed participants to assess their knowledge and skills in monitoring. Participant responses were analyzed and the training was planned accordingly. The training was conducted in Sinhala; 20 participants representing five SPICE national grantees (EG, NAFSO, NPC, R2L and Sarvodaya) and two direct USAID grantees (CFH and MENCAFEP) participated.

The training sessions focused on various types of monitoring, designing a monitoring system, monitoring plans, indicators, tools for data collection, data analysis and report-writing.

Grantee feedback primarily outlined the usefulness and practicality of the methods and content. A project coordinator of a national-level NGO stated, “The methods used were simple and done very well. It was tailored taking into consideration the different types of participating organizations, with different knowledge levels. Further, relevant, practical examples were shared, which we could even use for institutional, field operations.” A project coordinator of a national advocacy organization added, “We think monitoring is external, but this training on monitoring made us realize that it’s from us; we developed indicators and it was easy. We are not always in the office; neither do we have a lot of time for this type of exercise. We are now able to adapt and do the necessary monitoring, which will be very useful for our organization.”

The lessons gathered in this process will help design a future training for regional grantees.

Capacity-Building Support to USAID’s Developmental Grants Program

A number of interventions in relation to USAID’s direct grantees commenced during the quarter. This included, a donor mapping exercise, the review and revision of the procurement process of Green Movement, preparation of the strategic plans for LRWH and SLCDF and an assessment of the management needs of the middle management of HHR. In addition, the process of

44

commissioning additional organizations that could provide capacity building services for direct grantees was finalized.

Community Organizations’ Role and Ethos: Value Activism Through Leaders’ Understanding Enhancement Support (CORE VALUES) Training

The CORE VALUES initiative is in response to (a) manifest gaps in SPICE partner capacity as seen in ongoing strategic planning exercises; (b) missing pieces in project proposals from a large number of otherwise competent CSOs; (c) expressed need from CSO leaders and other stakeholders; and (d) clear indications that these areas will pose challenges for the sector on the ground in the near future and beyond. The themes covered will include: Roles and Functions of CS(Os) in Sri Lanka today; Accountability and locating this within a broader Governance framework; understanding the challenges and necessities of Networking that is not top-down, to pursue an Advocacy agenda that is generated at the community level; “Identity” (including Ethnicity) and recognizing its ramifications for Sri Lankan society; Nationalism(s) at multiple levels and contexts; and addressing Gender concerns, especially in relation to culturalist discourse. The training is designed for second-tier leaders of CSOs, and is being implemented with the support of two consultants hired during this period who will design the curriculum. They will draw on resource people from diverse spheres in to impart training through seven modules, the final of which will be a capstone encompassing the first six. The consultants will be supported by a coordinator within SPICE handling all administrative and logistical functions.

The SPICE team will conduct its first CORE VALUES training early next quarter. More than 100 potential trainees from CSOs and grassroots organizations in the North, East, South and Colombo were interviewed; the SPICE capacity-building team and two special consultants in charge of the training are finalizing participants of the core group. Around 40 participants will be selected based on interviews and placements. An overall curriculum is being produced and a full training plan will be developed before each training program.

Capacity-Building Activities

Sevalanka OIP finalized and developed a model for strategic plan development and right-sizing (restructuring) the organization.

Donor Mapping: Seven selected USAID direct grantees and SPICE grantees were interviewed to analyze grantee portfolios to research potential donors. Between five and 10 in-country donors have been interviewed and Web research has been completed to identify other potential donors. The final report will be ready at the end of this quarter.

Review of Green Movement Procurement Procedure: The review was carried out in partnership with SIPL. Consultations were carried out with staff and senior management in organizations to capture/identify gaps and issues relating to existing procedures. The final draft of the procurement procedure has been circulated for final comments. The final report will be ready at the end of this quarter. Further activities with this grantee have been suspended on the instruction of USAID.

LRWHF Strategic Plan: The strategic plan development process was facilitated by Paltra. A literature review was conducted with the involvement LRWHF staff. Then, staff, board members, beneficiary and stakeholder consultation sessions provided contextual analysis and strategy formulation. An assessment to identify the required organizational improvement also was conducted with LRWHF staff. The final draft of the strategic plan has been circulated among staff, board members and stakeholders. The final document will be ready next quarter.

Sri Lanka Center for Development Facilitation Strategic Planning Process: The strategic planning process is being facilitated and guided by Creators Forum, a capacity-building consultancy. The scope of

45

work and technical plan for the task were finalized, and a fixed-price contract was awarded to the Creators Forum. The process will involve a four-day literature review session, which will be completed with the involvement of staff and board members. Then a national consultative meeting will take place with participation of national and district representatives from 25 districts, followed by another nine regional consultative meetings with the participation of partners of the regional consortium, beneficiaries and stakeholders. Following these, another national workshop will be conducted to identify suitable strategies for SLCDF. The strategic plan will be finalized by the middle of the next quarter.

HHR Middle Management Development: An assessment identified gaps in the middle management tier of HHR. Findings were shared with HHR and the necessary intervention will be finalized early next quarter.

Contracting Capacity-Building Partners

Because of their ongoing support to current SPICE and DG partners, Paltra and SIPL are reaching the limits of their capacity and will be limited in the services they can provide for new SPICE or DG grantees. Hence, USAID approval was sought, and granted to engage three new capacity building partners – Creators Forum, Management Frontiers and Business Consultancy Services. They were engaged by the end of the quarter to provide services through basic order agreements.

NGO Good Governance Initiative SPICE has entered into an agreement with the National NGO Action Forum (NNAF) to take this initiative forward. A detailed account of related activities this quarter is given in Component 2 under Grantee Activities.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND MONITORING

Performance Monitoring Plan Update Tables detailing the full PMP indicators are attached as Annex 1. This narrative is to be read in conjunction with the attached PMP table.

Most of the PMP indicators performed fairly well during this reporting period and some indicators in the work plan have achieved the total project target. Individual grantee activities aligned to individual grantee objectives are contributing to SPICE PMP indicators and thereby contribute to the overall SPICE objective of enhancing civil society space and effectiveness in Sri Lanka.

During the project so far, CHRD, Sarvodaya, CPPHR, NPC, R2L, AWF, WDF, SWDC, NEW AROW, CHR, CPA, NASFO, MCC, MWDT, MWDRF, EG, ASNN, AWA, FOSDOO, EVESDO, IWARE, CHANGE, HUDEC, PPCC, SDJF, WANT, ORHAN, VILUTHU, TISL, CAMID, ICES, ZOA, CDO, Koinonia, etc. have contributed to the first SPICE outcome, “improved protection of citizens’ rights by Sri Lankan organizations.” Since the beginning of the project, 28 domestic NGOs were active at any point in monitoring or advocacy on human rights.

Legal aid or victim assistance recipients included 4,294 individuals from low-income or marginalized communities during the reporting period, contributing to a total of 20,629 since the beginning of the project. GBV services reached 128 individuals during the reporting period, totaling 2,819 since the start of the project. Around 6,000 individuals received assistance to apply for essential legal documents; among them, 3,631 individuals have received at least one legal document while the others are expected to receive their documents during the upcoming reporting periods. This reporting period also recorded 597 individuals as receiving other legal aid or victim assistance, such as assistance to get their names in the electoral register, etc.

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CHANGE and CPPHR initiated 16 new cases during the reporting period, while CHRD continues with its existing cases. FOSDO and CHRD trained 73 new individuals to be human rights defenders and 3,025 people were reached through human rights awareness activities, bringing the total number reached to 27,257 since the start of the project.

Since the beginning of the project, CHR, CPPHR, SARVODAYA, NPC, CHRD, SWDC, WDF, NEWAROW, AWF, R2L, MWDRF, MCC, MWDT, NAFSO, FOSDO, WANT, ASNN, AWA, IWARE, EVESDOW, ICES, EG, ICS, Viluthu, SDJF, PCA, CHANGE, ORHAN, Koinonia, CAMID, NNAF, SFM, TISL, SEED and another 124 formal and informal civil society organizations or community groups with whom SPICE grantees are working (totaling 158 organizations, cumulative progress) contributed in some way to the second SPICE outcome, “expanded civil society support for more inclusive and active citizen participation in development, reconciliation and governance.” The activities ranged from sustaining and supporting CSOs, helping them engage and work with local government bodies and religious leaders and supporting and encouraging them to work in networks.

The U.S. Government supported 35 events, trainings or activities designed to build support for peace or reconciliation during the reporting period, totaling 150 since the beginning of the project. These include meetings, discussions, trainings/workshops, cultural events and small projects implemented within the framework of the LLRC recommendations. Six grantees were added to the 28 active grantees identified as critical Sri Lankan organizations advocating pluralism, human rights and democracy.

Twenty-two of 42 SPICE grantees were assessed to be part of at least one network at the division, district or national levels, totaling 52 percent of all grantees. Some of these are networks exclusively represented by civil society organizations and few are task force/forums where certain government administrative structures are represented alongside civil society organizations. A number of these civil society networks are partly supported by SPICE grants.

The third outcome area of SPICE is “enhanced management and technical capacity of indigenous organizations supporting civic participation and inclusive development”; 22 SPICE grantees and 14 DGP grantees (totaling 36 organizations) receive capacity-building support. Seven SPICE grantees and 13 DGP grantees, or 60 percent, are meeting their improvement benchmark. Twenty-nine organizations have developed OIPs during the SPICE project period, and another six are developing OIPs, as part of capacity-building support, In addition, 36 individuals received skill development training during this reporting period, increasing the number of people receiving at least one skill development training throughout the project to 219.

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Sub Awards – Grants TABLE 3. SUMMARY OF SUBAWARDS TO DATE (as of 15th December 2014)

Ref No: Subgrant Awardee Type of Grant

Subgrant Value Total Disbursements ITD* Burn Rate Grant Start

Date Grant End

Date SL Rs & USD $

SUBGRANT GRANTED

13.001.CHRD.SIG Centre for Human Rights and Development

Simplified Grant

LKR 11,052,028.30 LKR 10,988,783.00 99% 5-Feb-13 4-May-14

USD 87,960.90 USD 85,719.75

13.002.CPPHR.FOG Center for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights

Fixed Obligation

Grant

LKR 15,140,790.00 LKR 15,140,790.00 100% 1-Aug-13 31-Jul-14

USD 120,032.00 USD 117,814.50

13.003.CHR.FOG Centre for Human Rights and Research

Fixed Obligation

Grant

LKR 15,335,400.00 LKR 15,335,400.00 100% 10-Oct-13 9-Apr-14

USD 120,000.00 USD 119,503.38

13.004.CPA.FOG Centre for Policy Alternatives (Guarantee) Limited

Fixed Obligation

Grant

LKR 14,275,490.00 LKR 13,775,490.00 96% 1-Aug-13 31-Aug-14

USD 112,606.00 USD 107,233.04

13.005.AWF.FOG Affected Women's Forum Fixed

Obligation Grant

LKR 4,411,300.00 LKR 4,411,300.00 100% 1-Aug-13 31-Jul-14

USD 34,385.38 USD 34,249.79

13.006.NPC.SIG National Peace Council Simplified Grant

LKR 8,153,705.00 LKR 8,153,689.00 100% 1-Sep-13 30-Sep-14

USD 62,005.36 USD 63,610.68

13.007.NEWAROW.FOG Network for Advocating Requirements of Women

Fixed Obligation

Grant

LKR 3,464,340.00 LKR 3,464,340.00 100% 15-Sep-13 14-Sep-14

USD 26,758.00 USD 26,879.13

13.008.WDF.FOG Women Development Forum Fixed

Obligation Grant

LKR 3,220,890.00 LKR 3,220,890.00 100% 1-Sep-13 31-Aug-14

USD 25,106.03 USD 24,965.22

13.009.R2L.FOG Right to Life Human Rights Centre Fixed

Obligation Grant

LKR 5,979,940.00 LKR 5,445,890.00 91% 1-Sep-13 14-Sep-14

USD 46,613.00 USD 42,276.57

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TABLE 3. SUMMARY OF SUBAWARDS TO DATE (as of 15th December 2014)

Ref No: Subgrant Awardee Type of Grant

Subgrant Value Total Disbursements ITD* Burn Rate Grant Start

Date Grant End

Date SL Rs & USD $

13.010.SARV.SIG Sarvodaya Simplified Grant

LKR 12,664,900.00 LKR 11,781,013.00 93% 1-Aug-13 31-Aug-14

USD 98,713.00 USD 91,878.22

13.011.SWDC.FOG Suriya Women’s Development Centre

Fixed Obligation

Grant

LKR 6,300,608.00 LKR 6,300,608.00 100% 1-Sep-13 31-Aug-14

USD 47,913.36 USD 48,963.80

13.012.ICES.FOG International Centre for Ethnic Studies

Fixed Obligation

Grant

LKR 6,680,771.00 LKR 5,025,000.00 75% 1-Oct-13 15-Dec-14

USD 50,296.00 USD 39,084.48

13.013.MWDT.FOG Muslim Women’s Development Trust

Fixed Obligation

Grant

LKR 3,423,050.00 LKR 3,423,050.00 100% 1-Oct-13 30-Sep-14

USD 26,331.00 USD 26,645.39

13.014.MCC.FOG Mannar Citizens’ Committee Fixed

Obligation Grant

LKR 4,889,536.00 LKR 4,128,450.00 84% 1-Nov-13 31-Oct-14

USD 37,612.00 USD 32,187.74

13.015.MWRDF.FOG Mullaitivu Women’s Development and Rehabilitation Federation

Fixed Obligation

Grant

LKR 3,424,500.00 LKR 3,424,500.00 100% 25-Oct-13 24-Oct-14

USD 25,797.00 USD 26,654.88

13.016.NAFSO.FOG National Fisheries Solidarity Movement

Fixed Obligation

Grant

LKR 4,586,320.00 LKR 4,100,000.00 89% 1-Nov-13 31-Oct-14

USD 34,745.00 USD 31,975.14

13.017.EG.FOG Equal Ground Fixed

Obligation Grant

LKR 6,423,767.00 LKR 4,845,000.00 75% 15-Feb-14 14-Feb-15

USD 48,665.00 USD 37,737.24

13.018.ZOA.SIG ZOA Simplified Grant

LKR 19,471,891.00 LKR 11,472,153.00 59% 20-Mar-14 19-Mar-15

USD 150,000.00 USD 89,485.99

13.019.FOSDOO.SIG Federation of Social Development Organizations ( FOSDOO)

Simplified Grant

LKR 6,553,790.00 LKR 3,700,328.00 56% 5-Mar-14 4-Mar-15

USD 51,000.00 USD 28,857.77

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TABLE 3. SUMMARY OF SUBAWARDS TO DATE (as of 15th December 2014)

Ref No: Subgrant Awardee Type of Grant

Subgrant Value Total Disbursements ITD* Burn Rate Grant Start

Date Grant End

Date SL Rs & USD $

13.020.KOINOIA.FOG KOINOIA Fixed

Obligation Grant

LKR 6,547,950.00 LKR 5,890,000.00 90% 15-Mar-14 14-Mar-15

USD 51,000.00 USD 45,949.44

13.021.PPCC.FOG PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELLING CENTRE - (PPCC)

Fixed Obligation

Grant

LKR 6,154,750.00 LKR 5,500,000.00 89% 17-Mar-14 16-Mar-15

USD 47,344.00 USD 42,845.38

13.022.WANT.FOG Women Action Network for transformation (WANT)

Fixed Obligation

Grant

LKR 3,750,060.00 LKR 2,724,000.00 73% 20-Mar-14 19-Mar-15

USD 29,031.00 USD 21,231.78

13.023.EVESDO.FOG Eastern Voluntary Social Development Organization for Women (EVSDOW)

Fixed Obligation

Grant

LKR 3,646,700.00 LKR 3,280,000.00 90% 1-Apr-14 31-Mar-15

USD 28,052.00 USD 25,589.69

13.024.HUDEC.FOG CARITAS JAFFNA – HUDEC (Human Development Centre)

Fixed Obligation

Grant

LKR 6,180,333.00 LKR 5,185,000.00 84% 25-Mar-14 24-Mar-15

USD 47,541.00 USD 40,479.66

13.025.VILUTHU.FOG Viluthu, Centre for Human Resource Development

Fixed Obligation

Grant

LKR 5,281,719.00 LKR 3,885,000.00 74% 15-Apr-14 14-Jan-15

USD 40,629.00 USD 30,278.53

13.026.ICS.FOG Institute for Constitutional Studies (ICS) Guarantee Limited

Fixed Obligation

Grant

LKR 5,720,200.00 LKR 1,485,000.00 26% 15-Apr-14 14-Apr-15

USD 44,002.00 USD 11,578.74

13.027.SDJF.FOG Sri Lanka Development Journalist Forum

Fixed Obligation

Grant

LKR 5,972,500.00 LKR 5,972,500.00 100% 15-May-14 14-Nov-14

USD 45,942.00 USD 46,592.01

13.028.PCA.FOG Peace and Community Action Fixed

Obligation Grant

LKR 5,991,120.00 LKR 3,500,000.00 58% 15-May-14 14-May-14

USD 45,884.00 USD 27,311.24

13.029.CHANGE.FOG CHANGE Humanitarian Organization Fixed

Obligation Grant

LKR 5,172,292.00 LKR 2,750,000.00 53% 1-May-14 1-May-15

USD 39,787.00 USD 21,462.35

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TABLE 3. SUMMARY OF SUBAWARDS TO DATE (as of 15th December 2014)

Ref No: Subgrant Awardee Type of Grant

Subgrant Value Total Disbursements ITD* Burn Rate Grant Start

Date Grant End

Date SL Rs & USD $

13.030.ASNN.FOG Ampara Special Needs Network Fixed

Obligation Grant

LKR 4,596,390.00 LKR 3,250,000.00 71% 1-May-14 1-May-15

USD 35,358.00 USD 25,356.24

13.031.CDO.FOG Community Development Organization-

Fixed Obligation

Grant

LKR 4,008,765.00 LKR 1,700,000.00 42% 1-Jul-14 1-Jul-15

USD 30,702.00 USD 13,267.55

13.032.IWARE.FOG Islamic Women Association for Research and Empowerment

Fixed Obligation

Grant

LKR 3,801,270.00 LKR 2,577,500.00 68% 15-Jun-14 14-Jun-15

USD 29,150.84 USD 20,099.23

13.033.AWA.FOG Akkaraipattu Women Association Fixed

Obligation Grant

LKR 3,926,325.00 LKR 2,350,000.00 60% 15-Jun-14 14-Jun-15

USD 30,110.00 USD 18,348.10

13.034.ORHAN.FOG Organization for Rehabilitation of the Handicapped

Fixed Obligation

Grant

LKR 5,840,713.00 LKR 3,850,000.00 66% 1-Jul-14 1-Jul-15

USD 44,929.00 USD 30,020.03

13.035.SEED.FOG Social Economic Enviromental Developers

Fixed Obligation

Grant

LKR 5,662,760.00 LKR 1,800,000.00 32% 20-Aug-14 19-Aug-15

USD 43,560.00 USD 14,065.52

13.036.EHED.FOG Caritas EHED Batticaloa Fixed

Obligation Grant

LKR 4,787,330.00 LKR 2,700,000.00 56% 1-Jul-14 13-Feb-15

USD 36,825.00 USD 21,030.81

13.037.TISL.FOG Transparency International Sri Lanka Fixed

Obligation Grant

LKR 5,136,830.00 LKR 1,840,000.00 36% 1-Sep-14 31-Aug-15

USD 39,514.00 USD 14,352.60

14.038.CHR.FOG Center for Human Rights and Research

Fixed Obligation

Grant

LKR 15,621,000.00 LKR 9,666,250.00 62% 5-Aug-14 5-Feb-15

USD 120,162.00 USD 75,385.64

14.039.CHRD.SIG Centre for Human Rights and Development

Simplified Grant

LKR 11,581,578.00 LKR 2,529,859.00 22% 6-Aug-14 5-Aug-15

USD 89,089.00 USD 19,734.26

51

TABLE 3. SUMMARY OF SUBAWARDS TO DATE (as of 15th December 2014)

Ref No: Subgrant Awardee Type of Grant

Subgrant Value Total Disbursements ITD* Burn Rate Grant Start

Date Grant End

Date SL Rs & USD $

14.040.CPPHR.FOG Centre for Promotion & Protection of Human Rights

Fixed Obligation

Grant

LKR 16,073,210.00 LKR 4,200,000.00 26% 3-Sep-14 2-Sep-15

USD 123,640.00 USD 32,789.64

14.041.CPA.FOG Centre for Policy Alternatives (Guarantee) Limited

Simplified Grant

LKR 16,045,015.00 LKR 3,577,524.00 22% 3-Sep-14 0-Jan-00

USD 123,423.00 USD 27,863.84

13.042.SFM.FOG Secretariat for Muslims Fixed

Obligation Grant

LKR 7,720,650.00 LKR 2,035,000.00 26% 1-Sep-14 31-Aug-15

USD 59,390.00 USD 15,902.48

14.043.R2L.FOG Right to Life Human Rights Centre Fixed

Obligation Grant

LKR 6,872,512.00 LKR 728,000.00 11% 1-Nov-14 31-Oct-15

USD 52,865.00 USD 5,665.37

14.044.SACLS.FOG South Asian Centre for Legal Studies (Guarantee) Limited (SACLS)

Fixed Obligation Grant

LKR 4,763,736.00 LKR 1,724,000.00 36% 15-Oct-14 15-Jul-15

USD 36,644.00 USD 13,428.64

14.045.NNAF.FOG National NGO Action Forum. Fixed Obligation Grant

LKR 3,233,600.00 LKR 1,155,000.00 36% 15-Oct-14 15-Jul-15

USD 24,874.00 USD 8,996.71

14.046.NPC.SIG National Peace Council Simplified Grant

LKR 9,713,270.00 LKR 543,500.00 6% 1-Nov-14 31-Oct-15

USD 74,717.00 USD 4,229.57

14.047.SARVODAYA.SIG Lanka Jathika Sarvodaya Shramadana Sangamaya(Inc.)

Simplified Grant

LKR 13,137,580.00 LKR 501,982.00 4% 1-Nov-14 31-Oct-15

USD 101,058.00 USD 3,906.47

14.048.AWF.FOG Affected Women Forum - AWF Fixed Obligation Grant

LKR 4,830,440.00 LKR 500,000.00 10% 5-Nov-14 4-Nov-15

USD 37,157.00 USD 3,900.16

14.049.CAMID.FOG Centre For Accessibility, Monitoring and Information on Disability

Fixed Obligation Grant

LKR 4,891,147.00 LKR 600,000.00 12% 20-Nov-14 19-Nov-15

USD 37,624.00 USD 4,669.26

SUB TOTAL LKR LKR 362,114,761.30 LKR 226,136,789.00

62% USD USD 2,796,542.87 USD 1,762,053.65

52

TABLE 3. SUMMARY OF SUBAWARDS TO DATE (as of 15th December 2014)

Ref No: Subgrant Awardee Type of Grant

Subgrant Value

SL Rs & USD $

SUBGRANT PENDING USAID APPROVAL AS OF 16TH DECEMBER 2014**

14.050.LST.FOG Law & Society Trust Fixed Obligation Grant

LKR 5,195,903.00

USD 39,968.00

14.051.MWDT.FOG Muslim Women Development Trust

Fixed Obligation Grant

LKR 3,846,090.00

USD 29,585.00

14.052.NewAROW.FOG Network for Advocating Requirements of Women

Fixed Obligation Grant

LKR 3,394,394.00

USD 26,110.72

14.053.MWDRF.FOG Mullaitivu Women’s Development and Rehabilitation Federation

Fixed Obligation Grant

LKR 4,354,340.00

USD 33,495.00

14.054.BDS.FOG Berendina Development Services (Gte) Ltd- (BDS)

Fixed Obligation Grant

LKR 5,914,959.00

USD 45,500.00

14.056.WDF.FOG Women Development Foundation (WDF)

Fixed Obligation Grant

LKR 3,940,098.00

USD 30,308.00

SUB TOTAL LKR LKR 26,645,784.00

USD USD 204,966.72

TABLE 3. SUMMARY OF SUBAWARDS TO DATE (as of 15th December 2014)

Ref No: Subgrant Awardee Type of Grant

Subgrant Value

SL Rs & USD $

SUBGRANTS BEING PROCESSED FOR SUBMISSION AS OF 16TH DECEMBER 2014**

14.055.NAFSO.FOG National Fisheries Solidarity Movement

Fixed Obligation Grant

LKR 4,435,400.00

USD 34,118.00

14.057.CRPC.FOG Community Resources Protection Center

Fixed Obligation Grant

LKR 3,628,430.00

USD 27,911.00

14.058.NCEASL.FOG National Christian Evangelical Association of Sri Lanka

Fixed Obligation Grant

LKR 5,070,281.00

USD 39,002.00

14.059.RPK.FOG Rajarata Praja Kendaraya Fixed Obligation Grant

LKR 3,106,301.00

USD 23,895.00

SUB TOTAL LKR LKR 16,240,412.00

USD USD 124,926.00

NOTE:

*ITD: Inception to Date

**Subgrant approved after 15th December 2014

53

Sub Awards – In-kind Grant

TABLE 5. SUMMARY OF SUBAWARDS (In-Kind Grant) TO DATE (as of 15 December 2014)

Ref. No Subaward Awardee Type of Agreement

Subaward Value Total Disbursements ITD* Burn Rate

SL Rs & USD $

605100.05.03.13.040.IKG.CPPHR CPPHR IN-Kind

LKR 160,420.00

LKR 107,569.75

67% USD

1,234.00 USD

837.12

605100.05.03.13.055.IKG.NAFSO NAFSO IN-Kind

LKR 683,410.00

LKR 622,400.00

91% USD

5,257.00 USD

4,843.58

605100.05.03.13.038.IKG.CHR CHR IN-Kind

LKR 384,020.00

LKR -

USD

2,954.00 USD

-

605100.05.03.13.043.IKG.R2L R2L IN-Kind

LKR 681,720.00

LKR -

USD

5,243.23 USD

-

SUB TOTAL LKR LKR

1,909,570.00 LKR

729,969.75 39%

USD USD 14,688.23

USD 5,680.69

54

Sub Awards – Subcontracts

TABLE 4. SUMMARY OF SUBAWARDS (SUBCONTRACTS) TO DATE (as of 15 December 2014)

Ref. No Subaward Awardee Type of Agreement

Subaward Value Total Disbursements ITD* Burn Rate Subaward Start

Date Subaward End

Date SL Rs & USD $

605100.05.03.13.010 SIPL- Strategic Inspirations (Pvt) Ltd BOA

LKR 29,101,800.00 LKR 10,980,710.15 38% 9-Sep-13 8-Sep-15

USD 223,860.00 USD 85,603.69

605100.05.03.13.011 PALTRA (Guarantee) Ltd -

Partners in Alternative Training

BOA LKR 34,957,650.00 LKR 13,924,705.19

40% 9-Sep-13 8-Sep-15 USD 268,905.00 USD 108,595.04

605100.05.03.14.018 EML Consultants (PVT) Ltd. BOA LKR 6,267,820.00 LKR -

0% 1-Aug-14 31-Jul-15 USD 48,214.00 USD -

605100.05.03.14.026 Creators Forum. PO LKR 113,600.00 LKR 635,505.00

559% 27-Oct-14 31-Jan-15 USD 8,738.46 USD 4,945.56

605100.05.03.14.024 A Business Consultancy Services BOA LKR 7,000,110.00 LKR -

0% 1-Jan-15 30-Jun-15 USD 53,847.00 USD -

605100.05.03.14.024 B Creators Forum BOA LKR 5,500,300.00 LKR -

0% 1-Jan-15 30-Jun-15 USD 42,310.00 USD -

605100.05.03.14.024 C Management Frontiers BOA LKR 7,930,390.00 LKR -

0% 1-Jan-15 30-Jun-15 USD 61,003.00 USD -

SUB TOTAL LKR LKR 90,871,670.00 LKR 25,540,920.34

28% USD USD 706,877.46 USD 199,144.29

55

ACHIEVEMENTS Key achievements for the reporting period are listed below.

Management/Administration • Internal midterm review of SPICE project performance conducted. • Four staff members recruited to function from Colombo – two within the program unit,

one to coordinate the CORE VALUES Program and one to the finance and grants section.

Grants • In all, 34 grants were active at the end of the cutoff period for the quarter and five others

were processed by Dec. 30. Eleven new grants were awarded, with those approved after the cutoff date to be awarded early in the next quarter.

• Five grants that were active at the beginning of the quarter were completed; closeout work is in progress.

• Two rounds of component 2 APS applications were cleared this quarter. In the first round, of 35 concept notes received last quarter, six were shortlisted for the full applications stage and six were retained as standby pending further review of organizations. The rest were rejected. Of the six applications received, five were approved and processed and one is pending review. In addition, 42 applications were received and processed for approval this quarter; 11 were shortlisted after review to submit full applications and six of those have been shortlisted for submission to USAID. The rest are being assessed and decisions will depend on balancing the thematic priorities and availability of funding..

• RFA III was issued and applications were sought and received. They are being reviewed.

• Grants to NAFSO, CRPC, NCEASL and RPK were forwarded to the home office for submission to USAID.

Capacity Building SPICE Grantees

• SPICE project’s capacity-building initiatives rolled out on schedule; o Organizational self-assessment workshops conducted for six APS grantees. (ASNN,

CDO, EVSDOW, Koinonia, ORHAN and WANT) o Capacity-building activities including the finalization of strategic plans, media strategies,

reviewing of finance, administration, human resources procedures were carried out for AWF, CPA, CPPHR, FOSDOO, NAFSO, NewAROW, NPC, R2L, Sarvodaya and WDF.

o An administrative manual was developed and introduced to MWDRF. o A simple set of organizational and program management working procedures was

introduced and institutionalized for MCC and MWDT to guide organizational and program functions.

• Several ODFs with more than 12 months’ engagement with their respective grantees have earned enormous trust and confidence, which has led to a close rapport transcending

56

gender and ethnic barriers, with leadership and staff sharing organizational issues and challenges.

• Group trainings on project cycle management (PCM), monitoring and basic financial systems and procedures were conducted for grantees of the SPICE project and USAID’s Development Grants Program.

• Selected grantees received in-kind grants: law books to establish a library at CPPHR, media equipment to NAFSO.

• A quarterly review of the CBPs and ODFs reflected on capacity-building interventions. The documentation consultants shared a discussion paper on strategy planning at the review, based on their observations and discussions with stakeholders involved in the SPICE capacity-building process, as well as others involved in organizational development.

Direct USAID Grantees

• Capacity-building initiatives rolled out: o Sevalanka OIP was finalized. o SLCDF strategic planning process began and contextual analysis and strategy

formulation have been completed. o LRWHF strategic plan was drafted. o SLGM’s new procurement guideline document was drafted. o HHR’s middle management skills development need identification assessment has been

completed. • First phase of the donor mapping exercise is complete. Research has been completed to

identify potential donors. • Documents to award BOAs to three new capacity-building partners — Business

Consultancy Services (BCS), Creators Forum (CF) and Management Frontiers (MF) — are completed and have been forwarded to the home office for submission to USAID.

Project Activities (Achievements in this section are based on activities for the quarter.)

Outcome 1: Improved protection of citizens’ rights by Sri Lankan organizations.

• 128 people reached through GBV-related services.

• 3,631 people received at least one legal document. • 597 people received other legal aid, including legal advice, livelihood support and assistance

to get their names into the electoral register. • 73 people trained to be human rights defenders (HRDs)

• 3,025 people reached through human rights awareness-raising activities, including awareness on GBV issues. These people were reached through direct awareness programs, trainings or indirectly through publications. Of the 3,025, 1,525 were reached through direct activities.

• 16 new cases were followed up. This is in addition to ongoing cases.

57

Outcome 2: Expanded civil society support for more inclusive, active citizen participation in development, reconciliation and governance.

• 151 organizations, including SPICE grantees and CSOs/CBOs assisted by SPICE grantees, continue to represent marginalized communities to pressure the government to implement policy or conduct government oversight.

• Of 42 SPICE grantees, 22 are active in community development and governance and 34 are advocating for pluralism, human rights or democracy at least at the community level.

• 151 organizations, including 32 SPICE grantees and 119 CSOs/CBOs supported by SPICE grantees, are engaged in advocacy work at least at the local or community level.

• 52 percent of SPICE grantees are part of or engaged in at least one network, contributing to a strengthened and more cohesive civil society.

• 35 activities, which include inter-religious group discussions and peer group discussions, were completed in support of peace and reconciliation.

Outcome 3: Enhanced management and technical capacity of indigenous organizations supporting civic participation and inclusive development

• 22 SPICE grantees and 14 DGP grantees (totaling 36 organizations) are receiving capacity-building support. 15 SPICE grantees and 14 DGP grantees (totaling 29 organizations) finalized their organizational improvement plans.

• Two capacity-building trainings were completed and 36 people (units) were trained. Cumulatively, 219 people have been trained through nine trainings.

BEST PRACTICES AND CHALLENGES

Best Practice Collaboration with Other Agencies on Gender-Focused Activism: SPICE became an official member of the Forum Against Gender-Based Violence in Sri Lanka and participated in joint events organized by the forum during 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence in 2014. The Forum Against Gender-Based Violence (also known as the Forum Against GBV, or the GBV Forum) Sri Lanka was set up on Aug. 24, 2005, following a consultation with selected agencies working on GBV issues to facilitate greater coordination, understanding, sharing of information and resources and strengthen multisectorial responses to GBV. Its main focus is to share information and experiences, ensure that responses to GBV are coordinated and strengthen collective efforts to end GBV. Forum membership is broad-based and includes UN agencies, INGOs, NGOs, the Sri Lankan Government and individual members. SPICE observed the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence by sharing video statements on issues and gender equality in society from six grantees (MWDRF, MWDT, EG, SDJF, ICES, AWF) and SPICE via the U.S. Embassy Facebook page.

Challenges Operational Environment. The campaign period before the elections brought about a slowdown in activities in November and December. Given that many of the SPICE grantees have a strong focus on rights, democracy and governance, they also actively engaged in awareness and advocacy activities during the period. The election period also was not conducive from a security perspective for grantees, particularly in the North, some of whom had to postpone village-level meetings and

58

distribution of assistance. Some of the SPICE grantees were also actively involved in monitoring election violence, diverting their focus from daily operational work. All of these contributed to a gradual slowdown in activities, explains a lower burn rate than projected in the last couple of months.

The election of a new president with a mandate for good governance may lead to a more conducive environment for civil society activism in the future. Intimidation of civil society activists should abate, as there will be no more government support to those who attack NGO activities. In addition, government policy would be more favorable to civil society to work in freedom. A challenge arising from the elections would be to counter the massive amounts of war and conflict-related propaganda that was disseminated by the former government during its election campaign. This included the telecast of dramatized versions of LTTE attacks on civilians. There will be a need for educational programs to heal the minds of people and dampen their fears in the post-election setting.

A further challenge during the forthcoming period will be to prepare for general elections scheduled for April. The former president and his allies may seek to mobilize Sinhalese fears of the Tamil and Muslim communities that voted heavily against the him and ensured his defeat. Soon after the elections, a senior member of the new government had to deny rumors that the LTTE flag was flying again in Jaffna after the election and the Tamil people were celebrating in traditional fashion with “kiribath.” Civil society will be better situated to counter this type of misinformation as government policy toward them will not be restrictive. Unlike in the past, when the police were stymied by political interference, they will be able to protect victims of violence better should they come under mob attack by racist elements.

EXPENDITURES

Project expenditures at the end of December 2014 totaled $5,142,655.99. During this quarter, the program continued to increased disbursements under grants and subcontracts. As of December 15, 2014, $ 1,966,881.89 was paid to grantees and subcontractors. On December 19, 2014, MSI signed Modification No.2 to its Cooperative Agreement with Counterpart, which increased the total obligated amount to $8,186,747. SPICE will commit most of that by the second quarter of FY-15, working closely with USAID with respect to the cash flow an incremental funding. At the end of the fourth quarter of FY 2014, 62.82 percent of the obligated funding allocated under the December 18, 2014, subgrant between MSI and Counterpart International had been spent.

PROGRAMMING PRIORITIES FOR NEXT QUARTER The following priorities have been identified for the next quarter.

Project Management/Administration • Given the increased number of grants and their geographic spread, it is anticipated that

SPICE would need to add a program officer and support staff for a senior grants manager and senior M&E adviser. This will be done in the first quarter.

• Finalize the final-year contracts with the staff, service providers and building owners of office and residence premises.

59

• Finalize the internal midterm report and disseminate it among staff and USAID. • Review ongoing activities in light of the changing situation (given the victory in elections by

the opposition candidate) and make changes as appropriate. Also review the relevance of the program, given the changing context, and assess if any course correction is required.

• Revise the targets in the PMP in light of the new APS grantees, taking into consideration the observations made by the USAID M&E specialist. This would be the first revision of the SPICE PMP since it was approved, and some targets are expected to be revised upward.

Grants The priority would be to process the last round of APS and RFA applications and commit the remaining funds in the budget. Manage ongoing grants and close out grants as they are completed and ensure required documentation.

Follow through on the M&E plan and develop success stories and most significant change stories as appropriate to capture the outcome under the SPICE objectives.

Capacity Building • Complete the two-part study on operational and regulatory environment for civil society in

Sri Lanka. • Implement a civil society strengthening initiative responding to the operational environment

in Sri Lanka. In consultation with USAID and in line with their direction, retain the support of ICNL in a regional/relevant comparative analysis of the civil society space that can feed into a conversation with civil society representatives in Sri Lanka.

• Conduct at least two sessions of the CORE VALUES training program for selected second-tier civil society leaders.

SPICE Grantees

• Introduce capacity-building process to four to six APS grantees for capacity-building support.

• Finalize organizational improvement plans (OIPs) and commence activities with the six new APS grantees.

• Continue facilitation of capacity-building initiatives including: o The development of strategic plans for SWDC and MWDRF o Develop/finalize finance, administration and human resources procedures for CPA,

CPPHR, MCC, MWDT, NPC, NewAROW, R2L and Sarvodaya. o Provide training on PCM for EG. o Execute M&E training for FOSDOO o Conduct workshop and follow-up discussions to enhance conceptual clarity on gender

and mainstreaming gender in CPPHR programs. o Provide training on blog, Web design, operation and maintenance for CPPHR staff. o Train volunteers of MCC and MWDT

• Commence the review of benchmarks, the sixth step in the SPICE capacity-building cycle. • Facilitate group trainings on M&E, Rights-Based Approach and media communications. • Provide in-kind grants to selected grantees, including media equipment, accounting

packages, etc.

60

• Conduct the quarterly review and share a discussion paper on the ODF approach. • Provide follow-up training for the ODFs, facilitated by Dr. Darcy Ashman (MSI technical

director and capacity-building adviser) to enhance the skills of ODFs. • Support Paltra and SIPL to develop their internal organizational capacity and skills of their

consultants by supporting identified trainings and workshops.

Direct USAID Grantees

Facilitating capacity-building initiatives:

• Commence a management development program for Nawajeewana. • Finalize SLCDF, Mencafep, Peragamana and CFH strategic plans.

• Initiate ICES strategic plan development process. • Initiate Sevalanka restructuring process.

61

ANNEX 1: Performance Monitoring Plan Update

SPICE Purpose: Expanded space for independent collective action by citizens, particularly in war affected areas, with regard to the key issues of governance, inclusion, reconciliation and development Indicator 0.1

% target civic groups that had an impact on development or governance decisions

Fiscal Year 2014 Targets 60% LOP 75% Progress, taken all the

grants No. Civic Groups

No. of Civic Groups demonstrated Impact

Achievement

42 15 36% The progress is as of September 2014; the number of organizations that completed at least one grant cycle remains at 15.

Indicator 0.2

# Community projects completed with active citizen participation

Fiscal Year 2014 Targets 106 LOP 221

Fiscal Year 2015 Targets 108

Achievements

Up to previous reporting period

Present Reporting

Period

Cumulative

71 2 76

Two community projects were completed during the reporting period, bringing the total to 76. Cumulative progress for the fiscal year that ended September 2014 was reported as 34, but this has been revised to be 71 after verifying the grantees’ reported data.

A number of SPICE grantee community projects are continuous or longer-term in duration; many are continuing from the previous fiscal year to the present fiscal year. These will be included in final reporting at the completion of the activity, end of the grant or end of the project period.

62

Indicator 0.3

“Most significant change” (MSC)in target groups/communities resulting from target group efforts

Fiscal Year 2014 Targets 09 LOP 30 Achievements 6 Cumulative 6

These figures are as of September 2014; numbers reflect success stories. These stories, as well those that will be collected over time, will undergo a voting and selection process before the project’s end to carry out the final assessment.

SPICE Outcome 1: Improved protection of citizens’ rights by Sri Lankan organizations Indicator 1.1

# domestic NGOs engaged in monitoring or advocacy work on human rights receiving USG support

Fiscal Year 2014 Targets 19 LOP 25 Fiscal Year 2015 Targets 25

Achievements

Since the beginning of the project, 28 domestic NGOs are engaged in monitoring or advocacy work on human rights that receives USG support. The fiscal year and entire project targets are overachieved mainly because of awarding more grants than the anticipated through the APS process. Discussions are underway to revise the targets.

1

7

16 16

20 23

28

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

2013 Q3 2013 Q4 2014 Q1 2014 Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2015 Q1

# of

Org

aniz

atio

ns

63

SPICE Outcome 1: Improved protection of citizens’ rights by Sri Lankan organizations Indicator 1.2

# individuals from low income or marginalized communities who received legal aid or victims assistance with USG support

Fiscal Year 2014 Targets 14690 LOP 22885 Fiscal Year 2015 Targets 8045

Cumulative and present period progress of the indicator

Legal aid or victims’ assistance has been provided to 4,294 individuals from low-income or marginalized communities during the reporting period, bringing the total number of victims helped to 20,629. Among the 4,294 individuals, 1,929 are men, 1,901 are women, 198 are young males and 266 are young females. The FY 2014 targets were overachieved and at the end of the first quarter of FY 2015, more than half of the FY 2015 targets are achieved. This reveals a need to revise the targets. Moreover, data reflect grantee reports; SPICE is in the process of verifying the numbers. Note: In addition to the numbers reported, around 3,000 people received assistance from CHR to apply for legal documents. Those people will receive those documents at a later date. These achievements will be verified and reported during the upcoming reporting periods

1929

7170

1901

9608

198

1733

266

2118 4294

20629

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

2015 Q1 Cumulative

Adult Male Adult Female Youth Male Youth Female Period Total

64

SPICE Outcome 1: Improved protection of citizens’ rights by Sri Lankan organizations Indicator 1.2.1

# people reached by USG-funded interventions providing GBV services

Fiscal Year 2014 Targets 3000 LOP 5300 Fiscal Year 2015 Targets 2300

Progress of the indicator across different reporting periods

GBV service interventions reached 128 people during the reporting period. A sudden drop in the achievement during the reporting period compared to the last four reporting periods resulted because the grant cycle of several GBV service organizations ended during the reporting period. A few organizations providing GBV services spent significant time in the closeout of their first grant and redeveloping their second grant; thus a gap between the closeout and second award resulted in low progress of this indicator during the reporting period. The line diagram describes the cumulative progress of the indicator. A few individuals who were reached by GBV services during the previous reporting periods were reported / verified only during the present reporting period; thus, cumulative progress up to the quarter that ended September 2014 has been revised to 2,691 (instead of 2,613 as reported earlier) and the present total number served is 2,819.

37

586

1,375

2,053

2,691 2,819

37

549

789

678 638

128

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

2013Q4 2014Q1 2014 Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2015 Q1

Adult Male Adult Female Youth Male

Youth Female Cumulative Period Total

65

SPICE Outcome 1: Improved protection of citizens’ rights by Sri Lankan organizations Indicator 1.2.2

# people who received key government identification and other vital legal documents with assistance from target groups

Fiscal Year 2014 Targets 10000 LOP 14500 Fiscal Year 2015 Targets 4500

Acheivement of the indicator

At least one document was received by 3,631 individuals, of whom 1,745 are adult males, 1,581 are adult females, 161 are youth males and 144 are youth females. Among the 3,631 individuals, most received assistance to acquire birth certificates. With the achievements during the current reporting period, the entire project targets have been overachieved; cumulative progress is at 16,555. In addition to the reported progress, around 3,000 individuals received assistance to apply for legal documents, but may receive them during subsequent reporting periods. Those numbers will be updated later after verification. The major reason for overachieving the FY 2014 and entire project targets is that more people than anticipated participated in CHR’s mobile clinics.

1745

6230

1581

7796

161

1260

144

1269

3,631

16,555

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

18000

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

This Period Cumulative

Adult Male Adult Female Youth Male Youth Female Total

66

SPICE Outcome 1: Improved protection of citizens’ rights by Sri Lankan organizations Indicator 1.2.3

# beneficiaries of other legal aid or victims assistance

Fiscal Year 2014 Targets 1690 LOP 3025 Fiscal Year 2015 Targets 1245

Acheivements of the Indicator

Other legal aid or victims’ assistance reportedly reached 597 individuals during the reporting period, bringing the total helped to 3,066. The male, female and youth breakdowns are presented in the bar diagram. With the present quarter achievements, the project targets have been overachieved. Types of assistance provided included court representation for individuals (except for GBV-related cases); assistance to visit family members in prison or care packs for families whose breadwinner is in prison; livelihood assistance; and help registering to vote.

184

920

274

1120

37

464

102

562 597

3066

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

This Period Cumulative

Adult Male Adult Female Youth Male Youth Female Total

67

SPICE Outcome 1: Improved protection of citizens’ rights by Sri Lankan organizations Indicator 1.3

# human rights defenders trained and supported

Fiscal Year 2014 Targets 455 LOP 714 Fiscal Year 2015 Targets 307

Quarterly and cumulative Progress of the Indicator

Human rights defender trainings reached 73 individuals during the reporting period. Among them, 15 are men and 58 are women. The present quarter progress brings the total trained to 840, exceeding the overall project targets. The major reason FY 2014 and project targets were exceeded was that most of the grant amounts were unknown when estimating the targets. Discussions to revise the targets are underway. The diagram shows significant progress during the first and second quarters of FY 2014 compared to other reporting periods, mainly due to several human rights defender trainings being continuous in nature. In such cases, only the first session or the one that registered the most participants was recorded. Most HRD training series commenced during the FY 2014 first and second quarters; thus, they reflect more progress than the other reporting periods. The diagram also reveals that a majority of the individuals trained to be HRDs are females because a number of organizations that work on women’s or GBV issues provide HRD trainings at the grassroots level. As a result, a significant portion of trainees are female.

39

250

619

679

767

840

0

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300

400

500

600

700

800

900

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20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

2013 Q4 2014 Q1 2014 Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2015 Q1

Adult Male Adult Female Youth Male Youth Female Cumulative

68

SPICE Outcome 1: Improved protection of citizens’ rights by Sri Lankan organizations Indicator 1.4

# people reached by HR awareness-raising activities

Fiscal Year 2014 Targets 14535 LOP Fiscal Year 2015 Targets 7300 21935

Acheivement of the Indicator across different Reporting Period and comparision of cumulative progress

The bar diagram describes the direct reach and the line diagram describes the direct and indirect reach of human rights awareness-raising activities. These efforts reached 1,525 people directly, such as through trainings and awareness programs, during the reporting period. The cumulative progress of this indicator is 27,257, which includes human rights awareness raised through publications, leaflets, mass events, etc. A number of publications were published in previous quarters; however, their distributions continued over time. These are added to the cumulative progress based on the distribution list. Nevertheless, it’s highly probable that a publication will reach more than one individual. For instance, a number of publications were sent to libraries, organizations, educational institutions, etc. Thus the actual reach of this indicator may be much higher than the reported cumulative achievement.

53

7,667 9,798

19,401

24,232

27,257

53

1,844

2,131

3,307 3,231

1,525

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2013 Q4 2014 Q1 2014 Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2015 Q1

Cum

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Reac

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Adult Male Adult Female Youth Male

Youth Female Cumulative Total

69

SPICE Outcome 1: Improved protection of citizens’ rights by Sri Lankan organizations Indicator 1.5

# legal cases handled by target NGOs

Fiscal Year 2013 Targets

100 Fiscal Year 2014 Targets

113

Fiscal Year 2015 Targets

113 LOP 326

Achievements

Up to Previous Reporting

Period

Present Reporting Period

Cumulative

219 16 235

Target NGOs handled 16 new cases during the reporting period, bringing the cumulative total to 235. A number of cases were handled during previous reporting periods, but were not reported during those periods because they were based on the actual start date of handling those cases. Therefore, the cumulative progress up to the previous reporting period has also been revised.

SPICE Outcome 2: Expanded civil society support for more inclusive, active citizen participation in development, reconciliation, and governance Indicator 2.1

% target civic associations active in community development & governance Fiscal Year 2014 Targets 60% LOP 75% Fiscal Year 2015 Targets 75%

Progress 64% Civic associations supported by SPICE or by SPICE grantees that are active in community development and governance have increased from 39 percent to 64 percent. Civic groups considered for this calculation include membership-based SPICE grantees and community collectives, such as village-level CBOs, community groups, etc. The progress for this indicator fluctuates as new civic organizations engage with SPICE; however, this shows the scope of civil society support for citizen engagement.

70

SPICE Outcome 2: Expanded civil society support for more inclusive, active citizen participation in development, reconciliation, and governance Indicator 2.2

# USG-funded organizations representing marginalized constituencies trying to affect government policy or conducting government oversight

Fiscal Year 2014 Targets 100 LOP 205 Fiscal Year 2015 Targets 100

Cumulative Achievements

Supported by SPICE Supported by Grantees

Total

27 124 151 Achievement of the indicator across different reporting period, comparison of

cumulative progress

Twenty-seven SPICE grantees and 124 organizations supported by SPICE grantees represent marginalized constituencies trying to effect government policy or conduct government oversight. The 124 organizations supported through SPICE grantees include formal and informal community organizations. Their interventions are mostly at the local level. Among the 124 organizations supported by SPICE grantees, 102 receive support from regional grantees and 22 receive support from national grantees. Most of the 22 supported by national grantees are located throughout various regions of Sri Lanka. An

13 18 21 27

66 66

126 124 79 84

147 151

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2014 Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2015 Q1

Supported by SPICE Supported by Grnatee

Total # of ORGs

Supported by SPICE

27 18%

Supported by National

Grantees 22

15%

Supported by Regional

Grantees 102 67%

71

increase of civil society involvement in pursuing policy-oriented goals, at least at the local level, is apparent.

SPICE Outcome 2: Expanded civil society support for more inclusive, active citizen participation in development, reconciliation, and governance Indicator 2.3

# civil society organizations (CSOs) receiving USG assistance engaged in advocacy interventions

Fiscal Year 2014 Targets 85 LOP 170 Fiscal Year 2015 targets 80

Cumulative Achievements

SPICE Grantees Supported by SPICE Grantees

Total

32 119 151

Cumulative and Quarterly Progress of the indicator

The CSOs that receive USG assistance and are engaged in advocacy interventions include 32 SPICE grantees and 119 supported through SPICE grantees, totaling 151 CSOs. Most of the advocacy interventions are at the local level. This diagram reveals a steady growth of this indicator over the past year.

42 48

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Supported by SPICE Supported by Grantee Total

72

SPICE Outcome 2: Expanded civil society support for more inclusive, active citizen participation in development, reconciliation, and governance Indicator 2.4

# USG supported events, trainings, or activities designed to build support for peace or reconciliation among key actors to the conflict

Fiscal Year 2014 Targets 100 LOP 175 Fiscal Year 2015 Targets 75

Progress of the indicator across different quarterly periods and cumulative progress

Thirty-five USG-supported events, trainings or activities designed to build support for peace or reconciliation were completed during the reporting period, bringing the total during the entire project to 150. These include meetings, discussions, trainings or workshops, cultural events and small projects implemented in support of the LLRC recommendations.

1

23 24

67

35

1

24

48

115

150

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160

2014 Q1 2014 Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2015 Q1

Cumulative

73

SPICE Outcome 2: Expanded civil society support for more inclusive, active citizen participation in development, reconciliation, and governance Indicator 2.5

% target civic groups participating in at least one network Fiscal Year 2014 Targets 60% LOP 75% Fiscal Year 2014 Targets 75%

Progress of the indicator across different quarters and cumulative progress

Twenty-two (52 percent) of current grantees are part of a network at the division, district or national levels. This diagram shows that among organizations supported by SPICE, the number that are part of any network have increased over time. Among the 22 organizations that are part of any network, a number of them receive at least some support for networking-related activities but most of these activities are spontaneous. When this indicator’s performance is calculated to account for the number of active grants at that time, its progress fluctuates between each reporting period.

60% 59%

48% 53%

45%

52%

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2013 Q3 2013 Q4 2014 Q1 2014 Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2015 Q1

% o

f ORG

s par

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in a

net

wor

ks

No. of ORG in Network No. of Organizations % of CSO are participating in Network

74

SPICE Outcome 2: Expanded civil society support for more inclusive, active citizen participation in development, reconciliation, and governance Indicator 2.7

# critical Sri Lankan organizations advocating pluralism, human rights and democracy that remain active

Fiscal Year 2015 Targets 25 LOP 25 Cumulative

Achievements FY 2013 Previous

Reporting Period

Present Reporting

Period

4 28 34 Indicator Progress across different reporting periods

As of December 2014, 34 active SPICE grantees were advocating for pluralism, human rights and democracy. This shows an increase of six grantees since the previous reporting period. The fiscal year target and LOP has been overachieved due to more grantees than predicted being identified through the APS process.

15

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75

SPICE Outcome 3: Enhanced management and technical capacity of indigenous organizations supporting civic participation and inclusive development Indicator 3.1

% of target Sri Lankan organizations meeting improvement benchmarks in a capacity building plan

Fiscal Year 2015 Targets 80% LOP 80% Comparison of organizations meeting improvement benchmark between the present

and previous reporting periods

Variance from Fiscal Year

Targets Variance from

LOP

Eight SPICE grantees (38 percent) and 13 DGP grantees (93 percent) are meeting improvement benchmarks in a capacity-building plan as of Dec. 15, 2014. This is 60 percent of the number of organizations that are receiving capacity-building support. The progress appears low for SPICE grantees because it has been calculated from all grantees receiving capacity-building support, which includes some new organizations that are still developing an organizational improvement plan.

76

SPICE Outcome 3: Enhanced management and technical capacity of indigenous organizations supporting civic participation and inclusive development Indicator 3.2

# Sri Lankan organizations receiving capacity building support Fiscal Year 2014 Targets 40 LOP 45 Fiscal Year 2015 Targets 45

Progress of the indicator across various reporting periods in comparison with the cumulative progress and the total number of organizations

Capacity-building support is reaching 36 of the 56 organizations as of December 2014; among them 22 are SPICE grantees and 14 DGP grantees. While the progress for this indicator is lower than the fiscal year or full-project targets, targets should be achieved when more organizations participate in the skills development training programs.

1 8

16 16 16 16

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13 14 14 14

1

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18

29 30 30

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34

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52 56

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2013 Q2 2013 Q4 2014 Q1 2014 Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2015 Q1

SPICE Grantees Receiving OCB DGP Grantees Receiving OCB

Total No. of Organizations Receiving OCB Total No. of Organizations

77

SPICE Outcome 3: Enhanced management and technical capacity of indigenous organizations supporting civic participation and inclusive development Indicator 3.3

# people trained in specific areas designed to improve Sri Lankan organization institutional capacity

Fiscal Year 2014 Targets 180 LOP 360 Fiscal Year 2015 Targets 180

Progress 36* Cumulative 219* Present and cumulative progress of the indicator according to key subject areas

Thirty-six people received skills development training during the reporting period, bringing the total trained to 219. The FY 2014 targets were achieved as anticipated and the FY 2015 targets are on track to be achieved during the upcoming reporting periods. *Those who receive training on more than one subject are counted each time they receive training.

9 13

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24 35

115

7 7

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21 18

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PCM M&E PCM M&E RBA Total

This Period Cumulative

Male Female