Today the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) launched a small-grants assistance program to be implemented through the Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI). The new program aims to promote the benefits of peace island-wide by delivering visible, high impact peace dividends and supporting conflict mitigation and resolution activities in key flash point areas.

USAID/Sri Lanka seeks to promote sustainable, broad-based human development through economic growth in the country.

The establishment of OTI within the USAID Mission in Colombo balances the need for quick, demand-driven response with USAID/Sri Lanka's commitment to integrating short-term initiatives into the long-term development strategy.

The new $3.5 million USAID/OTI small-grants program will have fast, flexible interventions required in an evolving post-conflict Sri Lankan scenario.

At the opening, Mr. Ashley E. Wills, United States of America Ambassador for Sri Lanka said, "We have had a very active program of official assistance in this country for many years. When Sri Lanka entered into a ceasefire, we realized that we needed the wherewithal to mount projects much more quickly and in areas that would demonstrate to the people of this lovely land that there are benefits to the pursuit of peace, and that Sri Lanka has friends who are willing to make it easier for those who want peace. We turned, for that reason, to USAID to take advantage of the Office of Transition Initiatives. We also have plans to open two branch offices of OTI, one in Trincomalee and one in Ampara. These offices will allow us to quickly get out into the communities and partner with appropriate organizations at the local level."

The approximately two-year USAID/OTI program, titled "Promoting the Benefits of Peace" and implemented through Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI), a U.S.-based institutional contractor, will focus on support of interventions under the following broad categories: constructing and repairing small-scale infrastructure; improving livelihoods and providing skills training; supporting conflict mitigation and resolution initiatives; and, promoting responsible media and information dissemination.

Small grants will be disbursed mainly to local partners for activities that fall within these general program areas. USAID/OTI programs in other countries such as East Timor, Kosovo, Macedonia, Peru, and Afghanistan, have been successful in encouraging basic democratic practices at the grassroots level while helping communities to address reconstruction needs. In Sri Lanka, institution building and self-help, using a community-based approach, will be emphasized.