Sevalanka after Two Decades
"The most superficial look at history shows that no social advance rolls in on the wheels of inevitability. It comes through the tireless efforts and persistent work of dedicated individuals." - Martin Luther King Jr.
Sevalanka started during a period of great uncertainty in Sri Lanka. Violent conflict was tearing apart the social fabric of the country. Power was centralized. Rule of law was under threat. Youth were frustrated. Civil society was divided along ethnic and political lines. In the midst of this chaos, a group of like-minded activists and development practitioners met in the ancient city of Anuradhapura. They came together across Sinhala and Tamil divisions to discuss a way forward.
The outcome was Sevalanka, an organization for all communities, that would continue focusing on the “long haul” development work that was needed for future peace, prosperity, and sustainability. The founders agreed that regardless of the day to day challenges, Sevalanka would remain committed to social mobilization and strengthening the institutional capacity building of rural community based organizations, producer groups, and cooperatives.
This is the story behind the logo. Sevalanka plants seeds, waters them, and nurtures them as they flower and mature. These flowers have the potential to produce thousands of seeds which are the flowers of the next generation.
Over the next two decades, Sevalanka became known as a national development organization and worked in almost every district of the country. It helped communities assess needs and opportunities. It helped develop irrigation tanks, canals, agrowells, houses, schools, community centers, and other common facilities. It improved access to resources, training opportunities, and technical services.
In areas affected by war and natural disaster, Sevalanka became actively involved in relief and reconstruction with a focus on transitioning from rehabilitation to sustainable development. It brought people together across cultural and religious lines through social gatherings and festivals.
Because the organization had a reputation for efficiency and effectiveness and an on-the-ground presence in nearly all areas of the country, many of the international agencies working in Sri Lanka chose to partner with Sevalanka. At one time, the organization had a staff or more than 2,000 and a budget of nearly 20 million dollars.
Despite this internal capacity, Sevalanka remained focused on collaborating with local civil society groups. Sevalanka would secure funding and implement in collaboration with local partners. This added new risks and challenges, but the goal was to build institutional capacity and community development experience.
By the time Sevalanka was completing two decades of work in 2014, the situation in the country had changed. The post-war resettlement and rehabilitation was mostly completed, and Sri Lanka was considered a middle-income country and a low priority for aid. International development partners left for hot spots in other parts of the world, and experienced local development workers had to find alternative livelihoods. The majority of NGOs closed their offices.
Sevalanka faced a challenging transition. The organization needed to be restructured to adapt to the new context in the country. While the staff spent years working with communities on strategies for self-reliance, they themselves had become accustomed to donor assistance and found it difficult to shift to a self-reliant working culture.
The organization finally sought external technical input to help prepare a strategic plan for the next ten years that draws on Sevalanka’s social assets and development experience. As part of the strategic plan, Sevalanka is now working to expand the services of Sewa Community Credit and self-financing district initiatives. The organization is transitioning from a donor dependent culture to develop new skills and become a self-reliant social enterprise for a new era of sustainable participatory development.
Sevalanka is also focusing on partnerships within Asia. China and India both play important roles in Sri Lanka and have shown interest in the country’s sustainable development agenda. This creates new opportunities for development actors like Sevalanka to build people to people partnerships and develop new links with like-minded social enterprises and civil society groups.
The key for this next phase is partnership. Many of the seeds that Sevalanka has planted over the past 20 years have now grown into trees and are bearing fruit. These fruit hold the seeds to help take Sri Lanka into a future of peace, prosperity and sustainability.
The outcome was Sevalanka, an organization for all communities, that would continue focusing on the “long haul” development work that was needed for future peace, prosperity, and sustainability. The founders agreed that regardless of the day to day challenges, Sevalanka would remain committed to social mobilization and strengthening the institutional capacity building of rural community based organizations, producer groups, and cooperatives.
This is the story behind the logo. Sevalanka plants seeds, waters them, and nurtures them as they flower and mature. These flowers have the potential to produce thousands of seeds which are the flowers of the next generation.
Over the next two decades, Sevalanka became known as a national development organization and worked in almost every district of the country. It helped communities assess needs and opportunities. It helped develop irrigation tanks, canals, agrowells, houses, schools, community centers, and other common facilities. It improved access to resources, training opportunities, and technical services.
In areas affected by war and natural disaster, Sevalanka became actively involved in relief and reconstruction with a focus on transitioning from rehabilitation to sustainable development. It brought people together across cultural and religious lines through social gatherings and festivals.
Because the organization had a reputation for efficiency and effectiveness and an on-the-ground presence in nearly all areas of the country, many of the international agencies working in Sri Lanka chose to partner with Sevalanka. At one time, the organization had a staff or more than 2,000 and a budget of nearly 20 million dollars.
Despite this internal capacity, Sevalanka remained focused on collaborating with local civil society groups. Sevalanka would secure funding and implement in collaboration with local partners. This added new risks and challenges, but the goal was to build institutional capacity and community development experience.
By the time Sevalanka was completing two decades of work in 2014, the situation in the country had changed. The post-war resettlement and rehabilitation was mostly completed, and Sri Lanka was considered a middle-income country and a low priority for aid. International development partners left for hot spots in other parts of the world, and experienced local development workers had to find alternative livelihoods. The majority of NGOs closed their offices.
Sevalanka faced a challenging transition. The organization needed to be restructured to adapt to the new context in the country. While the staff spent years working with communities on strategies for self-reliance, they themselves had become accustomed to donor assistance and found it difficult to shift to a self-reliant working culture.
The organization finally sought external technical input to help prepare a strategic plan for the next ten years that draws on Sevalanka’s social assets and development experience. As part of the strategic plan, Sevalanka is now working to expand the services of Sewa Community Credit and self-financing district initiatives. The organization is transitioning from a donor dependent culture to develop new skills and become a self-reliant social enterprise for a new era of sustainable participatory development.
Sevalanka is also focusing on partnerships within Asia. China and India both play important roles in Sri Lanka and have shown interest in the country’s sustainable development agenda. This creates new opportunities for development actors like Sevalanka to build people to people partnerships and develop new links with like-minded social enterprises and civil society groups.
The key for this next phase is partnership. Many of the seeds that Sevalanka has planted over the past 20 years have now grown into trees and are bearing fruit. These fruit hold the seeds to help take Sri Lanka into a future of peace, prosperity and sustainability.