Sunday Times 2
VSO Sri Lanka leaves behind a story of success
View(s):British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, John Rankin, praised Voluntary Service Overseas’ (VSO) achievements when he spoke at an event recently to mark the closure of the country programme.
British High Commissioner John Rankin
The international development charity has been placing volunteers in Sri Lanka for more than 40 years, initially through the British Council, and since the late 1970s through VSO’s own country office.
The event at VSO’s programme office in Cotta Road saw an exhibition and the launch of People and Partnerships, a book that captures the human story of VSO’s work through interviews with volunteers and staff from the country office and a range of long-term partners in both the government and NGO sectors.
Guests included Head of Operations of the European Union (EU) Delegation to Sri Lanka Willy Vandenberghe, Senior Coordination Officer at the World Bank,Patrick Vandenbruaene, British Council Director, Keith Davies, VSO Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, Patrick Proctor, former and current volunteers, and representatives of many of VSO’s Sri Lankan partner organisations.
VSO Sri Lanka Country Representative, Ruvanthi Sivapragasam
VSO has matched hundreds of skilled professional volunteers from the UK, the Netherlands, Canada, India the Philippines, Uganda, Kenya and the USA with local organisations in Sri Lanka. Volunteers have provided support to build the capacity of organisations and individuals; and specialise in areas including healthcare, legal empowerment, disability rights, strategic planning and human resources development.
Last year saw the conclusion of two major VSO projects funded by the EU – one working on the theme of peace and reconciliation, raising awareness of the Government’s Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation report; and the other supporting long-term improvements to Sri Lanka’s mental health services.
Country Representative, Ruvanthi Sivapragasam, started work at VSO as a programme manager nearly 20 years ago. Speaking at the event she said, “Progress is only possible through working together. Key to the successful delivery of our vision for the future was therefore our ability to work with others and to form strong, mutually beneficial partnerships with a range of organisations, institutions and government departments.
“I firmly believe that we at VSO Sri Lanka can proudly stand testament to this through the many strong long-term partnerships we have enjoyed over the years with local organizations throughout the country, which have resulted in many, many successes.”
A.C.M. Rumaiz being presented a copy of People and Partnerships by VSO volunteer Diane Reyes