Browsing by Author "Vitharana L D S"

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Politicization of community organizations and development process in rural Sri Lanka: a case study of Northwestern Sri Lanka
(Culture, Globalization and the Developing World, 2nd ICSS, 2013) Vitharana L D S
In Sri Lanka, policy makers and political authorities take serious steps to empower rural areas and ensure active participation of rural masses in the development process, because a majority of the population is concentrated in rural areas. In this endeavor, different community level organizations are established at the rural level. And the government channels various collective and individual state resources to rural areas through several organizations, local and international. In this context, the role of the community level organizations in rural development becomes very significant, because the development agencies and related organizations are to implement their rural development projects through the community based organizations. However, the expected goals of the community level organizations in rural development have remained largely unachieved for the recent decades. The major factor behind this failure is found to be party politics or politicization of rural community development organizations. Politically motivated social groups at the rural level have become the key players of those organizations. They have used their power for acquiring and appropriating resources and benefits from external development organizations. As the anticipated goals of development are hindered by these community level organizations in the development, the situation has become a bitter source for conflict among the villagers very often. This paper monitors the impact of politicization of the community organizations and thereby its implications of on the contemporary development process in rural Sri Lanka. Concerned study area of this research belongs to Puttalam district in the Northwestern Province. This study has applied the case study method within the ethnographic tradition consisting participant observations, in-depth interviews as data collecting techniques.
Social impacts of ?Rajarata kidney disease?: with special reference to Welioya Divisional Secretariat Division
(Culture, Globalization and the Developing World, 2nd ICSS, 2013) Karunathilake K; Vitharana L D S
Though there are certain evidences of historical roots for kidney disease in the North Central Province, it had not become a major health hazard for the people of this region until last two decades. However, it has rapidly increased the number of kidney disease patients after 1990s. At present, it has already jeopardized the entire social, economic and cultural sphere of the people as a result of kidney disease in the entire province. The paper aims to discuss the findings of a research conducted in the Welioya Divisional Secretariat Division using qualitative data techniques in recent past. The objective of the research is to identify the social impacts of kidney disease in the most affected area of the Anuradhapura district. The existing alarming situation has drawn lot of attention from government health system, researchers, media, and politicians that are engaged in different and controversial debates on the issue. However, the current study may not focus on such debates related to the root-causes of the disease, but focused on social repercussion of the disease. On the basis of preliminary investigation, there are many emerging socio-economic trends varying according to each social class and their knowledge and understand of the catastrophe. On the one hand, wealthy people think that they should migrate and settle in most protective regions of the country while poor people think that they have to follow the medical instructions and continue the existing agriculture based livelihood for their survival on the other. In certain locations, there are more than five deaths within few families and, sometimes, two or more deaths from the same family. Today, some of them hesitate to get married from such families or particularly from those highly affected locations. Though there are such huge social impacts, some of them are not aware of the severity of the health hazard due to lack of actual reason for the disease. The medical experts are quoting different reasons with lack of correlation to each reason and they have so far failed to synchronize the real background of the disease. Finally, the existing condition has developed very negative impact over the livelihood of the people in all affected areas.