DIRC

The PACT team conducted a Learning Conference at Senathilaka Gust inn & Restaurant, Puttalam with the participation of 17 non government organizations who are working for stablishing peace & reconciliation in the district.

The program aimed to create a platform to share the experiences, challenges and lesson learning from each others in implementing the activities related to peace and reconciliation.

The PACT team organized an actualization activity at Hingurakgoda, Polonnaruwa in collaboration with Polonnaruwa DIRC & Women LGA leaders in Polonnaruwa on 3rd December 2023.

Leaflets printed with messages on peace and harmony were distributed among the people of Higurakgoda. At the same time, the leaflet was made into a sticker poster and pasted in shops and public places in this area, for everyone to see.

After that, a dialogue with an awareness program was held on human rights, fundamental rights, and ethnic unity by Lawyer Chathura Buddhika Dassanayaka with the participation of Religious leaders, Trading community/business owners, LGA members, Pradeshiya Sabha Secretary, Police officers, Civil Society leaders from the Hinguragoda area, Government Officers from the Hingurakgoda divisional secretariate, and NGO Coordinator from Polonnaruwa District Secretariate.

A facilitative meeting for women leaders was held on 17th November 2023 in Polonnaruwa to discuss about the actualization activity to be held on 3rd December 2023.

An article was published about this meeting in Lankadeepa newspaper on 30th November 2023.

A facilitative meeting for women leaders was held on 17th November 2023 in Polonnaruwa to discuss about the actualization activity to be held on 3rd December 2023.

An article was published about this meeting in Dinamina newspaper on 29th November 2023.

On 26th of October 2023, PACT team organized an activity under the theme of peace and reconciliation collaboration with WODEPT in Puttalam. The poor relationships between students who are studying in Palavi Muslim Vidyalaya and Paalaviya Sinhala Vidyalaya because of language barrier. This issue was identified by DIRC.
So, this programme aimed to promote better relationships and understanding among students from different backgrounds. And the particular students got the great opportunity to learn each other's languages together, it could help them to break down cultural and language barriers and foster mutual understanding and respect. This program can play a vital role in building a more inclusive and harmonious society.
Religious leaders, teachers, DIRC members, and several people attend with the program.
This initiative marked a significant milestone in fostering harmony within the community.

On 14th of October 2023, PACT team organized a Peace building program for youth under the theme of ' Youth for Peace' at Fishery community hall in Chilaw.
The youth group identified the issue that the poor relationship between Sinhala and Muslim community aftermath of the Easter Sunday Attacks in 2019.
So, this program aimed to promote better relationships and understanding among the youth who are representing both communities. Through this program youth were able to mobilize an importance of peace and reconciliation.
This initiative marked a significant milestone in fostering harmony within the community.

Today, the PACT team, in collaboration with HRCC, Batticaloa, conducted a Peace building program for children's homes in Batticaloa at Kathaankudi.

LGA group in the district has identified that most of children's homes are isolated by religion and ethnicities through their observations. So, this program named 'Action for Peace' aimed to promote better understanding of different cultural identities and inter religious harmony to children who are representing Muslim Children Development center - Kathaankudi, Hari Hindu home - Kalladi and Arutpani Sirumiyar illam - Navatkuda Children homes.

In the program they participated painting, cultural events and dialogue with the them of "we the children for peace" to promote harmony and understanding each other ethnicities and religions, and included visits to three different religious institutions (Mosqu-Kathaankudi, Mamangam pilaiyar temple, Matha Peralayam) to explore and appreciate the culture and values of each religion. It could help them to break down culture.

Yesterday, PACT team organized a activity colobaration with FIRM in Vavuniya. The poor relationships between Sinhala community and Tamil community at Singala and Tamil border villages in Kuda Kachchakodi. Even people get fear to used to walk through those areas in night. This issue was identified by DIRC.

So, this programme aimed to bring changes in their maindset and promot better relationships and understanding among the borders villages people.

In the program Tamil community people went to Sinhala Border village (Kuda Kochchakodi) and did siramadanaya activity at pre school. And they organized discussion with the Sinhala community people .It could help them to break down fear about other community and religious barriers and foster mutual understanding and respect.

Religions Leaders, Youths,Teachers, children and several people attend with the program.
This initiative marked a significant milestone in fostering harmony within the community.

LGA groups in Puttalam took the initiative to conduct a Blood Donation Camp named ‘Step up to save lives ’ in Puttalam town hall.
This event aimed to ensure equitable access to medical resources, prioritizing the well-being of all individuals regardless of their ethnic or religious background.
Religious leaders, LGA members, Well-wishers also participated in this event.

On November 20, 2023, the PACT team, in collaboration with the partner organization FIOH - Badulla, organized the Actualization Activity at the Badulla district secretary's office.

District inter-religious youth leaders identified a pressing issue: ongoing thefts in estates across Badulla, leading to suspicions about unemployed Tamil youths. This situation resulted in frequent conflicts between Sinhalese and Tamil communities, causing a loss of trust and creating tension.

Recognizing the root cause as economic challenges faced by youth in the estates due to a lack of proper income sources, the youth leaders arranged a job fair. The aim was to address this core issue and foster positive relationships between the Sinhala and Tamil communities in the estates. Over 200 youth participated, receiving consultations and opportunities for their careers.

A significant support for this event was the identification of 21 institutes within the district and educational institutions seeking employers. Additionally, key officials, including the additional district secretary, assistant district secretary, NGO coordinator, CBO leaders, and DIRC members, played a pivotal role by providing resources, including the district secretary's auditorium and premises free of charge for the event, contributing to its success.

The PACT team conducted a learning conference at Grand Regency Hotel Badulla with the participation of 15 non government organisations who are working for establishing peace & reconciliation in the district on 21st November 2023.

The program objective is to create a platform to share the experiences, challenges and lesson learnings from each others in implementing the activities related to peace and reconciliation.

The PACT team conducted a learning conference at Thilaka City Hotel Anuradhapura with the participation of 15 non government organisations who are working for etablishing peace & reconciliation in the district on 11th November 2023.

The program objective is to create a platform to share the experiences, challenges and lesson learnings from each others in implementing the activities related to peace and reconciliation.

The PACT team organized an actualization activity at Kumbukkana, Monaragala in collaboration with Monaragala DIRC with the participation of the Assistant Divisional Secretary, Assistant Director of Planning from Monaragala divisional Secretariate and Grama Niladari, Development Officers, Samurdhi Officer, Religious Leaders representing all ethnic groups on 26th October 2023.

Conducting mobile awareness for the plantation people who do not have birth certificates and identity cards.

Due to lack of education, poverty, and language misunderstandings, plantation people are not very interested in going to the relevant government offices to prepare their necessary documents. They think that they are a group that will be discriminated against by the society. They are not interested in bringing their needs to the front of the society because of that fact.

The actualization activity organized by the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka in collaboration with Polonnaruwa DIRC & Nugagahadamana Sub Committee was held on 21st October 2023 at Nugagahadamana Muslim College, Polonnaruwa.

An article was published about this activity in Aruna newspaper on 24 October 2023.

The actualization activity organised by the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka in collaboration with Polonnaruwa DIRC & Nugagahadamana Sub Committee was held on 21st October 2023 at Nugagahadamana Muslim College, Polonnaruwa.

An article was published about this activity in Lankadeepa newspaper on 24 October 2023.

Yesterday(22.10.2023), the PACT Team, in collaboration with CES - Nuwara Eliya, conducted a Peace Building program in ShanthiPura, the highest location in Sri Lanka.

This program addressed ongoing issues in the Zandura-Santhipura-Oliphanty Estate area, where Sinhalese and Muslim residents live in the village, while only Tamil residents reside in the Oliphant estate. And some senstive situation has led to continuous conflicts within the community.

To address these challenges, they organized an event that aimed to foster better relationships among the Sinhala, Tamil, and Muslim communities in Shanthipura through sports activities and interfaith dialogues. The program received active participation from approximately 100 participants, including religious leaders, LGA members, government officers, and community members.

During the event, members identified various resources and sponsors to support this initiative.

On October 19, 2023, the PACT team organized an event in collaboration with the partner organization ECDIC - Rathnapura.

Women leaders from LGA and CBO identified a significant issue: a large number of school children addicted to and selling drugs, which had led to ethnic and religious conflicts on multiple occasions. This program aimed to promote better relationships and understanding among people regarding drug addiction and to build strong relationships among different ethnic and religious groups.

The remarkable of this event was the establishment of a mobile library at Rathnapura Bus Stand to provide knowledge about peace and reconciliation.Additionally, they placed peace message stickers on buses and in shops, shared leaflets, and verbally communicated messages of peace.
They received support from the police, municipal council, and NTC (National Transport Commission). Religious leaders, government officers, DIRC members, and nearly 300 to 400 members of the public community attended this program.

On October 21, 2023, the PACT team in partnership with ADCC- Anuradhapura conducted a activiy in Nachchaduwa Nelubewa. This locality had witnessed tensions between the Muslim and Sinhala communities. resulting in isolation, misunderstandings, and severe consequences including community divisions, religious discrimination, and adverse impacts on local businesses.

Our joint effort united 85 participants, including religious leaders, local government leaders, community members, and Dham school students from various faiths. "Nagenahira Nuwara Gam Palatha Pradeshiya Sabhawa" generously provided Jayabumi Hall, free of charge while the LEO Club of Royals Anuradhapura sponsored gift packs for 50 students. Local government members are sponsored with 75 CR books.

Together, we initiated a dialogue on promoting inter-religious harmony, fostering cultural exchange, and hosting an art exhibition. This event showcased the strength of unity and the potential for positive transformation when we stand together.

The PACT team organised an actualization activity at Nugagahadamana in collaboration with Polonnaruwa DIRC & Nugagahadamana sub committee with the participation of the 75 villagers including 11 religious leaders representing all ethnic groups.

The program started from Nugagahadamana temple. Everyone had the opportunity to learn about Buddhist rituals. After that, all are went to mosque on a peace walk and they learned about rituals of islamic.

Many of the participants who were expressed their experience that they had visited only their respective religious places for their religious observences and had not visited any other religious places before.

After that, they created a dialog about the experiences they had got.

The youth who participated were divided into 5 groups, mixing all ethnic groups, and were given the opportunity to draw a poster about their idea of ​​peace,each group presented their posters to the audience and expressed their idea of ​​peace.

The PACT team conducted a learning conference at Islamic Book House, Colombo with the participation of 9 non government organisations who are working for etablishing peace & reconciliation in the district on 14th October 2023.

The program objective is to create a platform to share the experiences, challenges and lesson learnings from each others in implementing the activities related to peace and reconciliation.