Caritas SED-Galle, The Social and Economic Development Center, is the Caritas Diocesan center for Southern Province, working in collaboration with Caritas Sri Lanka.  We are registered as a charitable organization working under the Catholic Bishop's Conference of Sri Lanka and authorized under a special Act of Parliament (Act No. 17 of 1983).  Caritas SED-Galle has been active in Galle Diocese covering all of Southern Province for over 30 years.  We are working throughout Southern Province with offices in Galle, Matara, and Hambantota and employing over 163 persons, mainly in tsunami rehabilitation projects.  Rt. Rev. Dr. Harold Anthony Perera was appointed as the Bishop of the Diocese of Galle in March 2005. Fr. Damian Arsakularatne was appointed as a Assistant Director in April 2005 and succeeded as the director of Caritas SED-Galle in March 2006 after Rev. Fr. Herman Fernando.

Caritas SED Galle’s tsunami relief and rehabilitation programs have taken particular prominence since December 26, 2004.  Caritas SED-Galle is working closely with Caritas Sri Lanka with the support of Caritas Internationalis (CI), to develop an integrated program which addresses the physical and psychological needs of the people.  Significant components of the program include temporary and permanent housing, the rehabilitation or reconstruction of community infrastructure, education, psychosocial, water and sanitation, and livelihood recovery support.

Other programs include the National Peace Program (NPP), National Animation Program (NAP) and Emergency Relief and Rehabilitation (ERR).  The NPP program focuses on leadership training, awareness raising and peace education.  Formed in 1999, it was created with the intention of amplifying the voices of the more vulnerable groups of Sri Lankan society.  The NAP developed from a desire to promote a more participatory approach to development by incorporating community-level representation in the decision-making process. Key activities included forming community groups among fishermen, farmers, women and other vulnerable groups; identifying community issues; strengthening and empowering groups; and developing economic and social projects such as brick making, savings groups, citizen-legal registration and health education.  The third key program, Emergency Relief and Rehabilitation (ERR), promoted awareness-raising, emergency preparedness education, and housing construction for victims of the 2003 Hiniduma floods, as well as rain water harvesting and well digging for Hambantota drought relief in 2002

Vision Statement

Realization of a Just Society in the Southern Province based on Gospel Values of Love, Forgiveness, Peace, Unity, Equality and Justicelived, promoted, and protected irrespective of race, caste, and religion.

Mission Statement

Marginalized and voiceless sectors in the Diocese of Galle will be organized and empowered to take decisions for their own destinies.

Throughout its history, Caritas SED Galle has been guided by the following principles:

• Working with the poorest and most vulnerable groups irrespective of race, caste, and religion;
• Developing and strengthening community organizations;
• Empowering people and communities;
• Building social and technical capacity; and
• Ensuring sustainability through cost sharing and community inputs.

Caritas SED-Galle takes pride in its accountability and transparency in managing the financial resources entrusted to the organization.  Tsunami funding represents the largest portion of outside funding for our program activities in Southern Province.  These funds are received from different Caritas donors throughout the world with overall management entrusted to our National Headquarters, Caritas Sri Lanka. 

With the help of our international partners, Caritas SED-Galle has established internal controls and procedures to help safeguard tsunami funds, in-kind donations, and our physical inventories.  All project activities are pre-approved and coded to allow us to segregate program expenses by activity.  We use computerized financial accounting software, TALLY, in each of the three offices in Galle, Matara, and Hambantota.  The Galle office consolidates reports and sends them through a direct link to the finance department in Caritas Sri Lanka on a monthly basis.  Caritas SED-Galle is audited annually by internal audit teams from Caritas Sri Lanka and Price Waterhouse Coopers, based in Colombo.

Caritas SED-Galle Srilanka - 2007 - Info@caritassedgalle.org

Affiliated to the National Secretariat for Justice, Peace & Human Development Commission of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka incorporated by Act No. 17 of 1983 of the Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.