Helvetas’ Half-Century Journey in Sri Lanka
When Helvetas first started working in Sri Lanka in 1978, the country was reeling from a devastating cyclone. Communities in the eastern provinces faced destroyed infrastructure, unsafe water sources and fragile livelihoods. Helvetas entered with the aim of helping communities rebuild.
Nearly five decades later, in December 2025, Helvetas concluded its operations in Sri Lanka. During that time, the organization moved far beyond emergency response. Programs were carried out that shaped systems, strengthened institutions and empowered communities to navigate some of the country’s most complex challenges — ranging from civil conflict to economic crises.
An early focus on rural development
Sri Lanka has changed profoundly since 1978. So, too, have Helvetas’ approaches. In its early years, Helvetas focused on strengthening rural communities. Through long-standing partnerships, particularly with organizations such as the Sarvodaya Shramadhana Movement, Helvetas combined technical expertise with deep community engagement.
Access to safe drinking water was one of the most urgent needs. At the time, many rural communities relied on unsafe surface water or deep wells. Helvetas introduced gravity-fed water systems, drawing on Swiss engineering knowledge adapted to the local context. These innovations helped communities tap into spring water more safely and efficiently, laying the groundwork for long-term water security.
Over time, these efforts scaled significantly. Hundreds of water schemes and thousands of wells and latrines were built, reaching hundreds of thousands of people. Beyond infrastructure, Helvetas invested in knowledge transfer — developing training manuals, expanding the capacity of technicians and strengthening local institutions.
Agriculture was also a priority for these communities. Helvetas promoted sustainable farming practices, combining indigenous knowledge with organic methods to protect soil fertility and biodiversity. It also contributed to policy discussions around seed preservation, helping safeguard farmers’ rights to exchange traditional, non-patented seeds.
In addition to these longer-term development initiatives, when sudden-onset disasters struck, we continued to work with local partners to respond. Following the 2004 tsunami, Helvetas helped support housing reconstruction and restore livelihoods, and distributed seeds to affected families.
Helvetas always emphasizes community ownership. Households contributed labor and financial resources, and communities participated in planning, implementation and maintenance. This approach ensures sustainability long after projects end.
Shaping safer migration pathways
As Sri Lanka’s economy liberalized and migration increased, Helvetas recognized a new challenge: Labor migration, long seen as an economic necessity, was exposing workers to significant risks.
Beginning in 2010, Helvetas played a central role in transforming labor migration into a more human-centered process. The Safe Labor Migration Program, a Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) project, worked alongside government institutions, civil society organizations and international partners to protect migrant workers and their families.
The program marked a shift in perspective — from labor migration as an economic strategy to migration as a human-centered process requiring protection, information and support.
Helvetas and its partners helped build an ecosystem around safe migration. This included training government officials, strengthening civil society organizations, and raising awareness among migrant workers and their families. More than 1,000 development officers were trained across all districts, becoming frontline support for communities navigating migration decisions.
At the policy level, Helvetas contributed to major reforms and coordination mechanisms, including a national-level advisory committee that brought together ministries, civil society and international actors. This collaboration helped address gaps in worker protection, trafficking prevention and reintegration support.
One of the most impactful innovations was the creation of “Migrant Societies” — community-level groups that provided peer support, information sharing and early warning systems against irregular migration. These networks continue to function even after external support has ended, which is a testament to their relevance and local ownership.
By embedding safe migration into institutions, systems and education programs, Helvetas helped transform it from a niche issue into a national priority. The work demonstrated that systemic change requires not only policy reform, but also community engagement and long-term capacity building.
Promoting peace
Sri Lanka’s decades-long civil conflict, which took place from 1983-2009, and its aftermath required more than reconstruction — it required rebuilding trust.
In the early 2000s, Helvetas expanded its work into peacebuilding, recognizing that sustainable development cannot exist without social cohesion.
Programs such as Development and Peace in Sri Lanka, an SDC project, demonstrated how shared economic and social activities could foster reconciliation. By bringing together communities across ethnic and religious divides — through joint infrastructure projects, farmer groups and local committees — these initiatives created platforms for dialogue and cooperation.
These platforms proved powerful. Village-level coexistence committees helped reduce fear and mistrust, enabling communities that had once been divided by conflict to collaborate on shared priorities.
Helvetas also addressed human rights and access to justice through programs such as Voices Beyond Barriers, which supported human rights defenders and strengthened advocacy networks in post-war regions. By combining legal support, training and documentation, the program empowered communities to speak out and seek accountability, even in challenging environments.
As concern grew in the country about misinformation and hate speech, Helvetas further expanded this work into media literacy and digital rights through the INSPIRE program, funded by the European Union. There was a lack of dedicated spaces that encouraged freedom of expression, and the program responded by establishing incubator spaces in universities. These spaces equipped young people with skills in storytelling, journalism and critical thinking — and encouraged them to engage responsibly in public discourse.
Across these efforts, a consistent lesson emerged: Peacebuilding is most effective when combined with practical, everyday activities — whether that’s improving livelihoods, sharing stories or solving community-level challenges together.
Empowering a new generation
Programs such as EMPOWER, Crossing Boundaries Youth, and YouLEAP, supported by various private donors, recognized young people as both vulnerable to division and essential to building a more inclusive future.
Through these initiatives, Helvetas created opportunities for youth from different backgrounds to interact, learn and collaborate. Training in conflict resolution, entrepreneurship and leadership enabled participants to challenge stereotypes and become agents of change within their communities.
Importantly, these programs also integrated economic empowerment with social cohesion. The YouLEAP program, for example, supported youth-led enterprises while fostering inclusive economic participation — particularly among women and marginalized groups.
Across districts, business incubators and training programs helped young people develop skills, launch ventures and mentor others. While challenges such as retention and income stability remained, the shift toward ecosystem-based support offers a promising path forward.
Lessons from 47 Years
As we look back across nearly five decades of work, several themes define Helvetas’ experience in Sri Lanka:
- Partnership as a foundation: Long-term collaboration with government institutions, civil society and communities enabled sustainable impact.
- Adaptability in changing contexts: From disaster response to peacebuilding and migration, Helvetas continuously evolved its approach in response to emerging challenges and needs.
- Local ownership and capacity: Investments in knowledge transfer and community leadership ensured that many initiatives continue beyond project life cycles.
- Integration of development and social cohesion: Whether in water systems or youth programs, combining technical solutions with social processes proved essential for lasting change.
A legacy that endures
Helvetas’ story in Sri Lanka is not about projects completed or timelines reached. It is about relationships built, capacities strengthened and opportunities expanded.
From rural villages gaining access to safe water to migrant families navigating safer pathways to youth bridging divides in their communities — the impact lives on in people and systems that continue to evolve.
As Sri Lanka looks to the future, that legacy offers both inspiration and a roadmap: development that is inclusive, adaptive and resilient enough to endure, even in the face of uncertainty.