SCORE, Through Partner Shanthiham, Increases Access to Mental Health Services During Covid-19 Lockdown and Beyond
By Kathya de Silva Senarath The Covid-19 pandemic is not only a health issue— it is also an economic issue with businesses declaring bankruptcy and many losing livelihoods due to lockdowns and other disruptions to the economy. While significant focus must remain on addressing economic shocks and treating the physically ill, the pandemic’s impact on…
Read MoreSCORE-Facilitated Legal Clinic on Radio Creates Awareness Among Communities, Prompts Action
By Kathya de Silva Senarath Many agree that suspicion and cynicism against the Muslim community in Sri Lanka existed for some time alongside the larger ethnic tensions between Sinhalese and Tamils caused by the 30-year civil war. Competition on socio-economic gains, land issues – especially in the North and East – and the general lack…
Read MorePCI India and ‘Mobile Vaani’ Answer Call for Action Against COVID-19
When much of the world came to a standstill in the wake of COVID-19, one Indian social tech company rose to the challenge. Gram Vaani, which means “voice of the village” in Hindi, adapted its mobile phone-based social media platform—Mobile Vaani—to reach low-literacy, rural and remote audiences across India with important coronavirus prevention messages. Prior…
Read MoreDisabling Myths with Abled Minds
USAID SCORE supports persons with disabilities start livelihoods By Kathya de Silva Senarath Thirty-three-year-old Isuru Piyumal, from the rural village of Nugeyaya in Sri Lanka’s most marginalized Moneragala district, had been a dependent all his life. His parents realized when he was just three months old that he had an intellectual disability, and they did…
Read MoreUSAID SCORE Seizes Opportunity for Reconciliation through Channel Repair in Aathiyammankerni
By Kathya de Silva Senarath Tamil and Sinhala villages of Aathiyammankerni and Samagipura in the Trincomalee district have been directly affected by the country’s 30-year conflict that continues to inflame tensions between the two communities. Tensions were aggravated further in 2006 when the LTTE blocked the Mavil Aru sluicegates that brought water to thousands in…
Read MoreSchools Use USAID SCORE-donated COVID-19 Protective Equipment to Ensure Safety to Children Facing Crucial Government Examinations
Sri Lanka is gripped by another wave of the COVID-19 pandemic as children prepared to face crucial government examinations of Grade 5 Scholarship and the Advanced Level on October 11 and 12 respectively. The former enables children, especially those in rural areas, the opportunity to attend better schools with more facilities while the latter selects…
Read MoreUSAID SCORE-Donated Equipment Helps Keep School Dengue-Free
By Kathya de Silva Senarath, Reporting Officer, USAID SCORE/Global Communities A public school in Gintota in the South of Sri Lanka is one of the schools that benefitted from USAID Social Cohesion and Reconciliation Activity (SCORE)’s COVID-19 island-wide response in mid-August. The school authorities struggled to clean and disinfect their premises due to lack of…
Read MoreUSAID SCORE/RDF-established Water Purification Plant in Vavuniya Provides Clean Water to Residents
N. Sridevi, a single mother of two from Maharambaikulam in the conflict-affected Vavuniya district in the North of Sri Lanka, had been concerned over the area’s drinking water for many years. The people in the North and North Central Provinces have been experiencing high levels of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) for the last decade, and…
Read MoreIn Sri Lanka, Youth Social Media Group Combats Hate Speech and Misinformation
The USAID-funded Social Cohesion and Reconciliation Activity (SCORE) provided training to 28 youth leaders from diverse ethnic backgrounds in the Monaragala District to counter the spread of fake news and hate speech online that became rampant following the Easter Sunday bombings, the group learned how to educate people on deciphering legitimate from fake news, in…
Read MoreYouth-led Advocacy Initiatives Creating Communal Harmony and Positive Changes
There are various instances in Sri Lanka’s history when tensions between ethnicities have resulted in turbulence and bloodshed. Over the years, instances such as the insurgencies, three decades of armed conflict and the Easter attacks last year increased distrust and disharmony among ethnicities. Politicians take advantage of ethnic divisions for their political objectives which causes…
Read MoreMaking Schools Safer for Children to Return During COVID-19 in Sri Lanka
By Kathya de Silva Senarath, Reporting Officer, USAID SCORE Program in Sri Lanka As thousands of children returned to school in August following five months of closure, an initiative supported by the United States has helped disinfect schools and ensure a healthy learning environment for Sri Lankan students. In cooperation with regional health and education directors, medical officers,…
Read MoreAddressing India’s ‘Shadow Pandemic’ of Violence Against Women and Girls
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, women and girls face a heightened risk of domestic violence and exploitation. According to UN Women, this “shadow pandemic” is the result of economic, health and security strains brought on or worsened by movement restrictions, crowded homes and reduced access to peer groups and social networks. In two blocks of…
Read MoreYouth Creatively Engage While at Home
Read original article on USAID website All across Kosovo youth are finding creative ways to keep social distancing guidelines to only physical distancing. They are maintaining connections to their peers and providing virtual support to each other to prevent feelings of isolation. To capture and share these creative ideas, USAID’s Up to Youth activity encouraged…
Read MoreKosovo Youth Contribute to Their Communities During the Pandemic
Read original article on USAID website As a long-time youth activist, Drita jumped at the chance to join the Emergency Response (ER) Team in her community. She has been actively involved in USAID’s Up to Youth activity as a Youth Advisory Board member, and understands how vital it is to volunteer in her community. Thus,…
Read MoreSame Heroes, New Culprit: Pivoting from Polio to COVID-19
In India, the same unsung heroes who helped stop the spread of polio are working tirelessly to defeat COVID-19. Drawing on decades of experience in community engagement and communication on polio prevention and routine immunizations, PCI/India’s CORE Group Polio Project (CGPP) recently pivoted to raising awareness about the coronavirus. Staff are proactively reaching communities where…
Read MoreCOVID-19 Response in Sri Lanka
The Global Communities team in Sri Lanka is collaborating with government health authorities to protect communities from COVID-19. Activities have included addressing the urgent needs of hospitals, schools, health facilities and health workers for personal protective equipment disinfectant equipment, setting up isolation units and other items, and social messaging to raise awareness in targeted populations…
Read MoreCyber Guardians Champion Reconciliation through Social Media
The recent ‘Cyber Guardians Forum – The Role of Social Media in Transforming Sri Lanka,’ organized by Search for Common Ground (SfCG) with USAID SCORE/Global Communities support, revealed several milestone achievements of the SfCG’s Cyber Guardians project under the SCORE program. More than 100 youths were trained in social media at three boot camps, resulting…
Read MoreNeglected No More: Uniting to Beat Devastating Diseases in India
One of the biggest challenges to beating neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) lies right in their name. Failing to communicate what they are, who they affect and how they can be prevented or treated keeps more than 1.5 billion people—in the poorest and most marginalized communities—at risk of becoming blind, disabled or disfigured. NTDs can also…
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