This is a partnership project implemented by SEVANATHA with the engagement of Colombo Municipal Council and Sri Lanka Women’s Development Service Cooperative Society o (Women’s Coop). The geographical area of the project is city of Colombo and it has a special focus on Underserved Settlements (USS) in the city. This project is generally known as Community Empowerment Project of Colombo.

The main objective of the project is to organize the urban poor communities in to Community Based Organizations (CBOs) and empower them through training, information sharing, skill improvement and linking them with the CMC and other relevant Government institutions. This project would help the USS communities to better engage with the CMC and establish working relationship around slums upgrading which will lead to improvement of security of tenure, housing conditions and infrastructure and overall better quality of life of the poor.

The project consist of a range of activities starting from a city wide survey of all the low income settlements, identification of sixty (60) priority settlements for implementation of community empowerment and infrastructure improvement activities, conducting training for community leaders and members, and implementation of basic infrastructure services of the settlements.

The project is being implemented with active participation of Colombo Municipal Council, Women’s coop and the communities. The following pictures highlight the key project activities that are being implemented.