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Partners and Funding Organizations
Collaborating with other organizations, be they international NGOs, local Government offices, tea estate management, or our fellow Sri Lankan NGOs has always been a priority of PALM Foundation. We are proud of the relationships we have built in the past and are eager to link up with new partners in the future. Here are a few of the organizations with whom we have worked and to whom we are most grateful.
Novib of the Netherlands
is a member of Oxfam International, which works in approximately 100
countries. Their partnership with PALM was established in 1995 with
the initiative of our first long-term plan. Novib has supported PALM
in the fields of Social Mobilization and trainings, Health Education,
Human Rights program, and Human resource development. Novib has helped
us improve our planning, human resource capacity, and organizational
development. Their partnership approach also helped the independent
growth of PALM significantly to what we are today.
In
1993, Helvetas of Switzerland became the first partner to extend a long-term
cooperation. Our organization benefited immensely from their close monitoring
and understanding partnership. Helvetas supports water, sanitation, and
training programs which have become a strong development component within
the organization. The relevant section, Infrastructure Development Program
of PALM, has significantly contributed to improve the water and sanitation
situation of the plantation sector during the past period. As a result,
the Infrastructure Development Program has received national level recognition
and has been instrumental in contributing to the policy reform at national
level as well. The Helvetas approach of participatory integrated development
approach was well inline with PALM's approach.
Six
villages in Ampara District are covered under a new development program
with Mercy Corps USA. The villages represent Tamil, Muslim, and Sinhalese
ethnicities. The village development program was designed over
a four-year period, addressing major development needs. PALM’s
Social Mobilization component is responsible for helping to build a Community
Based Organization, which will implement various community projects witin
Mercy Corps' program.
The
Macfarlane Burnet Institute for medical research and public health is
a non-profit independent research institute based in Melbourne, Australia,
established in 1986. The institute and PALM have initiated a long term
partnership originally for five years (2004 - 2009)
aiming to promote the health and social well being of elders and their
families and to foster traditional values of respect and care for the
elderly in the plantations and neighboring villages in the PALM working
area.
Local Funding
Depending totally on external funding for PALM programs is not a sustainable path. For that reason, PALM has been developing relationships with local institutions and potential resources. One such source has been estate management companies who have shared and invested in several development activities. We have also obtained resources from government and other local development organizations inputs.
Equally important for self-sufficiency are income generation activities, which allow us to maintain the PALM mission and vision. For this purpose, PALM occasionally offers training facilities and human resources. The PALM Guesthouse is another example of active income generation.
