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KANTHA SHAKTHI ORGANISATION ( Strength of women ) HISTORY AND BACKGROUND.
VISION

A society where women are economically, politically, socially and culturally advanced and empowered irrespective of gender, class, caste, ethnicity, religion, geographical location, age and marriage.
MISSION

Action to improve without discrimination the socio-economic, political and cultural conditions of disadvantaged women in selected areas and sectors leading towards their empowerment
.
OBJECTIVES
  • To work towards an alternative mode of development which will give priority to people's participation and preservation of life and environment.
  • To preserve the progressive aspects and values of Sri Lankan culture
  • To agitate for, defend and develop the democratic and human rights of people of all communities and specifically of women.
  • To oppose racism, casteism and be committed to national unity.
  • To initiate and encourage economic, political, social and cultural transformation of Sri Lankan society and encourage women to participate in such processes.
  • To take action to eradicate unjust and degrading practices, customs, attitudes and beliefs, which generate gender inequality and oppression and hinder the full development of women as human beings.
  • To move towards the democratic family based on love, understanding, respect and gender equality in place of the patriarchal family.
  • To initiate and conduct programmes to uplift the situation of women.
  • To give priority to economically and socially disadvantaged women in all programmes of the organization.
  • To carry out the work of the organization in national languages.
  • To establish links and solidarity with women's organizations nationally, regionally and internationally to resolve common problems.

INCEPTION
Kantha Shakthi was started in 1983 by a group of women and men. The group included feminist activists and researchers, rural women, women from the plantation sector, women in middle class professions such as teaching, nursing and artists.

Its main and immediate purpose was to conscientise women and wider society about the issues faced by women and campaign for women's rights and human rights and other social - political issues such as the ethnic conflict.
The socio- economic- political background which gave rise to Kantha Shakthi is stated below in detail.

Socio-economic political background
Development policies followed by successive governments in Sri Lanka since national independence in 1948 were imposed on the people from above. These policies discriminated against rural and urban poor, minor ethnic communities and women. The policies of structural adjustment introduced in the year 1977 mark the beginning of the current phase of globalization in Sri Lanka and is also the beginning of the end for many reasons. The government borrowed heavily from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund [IMF ]and other foreign financial institutions to launch several major development projects including the Mahaweli river diversion scheme. As a pre- condition to these loans, the World Bank and the IMF proposed a programme of structural adjustment.[SAP ] The SAP disrupted agriculture, food production and local industries. Rural poverty increased rapidly.

According to International Fund for Agricultural Development of the World Bank, Sri Lanka ranks first among114 countries in which rural poverty increased rapidly during the decade from 1982 to 1991.

Poverty alleviation programmes carried out by successive governments since 1948 with borrowings from lending institutions failed to eliminate poverty and killed the initiatives of the people and made them lethargic and dependent.

Despite preference accorded to private enterprise, the majority of enterprising people, particularly women cannot start small-scale economic ventures due to lack of credit facilities. The interest rates of the commercial banks are too high for the poor and the middle - income groups and the bureaucratic procedures are too complicated and hazardous. Therefore those except the rich are not benefited by the loan schemes of the commercial banks.

Sri Lanka never had an education system which would fulfill the economic, political and social needs of the country, enrich and empower life, foster ethnic harmony and gender equality. Despite a high literacy rate for women at 83.5% and remarkable educational attainments, women in Sri Lanka continue to be subordinated and extremely marginalized in political decision making at village, district and national levels.
Disruption of local food production, food insecurity, plunder of genetic resources, privatization of national assets, violation of human rights, discrimination and violence against women have all contributed to a deepening economic, political and social crisis in Sri Lankan society.
Out of all categories of people in Sri Lankan society, women seemed to be the most severely affected group by the negative effects of development mentioned above. Kantha Shakthi was set up particularly as a women's social movement to address, campaign for and find solutions to the problems faced by such women as those working in the free trade zone, in agriculture, in the tea estates, in the graphite industry and so on and empower them.
Past Activities - 1983- 2001
Continuous campaign against the violation of human rights, at the national and international level.

Campaign for equal wages of women in the tea plantations.
Campaign for better working conditions and workers' rights in the free trade zones.
Campaign for a peaceful and democratic solution to the ethnic conflict.
Campaign on important social, economic and political issues.
Campaign for higher wages, better working conditions and so on of the nurses.
Campaign for the rights of women in the graphite industry.
Medical and legal aid programme for women in the free trade zone, graphite mines and ceramic industry.
Publication of a newspaper and a journal on important socio- economic and gender issues.
Publication of a book on women's body in local languages.
Workshops and seminars to raise awareness on socio- economic and gender issues.
Research on pesticide use in agriculture.
Promote sustainable agriculture by motivating and initiating organic farming in selected villages. (ongoing)

Set up micro-credit schemes at 2 levels for rural women. (ongoing)
Awareness raising on socio-economic and gender issues. (ongoing)
Campaign at local, national, regional and international levels on women's rights. (ongoing)
Implement the Beijing platform of Action at local, national and regional levels. (ongoing)

Period 1993-2001

Alternate Development
As work such as campaigning and awareness raising advanced, majority of the people with and for whom Kantha Shakthi worked, faced enormous crisis in their daily life, due to high cost of living, unemployment, malnutrition, low income, lack of credit facilities, lack of infrastructure, degradation of environment, pesticide poisoning, social, political and gender violence, sexual harassment, violation of human rights and so on. These problems were so grave and urgent and needed to be addressed until other solutions are found at the national level. Kantha Shakthi was convinced of the sheer inadequacy of awareness raising and campaigning. [Further, a study done by Kantha Shakthi in 1993 on the use of chemical pesticides in agriculture revealed the damage to environment and women's health, by the methods of the green revolution.

With a view to respond to the need for alternatives, Kantha Shakthi started 3 main alternate development programmes in 1996 in selected rural locations.

These are:
  • Micro-credit scheme, started and managed by and for small groups of women (each group consists of 6 - 10 members)
  • ablisment of Mothers & Child Reproductive Health Centre, Chak 81/Fateh, Tehsil Hasilpur, District Bahawalpur ( TVO Funded)
 
  • Self-banks for women, operated and managed by women. (a self bank formed by coming together of several small groups of the micro-credit scheme mentioned above.)
  • Alternate education provided for small groups; alternate education and training provided for the self-banks. Specially designed educational programmes on gender and important socio-economic, political issues.

The rural locations in which Kantha Shakthi implement the above activities are really social laboratories where the organisation has success fully implemented the programmes of alternate development mentioned above. While these programmes continue, Kantha Shakthi launched special programmes on women's issues in the same locations.

Current Activities
The current activities of Kantha Shakthi at local, national and regional (also international) level are summarized below.

Activities at local level
Location Balangoda and Weligepola Divisional Secretariats
In the Ratnapura District.
Matara & Hambanthota Districts - Tsunami effected areas
Main Programmes : Socio-economic Mobilization
   
Activities under this are :-
Mobilizing women (and also men who are willing)
in to small groups and start micro-credit scheme.

Build up solidarity among women.
Introduce labor sharing.
Skills development.
Share knowledge & information.
Train in financial management.
Set up Self-Banks.
Income generating activities.
Exposure programmes.
Organic farming.

Under Socio-economic Mobilization, Kantha Shakthi start children's society. Children's society called 'Deepthi'. Deepthi children's society objectives & activities are given below.

Deepthi Children for environment and peace (Deepthi means radiant, lively,bright)
 
Objectives of Deepthi
To motivate children to protect environment and contribute to peace. To ensure continuation of Kantha Shakthi vision, mission and objectives
Activities
Monthly meeting of children which provides a forum for children to express their, interests talents and abilities
Monthly fair, where children bring and sell organic vegetables and fruits, from their home gardens.
Individual saving scheme of children, which consists of money accrued by selling garden produce.
Cultural events with a view to promote and preserve arts, music, dance, folklore etc .
Educational programs and exposure visits.
Protest action against violation of children's rights.

Children's Development Bank