Lanka Jatika Sarvodaya Shramadana Sangamaya, Inc.

Lanka Jatika Sarvodaya Shramadana Sangamaya Inc., also known as Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement (Sarvodaya), is the largest and most broadly embedded community-based organization in Sri Lanka. The Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement is a unique people’s self-help organization inspired by the Gandhian ideals of truth, non-violence, and service for all. Sarvodaya seeks a no-poverty society in Sri Lanka through an integrated, holistic approach to development, which includes spiritual, moral, cultural, social, economic, and political development. Today, the Sarvodaya Movement has a proven history of exceptional accomplishments, a strong organizational structure with 26 District Centers, and a formidable outreach, which encompasses 15,000 villages across Sri Lanka.

Originally centered on an educational initiative linking students, teachers, and remote Sri Lankan communities, the movement promoted self-help. Over nine years, this “service-learning program” expanded into a development movement across hundreds of villages, pursuing broad and nonviolent social transformation. In its initial 15 years, Sarvodaya primarily relied on volunteer labor, mainly from beneficiaries, with minimal external aid or state backing. Notably, it played a pivotal role in post-tsunami reconstruction following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. 

Sarvodaya operates at various levels—local, regional, and national—in Sri Lanka, with its current focus on 12 districts, namely Kalutara, Rathnapura, Matara, Galle, Colombo, Gampaha, Mullaitivu, Vavuniya, Mannar, Anuradhapura, Kilinochchi, and Ampara. Moreover, Sarvodaya has the potential to expand its work to encompass 25 districts across Sri Lanka. Presently, Sarvodaya collaborates with Give2Asia for disaster response and recovery efforts, although they have not received any disaster grants from Give2Asia so far. The organization has responded to more than five disaster events and is currently engaged in an ongoing project with a focus on disaster mitigation and training volunteer groups. The key objectives of this project are: 

1. Enhancing community-based disaster risk reduction to decrease vulnerabilities to natural disasters. 
2. Strengthening the disaster mitigation capacities of communities to alleviate social and economic shocks caused by natural disasters. 
3. Building the disaster resilience of communities to effectively withstand and recover from the impacts of natural disasters. 

With Sarvodaya’s expertise spanning Emergency Relief and Response, Livelihood Recovery, and Disaster Risk Reduction, coupled with their extensive experience since the 1970s in humanitarian and empowerment issues, as well as the support of a skilled human resource consisting of around 20 staff members covering districts and the headquarters, and more than 600 trained youth volunteers placed in the mentioned 12 districts with proper training and skills. With all these resources and capabilities, Sarvodaya is well-equipped to respond to disaster events in Sri Lanka.