Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-29-2010

Abstract

Chronically poor people are those who experience deprivation over many years, often over their entire lives, and who sometimes pass poverty on to their children. In this study poverty is measured as the low level of satisfaction of the ten basic needs and the underutilization of material and non material resources. The ten basic needs considered in this study are; clean and pleasant environment, water, clothing, food, dwellings, health, transport and communication, fuel, education, spiritual and cultural needs. The economic factors which are studied in this research include financial capital (income indebtedness and savings), human capital (educational, skill and health levels of people), physical capital (housing and mobility) and natural capital (land). The research was carried out from 1st March to 30th July 2009 in Wanduressa village in Sri Lanka which is established by settling down of one of the low caste communities in the country named as Rodiya community in 1959 and 1961. Two hundred eleven households live in Wanduressa village were used for the sampling procedure and 50 households were drawn based on the stratified random sampling technique. Stratification was done based on their livelihoods. Six strata were identified as households with several livelihoods, involved mainly in trading, masonry, carpentry, government services, and rattan production. This study was done as close as possible to the base research done by Professor Ratnapala in 1979 in same village to compare the satisfaction levels for the ten basic needs with todays situation. The results indicate that over the time, the community level satisfaction for ten basic needs has been increased by 54.95%. According to the normalized satisfaction level index constructed in the research using Principal Component Analysis, 98% households obtained satisfaction level above 0.5 while minimum and maximum are 0.34 and 0.96 respectively. Underutilization of the economic factors of the community has also been reduced over the time. Poverty alleviation programmes, awareness programmes and the effort taken by the households to reduce their separation from the high caste communities are the main causes to reduce the poverty over the time. Multiple Linear Regression analysis was carried out to see the relationship between the household level satisfaction index for ten basic needs and demographic and economic factors. It shows that there is a significant relationship between the satisfaction Index with income and skills. The research reveals that providing incentives and awareness programmes can reduce the poverty dimensions. Further the study suggests that poverty policies which focus on skill development would help to reduce poverty. After 30 years of the study of Professor Nandasena Ratnapala and 50 years from the colonization, the level of satisfaction of the ten basic needs has been increased and the underutilization of the economic factors has been reduced. Therefore today the community is in a moving out phase from the chronic poverty.'

Language

English

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