The Slums And Shanties Problem In Sri Lanka

The Slums And Shanties Problem In Sri Lanka Slums including tenement gardens came into existence in Colombo with the expansion of export trade associated with the rubber boom after the Second World War. The character of Colombo changed in keeping with the new economic demands for warehousing, workers accommodation and the road network improvement. The city core became more congested and the city elite moved out into more spacious residential areas in the suburbs. The central part of Colombo became a predominantly low income residential area with many slums, and the northern and eastern parts of the city were occupied by shanties. Half of the population of Colombo has been living for many years in slums, shanties and other types of low income settlements. The 2001 survey carried out by the Colombo Municipal Council has identified a total of 77,612 families living in 1,614 low-income settlements in the city. Many of people in slums areas cannot afford the services provided by the formal sector because of their educational backgr ound. The slum-dwellers make their livelihood by working as garbage handlers, cleaners, street vendors and other as pickpockets, prostitutes and petty thieves of the migrant population to the main city and people who visit Colombo for various reasons. The informal sector, which is predominantly owned and run by the people in the low-income areas, provides the necessary services and goods needed by the majority of the city in parallel with the formal sector. POLICIES AND ACTIONS TAKEN TO IMPROVE SLUMS The government of Sri Lanka together with the respective local authorities has implemented several programmes for the improvement of slums and shanties in the city since early 1970s. A summary of these programmes is provided below. 1. Before 1970 Minimum Government Intervention No major government involvement in improving the livelihoods of urban poor and people managed their basic needs by themselves. 2. 1970 to 1977 Direct government intervention in preparing and implementing policies and programmes- Enactment of the Ceiling on Housing Property Law No. 01 of 1973 (CHP Law) Introduction of new policies and regulations ensuring the housing rights of urban poor and direct housing construction by government to meet the housing need of urban poor. 3. 1978 to 1994 The government started its interventions through a provider approach and gradually changed towards enabling approach in housing improvement. A number of programmes and initiatives were taken place. Establishment of the Urban Development Authority (UDA) Establishment of the National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) Establishment of the Common Amenities Board (CBA) Urban Basic Services Programme, 1978 1986 Slum and Shanty Improvement Programme, 1978- 1984 Hundred Thousand Houses Programme and One Million Houses Programme, 1978 1994 4. After 1994 In 1994, the Government appointed a Presidential Task Force on Urban Development Housing to make policy development which: Established a Real Estate Exchange Limited (REEL) programme under the Ministry of Housing, Construction and Urban Development Urban Renewal Programme implemented by the UDA/NHDA Urban Settlements Improvement Programme (USIP), JBIC/World Bank Funded Project Municipal Councilors Rs.1.5 Million Programme implemented by the Colombo MC 5. In 2010 The Urban Development Authority started to evict street vendors from capital city under supervision of Defense Minister and that program was hundred present completed. The Sri Lankan government is moving to speed up the military-supervised eviction of thousands of poor families who live in Colombos slums as part of the City of Colombo Development Plan to attract investors and tourists. Readings Mainstreaming Under-Served Urban Communities in Colombo, Sri Lanka by Marinne Dhakshike Wickrema Illinois Wesleyan University Bloomington, IL (1996) In general, slums may be characterized by inadequate access to water, sanitation and infrastructure compared to the rest of the city. Faced with a growing urban slum population during the 1980s, the Sri Lankan government pioneered the participatory approach and achieved widespread urban slum improvements by mobilizing community decision-making, conducting training workshops and providing small loans for on-site slum upgrading. The government played an intermediary role and attempted to incorporate slum dwellers into the mainstream of the economy and society. In spite of successive upgrading efforts, these residents remained marginalized in terms of city services, infrastructure and social mobility. The two main political parties are still linked to social welfare packages, especially subsidized housing for the urban poor. The political parties, with the support of semi-political institutions and other pressure groups in the society, started using the welfare system as a strong weapon in gaining political popularity and attacking the political opponents. Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) promise to provide houses suitable to live in for everybody and the United National Party (UNP) which ruled Sri Lanka for 17 years before the SLFP came to power in 1994, states in its election manifesto in 2005 that they will work towards giving a house to every Sri Lankan, will encourage house ownership and will erase outstanding housing loans. Experiences The Hundred Thousand Houses Program In 1984, the Government initiated the Million Houses Program (MHP). The National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) was charged with leading the massive nationwide program. The program consisted of six sub-Programs. Fifty thousand houses were built in rural areas through the aided self-help method. Another thirty thousand houses were built in urban areas through direct construction by the private sector. The remaining portion of houses targeted the urban poor in Colombo through a slum and shanty upgrading. The urban sub-Programme, consisting of about 300 housing projects in 51 local authority areas, was launched in 1985. The MHP was notable because the government completely institutionalized enabling mechanisms through a national policy that encouraged local government, community organizations and the beneficiary households to make decisions regarding housing improvements. Sri Lanka won the World Habitat Award for the Million Houses Programme in 1987. The Million Houses Program is frequently listed in the literature as a successful example of institutionalized national policy where the Government facilitated housing construction and self-help upgrading by decentralizing decision-making to the community through community action planning (CAP) which was pioneered in Sri Lanka. Finally, the Report stated as conclusion that the Hundred Thousand Houses Programme was objectively successful in improving the social lives of a selected group of slum dwellers. Participation of private financial institutions in social housing initiatives in Suriname Thesis Master of Public Administration Program in Governance 2008 2009 (MPA Intake III) by Marlon K. Powel The Government of Suriname committed itself to ensure that the needy households are guaranteed affordable and appropriate housing. As part of its social policy, public houses were built and distributed as rental housing and hire purchase. The house shortage has increased during time because the production of houses has been structurally low and cannot meet the demand. The author focused on the partnership approach in social housing in Suriname and explore if a PPP between the Government and the private financial institutions is an appropriate mechanism to address the housing problem of the low and middleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ income households more effectively. The author included as conclusion that Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) are not solution for the housing problem of the low and middleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ income households in Suriname. He pointed out that there are no lands available for corporations that build social houses and contracting loans for social housing projects is very diffi cult. Also banks argue that the risks attached to these loans are too high. Low income households have very limited resources, are often not creditworthy, and have a low repayment capacity. The Government had failed to create a sound enabling environment for the actors in social housing.

African American Experience Essay

African Americans lived differently than white men did during the turn of the century. They faced many problems within the society. Some of the issues they faced were out of their hands. Although things were not the greatest all the time, there were supporters and organizations that they could turn to. Along with these organizations they had leaders that tried to help the race. Many African Americans became successful in the late 1920’s, and still to this day there are many African Americans that are successful. During the time period around the late 1870’s through the 1920’s many African Americans did not have good jobs. The majority of African Americans lived in the southern states. Many were sharecroppers who worked the land and gave the land owners part of the profit from the crops. African Americans were cheated out of money through this process most of the time. The African Americans did receive the right to vote before white women. African Americans faced many issues throughout these years. A series of laws were passed in the South to keep the African Americans at the lowest point possible in society. These laws were known as the Jim Crow Laws. Shortly after these laws were established segregation became legalized, and black codes that were abolished during the Reconstruction resurfaced and were supported in Plessy vs. Ferguson. This lead to African Americans being looked down on and equality far from reach. African Americans were not allowed to go to the same schools or drink out of the same water fountains as whites; they were even told where they could and could not live. This put a strain on the race and the way they had to live. Many African Americans were also stripped of their voting rights. In 1890 a poll tax was enforced. This meant that poor people, of both races, were not able to vote simply because they could not afford to. They also instituted a literacy test where you had to show that you were able to read and write. Many times African American college graduates failed the test, yet illiterate whites were some how able to pass. The responses to these issues were not good. They did not understand why they should be treated any differently from the whites. This led to riots and outburst throughout the country. After this, African Americans became the center of violent and cruel attacks. Lynchings were on an all time high in the late 1800s with more than a hundred African Americans being lynched per year. Law enforcement usually did nothing to stop these terrible acts and sometimes even participated. African Americans fled to the North during this time in search of better jobs and home lives for their families. Many organizations were formed during this time in hopes of ceasing the violence and bringing America to equality. Two of the largest influences were Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois. Both of these men had separate approaches with the end result being the same. Washington thought that equality would be achieved, but it would be a very slow and ongoing process. He wanted to concentrate on getting African Americans better paying jobs and a greater education. Du Bois believed that you should demand equality and stop at nothing to get it. He wanted better education, equal rights, and suffrage. Another well known advocate for African Americans was Ida B. Wells. She founded the anti-lynching movement that came into existence in the 1880s. This group set out to stop the violent acts aimed at African Americans. Wells’ goal was to make lynching a federal crime and keep the local law agencies from allowing and participating in hate crimes. White women from the North and some others supported this movement, but it wasn’t until the 1930’s that lynching became a federal crime. For a time, Wells published a newspaper, Free Speech. An angry mob of people burned down her office in Memphis, Tennessee and forced her to leave town. In 1891, Wells supported the strike of black cotton pickers. She was dismayed when fifteen of the cotton pickers were lynched. The whites sent a strong message that they were not going to conform to her desires and accept the equality of the African Americans for some time. With the end of the Civil War, the African Americans received freedom from slavery and gains some rights but lost many of those same rights a mere twenty years later . They had sacrificed much and did not give them up easily. Even though they were often defeated in court and often threatened with violence, a visionary group of leaders laid the foundation for the future successes of the civil rights movement. They founded important educational institutions and organizations to fight for civil rights and cultivated both a new generation of leaders and a growing number of writers, artists, and professionals who embodied Du Bois’s idea of a ‘talented tenth’ and who became increasingly active and effective in the 1920s. Almost a century later, African Americans are better accepted in society than ever before. There is less of a double standard and more equality thanks to the brave men and women who came before and strove to encourage, nurture, and raise their children to grow up in a more civil environment.

Analyse how contrast between characters helped the author communicate an important message or idea

Mister Pip written by Lloyd Jones is a novel recounted by the protagonist Matilda. Set in 1990’s Bougainville, we see Matilda begin to question her Mother’s traditional idea’s about life as a civil war rages between the rebels and the Redskins in her homeland. Mr. Watts or â€Å"Pop eye† is given the role teaching the village children, being the only educated, and consequentially, white man left on the island. He begins reading Great Expectations to the children and Matilda finds herself becoming entranced in white civilisation. She gets immersed in the story of the white boy â€Å"Pip† living in London in the 1800’s, very much aware his story is in great contrast to her own. Matilda’s Mother has never been out of Bougainville, she knows little to nothing about the outside world and believes in traditional ideas, holding her ancestry and God dear to her. Through the course of the story we see contrast grow between Matilda and her Mother as their values and interests begin to change and set them apart from each other. We see these differences overcome however when the time comes to stand up for the other, the bond of unconditional love conquering all, the author communicating to us how powerful it can be. In the beginning of the novel we get the impression Matilda has never challenged her Mother’s values – her roots, her culture and the Bible. Matilda knows no other world apart from her own, never having been fully exposed to other cultures and ideas – â€Å"What I am about to tell results, I think, from our ignorance of the outside world†. Matilda becomes familiar with white civilisation when Mr. Watts begins reading the children Great Expectations, learning about the way of life in a culture that greatly differs from her own – â€Å"Mr. Watts had given us kids another piece of the world†. She becomes intrigued by Mr. Watts and immersed in the book, entranced by a white boy in the setting of 1840’s London â€Å"By the time Mr. Watts reached the end of chapter one, I felt like I had spoken to this boy Pip. This boy I couldn’t see to touch but knew by ear. I had found a new friend. † In contrast, Matilda’s Mother Dolores had never had such a positive introduction to white civilisation. The white world took her husband away from her – â€Å"The white men took my Father and her husband away† the white world brought war to her homeland by bringing in the Redskins â€Å"The white men were to blame for the blockade †, the white world took Mr. Watt’s wife, Grace away and gave her back in a state of madness. Dolores cannot see past the bad experiences she had with the white world to see that it could provide Matilda with a better future. The white world to Dolores is a damaging place she doesn’t want her beloved daughter to be part of. She doesn’t let Matilda’s obvious interest in it, as Dolores in contrast never had, stop her from protecting Matilda against it with all she has. She wants Matilda to be safe in the world she knows rather than lose her to a world she is ignorant of – â€Å"She didn’t want me to go deeper into that other world. She didn’t want to lose her Matilda to Victorian England†. Firstly Dolores tries to distract Matilda from the story of Great Expectations and Mr. Watts by trying to get her to learn the names of her ancestors by making Matilda write them out in the sand – â€Å"my mum’s response was to reach for our family history and pass on to me all that she knew. † Her ancestors are a very important part of Dolores’s life. It soon becomes clear they are not important to Matilda whereas Pip, an imaginary, yet very real boy in Matilda’s mind is – â€Å"I felt closer to him [Pip] than the names of those strangers she made me write in the sand† When Matilda writes Pip’s name alongside her ancestors Dolores becomes angry at what Matilda values – â€Å"She gave me a look of pure hate†, the plan to pull Matilda back actually pushes her further away, deepening the contrast between them. Dolores does not give up in a quest to do what is for Matilda’s own good. She continues to try and â€Å"save† her daughter, the power of unconditional love overcoming their even more obviously marked differences. Dolores then tries to impose her faith on Matilda in hope she will begin to value God over Great Expectations to lead her away from the white world. Dolores comes unannounced to Matilda’s class and tries to educate the children on the only thing she knows well: the importance of faith â€Å"she didn’t know anything outside what she knew from the bible† but as Mr. Watts ets further through the novel Pip becomes yet even more important to Matilda. Dolores never stops in trying to steer Matilda away from the white world. The world she knows barely anything about, the world she thinks is evil. Despite their ever-increasing differences Dolores will always continue to protect Matilda from what she believes is bad. We see the power of unconditional love shown again through Matilda and Dolores’s contrast when Matilda di scovers Great Expectations to have been stolen by her Mother. When Dolores hides Great Expectations much strife is caused. The Red Skins visit Matilda’s island, threatening to burn all of their possessions unless they give up â€Å"Pip† who is only a character from a book and cannot be given up. Because the book is not where it is supposed to be â€Å"Pip† cannot be explained. The redskins burn the whole villages’ possessions because Dolores fails to come forward and admit to what she had done in order to retrieve the book. Although Matilda’s Mother could not have expected such consequences to have arisen from what she had done, her aims in the first place were not respectable. Dolores goes too far in trying to lead Matilda away from the white world and hides the book more out of her resentment for Mr. Watts and her hatred of Matilda being interested in things she isn’t herself. After Matilda finds out what her Mother does she feels extremely betrayed considering the act petty and selfish – â€Å"There are no words for the feelings of betrayal I had at that time† but chooses not to give her Mother up. Her unconditional love for her Mother wins out over all other emotions, no matter how strong they are. The contrast between Matilda and Dolores ultimately results in a test of the unconditional love felt between them and the author uses Matilda’s decision to show us how very powerful it can be. As the book goes on and the war between the rebels and the Redskins continues to rage, Mr. Watts comes up with a plan for himself, Matilda and supposedly her Mother to leave the island and escape to the white world – â€Å"There is a boat coming on the night after the full moon†. He tells Matilda he will tell her Mum just before they leave- â€Å"Make no mistake, I intend to speak to Dolores. For now though it is just our secret†. Matilda doesn’t doubt Mr. Watts’s word and she presumes her late notification about the trip is because her Mother might give something away with her insolence towards the white way of life, stopping them from going at all – â€Å"I understood- without any need for Mr Watts to spell it out for me – my mum was a risk with that information†. Matilda begins to get excited and impatient to leave, but angry with Mr. Watt’s for leaving it so late to tell her Mum. She brings it up with him –â€Å"â€Å"have you spoken to my Mum Mr Watts? †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ thats when I understood, or at least, I thought I did† when it is implied that Mr. Watts may have never been planning on telling Dolores Matilda immediately disregards her longing to go to the outside world, putting the love she has for her Mother first– â€Å"I will not go without my Mum†. She makes it clear that if her Mother wants to stay on the island or if she is not included in the plan, she will not go with Mr. Watts. Despite the fact Matilda wants very different things from her Mother at this point in the novel Matilda expresses automatic unconditional love for her, knowing straight away that the love she has for her is greater than her desire to live in the white world and be different. Matilda again puts the contrast between them aside, and if she can’t be with her Mother while experiencing the white world, she won’t go at all. At the end of the book when the redskins come to their island again Matilda’s Mother pays the ultimate price when she stands up for the memory of Mr. Watts after the redskins kill him. They ask if anyone witnessed his murder, as though daring anyone to say that it had happened. When Matilda’s Mother pays tribute to Mr. Watts and says â€Å"Sir, I saw your men chop up the white man. He is a good man. I am here as God’s witness†. It is a brave, selfless act that she knows will result in dire consequences. She is taken away, Matilda being made to follow soon after. She comes to find her Mother just having been raped – â€Å"When I came around the huts, my Mum was on the ground. A Redskin was on top of her†. The soldiers threaten to do the same to Matilda and Dolores immediately protects her daughter from them pleading â€Å"Please. Have Mercy. See. She is just a girl. She is my only girl. Please. I beg you. Not my darling Matilda†. Regardless of the growing contrast and tension between them Dolores displays the ultimate act of unconditional love, sacrificing herself to stop Matilda getting raped – â€Å"My life. I will give you my life [In return for Matilda not to get raped]†. Dolores puts Matilda’s innocence above her own life, showing she loves her on top of all things no matter how different or interested in the white world she has become. In conclusion we see many situations where the author has used contrast between Matilda and her Mother to communicate the idea of how powerful unconditional love can be. We see both characters put aside their differences to display unquestionable acts of love for the other. The fact that both are able to move on from the other’s contrast to themselves to put their wellbeing first shows that unconditional love between mother and daughter, when it calls for it, is no match for other emotions humans can get caught up with in life.

Converse More Than Just Shoes - 1640 Words

Converse: More than just shoes The Chuck Taylor or Converse as everyone knows them, are everlasting icons of American culture. Everyone wears chucks from James Dean in the 60’s to Michelle Obama now. The range of owners of converse is astounding. The range of use in converse is amazing. The Chuck Taylor has been named one of the most influential shoes of all time. Sixty percent of all Americans have owned a pair of Chuck Taylors at least once in their lives. (History) Converse was founded in 1908 by Marquise Mills in Malden, Massachusetts. Originally, the company made galoshes, rubber shoes made for rain weather. The brand was named the Converse Rubber Shoe Company. In 1917 Converse introduced â€Å"The One Star† which a few years later would be given the name â€Å"the Chuck Taylor†. The shoe received its name from an extremely energetic salesman named Charles â€Å"Chuck† H Taylor. Charles Taylor played basketball for the Akron Firestones in the 1910’s. Charles travelled the country holding basketball clinics and acting as a salesman for the shoe and the company. The first models of the shoes were made in brown leather with black trim. In the 1920’s the shoes began to be made in black canvas and leather. The shoes did not sell well at first (History) The shoe known as â€Å"The Chuck Taylor† has a unique design. The shoes come in high top or low top. The shoes have a thick outsole with a rounded foxing. They have the signature toecap. They are made of leather, canvas, or suede materials. TheyShow MoreRelatedConverse case study1357 Words   |  6 PagesMarketing(MKT333) Ms. Susan Carder Dec. 20th 2014 Case Study#3 Converse 1. How would you define the needs, wants, and demands of the Converse customer? Needs lead to wants, wants lead to demands, demands lead to perception. Consumers want stylish shoes, so they demand that they be affordable. 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