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Founded in 1958 by Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne with the aim of envisioning people and communities in the country, the Lanka Jathika Sarvodaya Shramadana Sangamaya has today emerged as the largest and the oldest indigenous NGO in Sri Lanka with linkages at a global level.
A voluntary, non-governmental, non-sectarian organization, Sarvodaya was incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1972, and has the distinction of being a national movement of people, sharing a common vision and a common purpose.
During the last four decades Sarvodaya has created a visionary, transformative paradigm of a new social order that is as much influenced by the Gandhian ethos of non-violence as by the teachings of the Buddha Dharma. Consistent with this vision, Sarvodaya focuses on bringing about changes within concrete communities through a process of social awareness, welfare and community development. This is achieved through an island-wide network of Shramadana Societies, the bedrock of collective social action. Fundamental to the success of this process is the participation of the people—the foundation of all Sarvodaya programs. No other effort to eradicate poverty in Sri Lanka has the community building depth of the Sarvodaya Movement.
Sarvodaya's rural outreach involves over 11,000 village communities and an integrated economic program covering over 3,000 villages. The social infrastructure in a typical Sarvodaya Village creates its own dynamics and comprises many cohesive social groups - children, youth, elders, women, farmers, artisans, wage-earners etc. It is through these societies that Sarvodaya is able to initiate a wide range of economic and social services to the communities concerned. One of the key entry points to a village is the formation of pre-schools and Sarvodaya fosters early childhood development through 3,000 pre-schools in the Island.
www.Sarvodaya.org
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