© 2023 Dr Margaret Sheppard

Janashakthi Bank Janashakthi Bank Meetings Social Development

At the same time the recipients of the Janasaviya support were organized into locally based groups of approx. 50 each, who met fortnightly to discuss their problems, ideas for development and enterprise initiatives. These local groups were composed of women - one woman from each of the recipient households. The reason for this was that it was believed that women have the main responsibility for the household. They oversee the nutrition, day-to day child care, sanitation, and education. Therefore if this development was focused on the women, the family would also be developed. These local groups became known as Kantha Samiti groups but were later renamed Rural

Women's Development Societies (RWDS). (However they were still commonly referred to by their original name Kantha Samiti, in 1990s.)


All members knew that they had to become self-reliant within  two years before the Janasaviya assistance finished. Key words adopted by members were release not relief i.e. the relief was temporary so they were being assisted to release their inner strength to develop themselves and free themselves from their ever grinding cycle of poverty.


The RWDSs groups are an important concept. At these community development meetings or Jahamuwa (community meetings of the poor) members discuss their problems, ideas, frustrations, and achievements. Each local area has semi-voluntary, locally chosen women who have been trained to act as catalysts or facilitators of further development and encourage and suggest enterprises, improvements in health, education and nutrition. They became known as the Social Mobilizers. Their training, modest salaries, and travel is subsidised by outside funds. However although they

are becoming professional it is important to remember that they are only the mobilizers and facilitators, it is the local members who make the decisions.


Each RWDS chooses from within, its membership a committee which is elected annually. This committee consists of a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Vice-Secretary and Treasurer.


To co-ordinate the individual RWDSs there is a centralized steering committee composed of the 358 RWDS Presidents. They elect an Executive Committee. This District level part of the organization is the Women's Development Federation (WDF) and is based jn Hambanlota town itself. In 1994 it had temporary office space at Kachieri (the local Governrnent Administrative area) but later in 1994 moved to purpose-built premises which were funded with the aid from outside funds.


The role of the WDF is to monitor and guide members of the RWDS and Janashakthi Bank Societies (JBS -see next section) by establishing and training the Social Mobilisers, their assistants, and Barefoot librarians (the very localised community development "officials"). The WDF also generates funds from both within and outside Sri Lanka, prepares

reports (utilizing the information gathered by the locally based Mobilizers). The WDF is responsible for co-ordinating policy developed from the local area and district level meetings. It also organises and oversees financial management

and general administration. District Level training is arranged by the WDF.


Based at WDF headquarters are annually elected members and six or seven salaried staff.

The main overseas funding came from the Christian Children’s Fund (CCF), Janasaviya Trust Fund (JTF), NORAD,and a Swiss Fund.


Kantha Samiti

   (Rural Women's Development Society)


Kantha Samiti (RWDS) Meetings are held in a variety of village venues. Sometimes they are held in a primary school (on left), or the village Temple grounds (on right). The one in the middle is being held in a local groups’s partially built special village meeting place.

These meetings are formally conducted and recorded in the minutes.

Member address the meetings, discussing e.g. business ideas & enterprises

Five- Group meetings : Each member is in one of these 5-Groups. They are distributing the household necessities they have bought wholesale - soap , rice etc. - with their group savings. The woman on the right in the right hand picture is the local Social Mobilizer.