Japan is continuing its volunteer support towards the country’s development efforts at Grass-root Level by extending Volunteer Dispatch Program.
Ms.MINAMI Yuka, Ms. MORI June and Ms. NIKI Hiroko, the new Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) arrived in Sri Lanka on the 16th of February 2023 under this new initiative.
This new batch of three JICA volunteers will be involved in the fields of environmental education (in Kegalle and Ratnapura) and physical education (in Kurunegala) attached to institutions coming under several ministries.
Since the inception of JICA’s Volunteer Dispatch Program in Sri Lanka in 1981, a total of 1,160 volunteers have worked in the country, and their contribution towards development activities at grass-root level has been greatly valued by the organizations that have received their services in a variety of technical fields.
The biggest strength of JICA’s volunteers is their practical approach to problem solving and the use of local languages (Sinhala and Tamil) which enables them to understand and speak to the hearts and minds of local people.
These volunteers use extremely creative means of communication which is essential for effective training/teaching, and are able to positively influence those who work with them due to their positive attitude, strong sense of discipline and teamwork.
These volunteers not only transfer technical skills, but also share knowledge on cultural aspects, and most importantly, build strong and long-lasting friendships with local people that outlast their stay in Sri Lanka.
The new volunteers were introduced to their host organizations at an assigning ceremony, which was held at the Department of External Resources (ERD), on the 17th of March 2023.
The occasion was graced by the officials of Department of External Resources, volunteer host organizations and JICA Sri Lanka Office.
Rohan Chrishantha, Additional Director General (Debt Management) at Department of External Resources under the Ministry of Finance, paid attribute to the Japanese government and people for supporting Sri Lanka during the current economic difficulties
Moreover, he said, “he was really happy that three Japanese voluteers introduced themeselves to the audience very clearly in Sinhala Language after a very short period of study.
He expressed the belief that all of them will speak Sinhala very well when they finish their service in Sri Lanka during their 2-year assignment in the country.
After a hiatus of more than 2 years government restarted its volunteer activities in the month of August 2021, and this will be the dispatch of the 7th batch since then.
Therefore, the finance ministry is proud of new volunteers continuously being recruited to the country and also wish that new volunteers will carry out activities to the best of their ability, he claimed.
