asked in 2005
answered by Susil Sirivardana

1. How do you finance PIDA and who are your supporters?

1. From an Endowment Fund, which was started with help of the money from the RLA
2. From project work done through decentralised PIDA institutions.
3. By doing partnerships with the Government, when invited to do so
4. From collaboration with SAPNA (South Asian Perspective Network Association)


2. Did the Tsunami-catastrophe in 2004 bring more attention to the situation of the poor people of South Asia?

Attention and also active involvement. But here was a negative aspect to this involvement. Several external actors were acting insensitively to local community culture and national development norms. They were exercising a hegemony, which was unacceptable.


3. PIDA gives stimulus, encouragement and initial support to the poor. When do you step back and let them fly on their own?

At the stage when a community has:
1. thrown up its own Internal Animators to guide the community
2. when the conscientisation process has reached a stage of self-confidence to proceed on one’s own
3. when they have built up sufficient financial resources to be able to sustain themselves.


4. What is your most important achievement?

The fact that we pioneered a method of rigorous social mobilisation, which has been both sustained for over two decades and re-validated on the ground. As a result, we have been able to transfer this methodology, and build up similar centres in Kerala in India, Baluchistan in Pakistan, at SAPPROS in Nepal and also in BRAC in Bangladesh.


5. How has the government related to PIDA?

It entirely depends on the individual Minister in charge of Poverty Alleviation in a government. There have been two instances when Government has collaborated with PIDA – first, from 1990-93; second, from April 2005, when major reforms took place in the relevant ministry.


6. What effect has the RLA had on your work?

1. Major positive evaluation of our work and strategies
2. Powerful source of a legitimisation and inspiration
3. Increased our standing in the Sri Lankan community
4. The RLA funding enabled us to do two invaluable things:
    a) start an Endowment Fund
    b) buy land in Colombo and put up our own training centre