| This is a quality of life study on urban slum dwellers that are living in Sri Lanka. In Sri Lankan context there are no slums in rural areas. Therefore slums are significant issue in urban area. Sri Lanka has an estimated population of 19.3 million. 75% of the total population resides in the rural sector. And 23% are living in urban sector respectively. The total population of the Western Province and almost 25% reside in Colombo and Gampaha district. Colombo district records the highest population density of 3305 person per square km. My study location also represents Colombo district and mainly Colombo city. My study area is called Wanathamulla that is one of Grama Niladgari division (local administrative system) and it has over thirteen thousand people.I have analyzed field data according to the structural functionalist perspective. The main research method was the participant observation. I have visited them in last six months form 2008 January to 2008 July. I stayed entire one month with them in Wanathamulla as a member of that society. I have used scientific observations as well as general observations. I have done individual interviews as well as focus group interviews.Case study method was used to do focus group interviews such as prostitutes, prisoners, drug addicts, targeted groups of women and children.There are two kinds of data have been used in the data analysis. First one is that data which were collected and presented by the department of population and senses in their senses report in 2001. Because, my study area is comparatively big therefore I didn’t think to repeat data. Second one is that data which were collected by empirically. Therefore I have used general data from the senses report for my study whenever necessary. I did pocket researches among them to maintain reality. There were three groups with 50 members chosen by randomly as children, men and women. I have used structured questionnaires to collect data from them. The forth group was that people who were in the prison from certain area called Wanathamulla. I have visited four prisons in Colombo.My objectives were, identify an historical account of poverty in Sri Lankan society, the relationship between slum dwellers and urban poverty, new trends or problems of slums as well as urban poverty, life satisfaction of slum residents, and consider some of the possible policy implications of this research. I have tested the hypothesis what was that there is a strong effect on urban poverty and slum occupants’life pattern.Since in independence, Sri Lanka has shown impressive progress in reducing the incidence of poverty, reflected in terms of improvements in human development indicators as well as in consumption terms. Although poverty in Sri Lanka has been subject to debate for many years, there is no clearly defined poverty line. But rural poverty is generally higher than urban poverty. The urban sector has the lowest rates of poverty in Sri Lanka with only 7.9% of the population falling below the poverty line. This is significantly lower than the national rate of 22.7%. But a significant feature of urban poverty is that low income is at the core of deprivation, even households with significant incomes may not have access to basic services, and a sanitary and secure living environment.There are comparatively over 66000 low income settlements in only Colombo city including slums, shanties, low cost flats, relocated housing, old deteriorated quarters, and unplanned permanent dwellings. According to my study slum residents have their own identity in city life. They have their own culture with different language, different food pattern, and different social value system compared with standard culture. It is not a counter culture. It can be identified as a subculture. I have examined seven profiles to discuss their life pattern as family, education, economic, social behavior, migration, gender and infrastructure.When I consider their physical characters, there is a good combination or actually miscegenation in the community as nationalities and religious level. Having looked at this most important aspects of education is that literacy rate is very high (89.9) in this community. Because most of slum residents are in urban areas as well as it is a one of most significant result of the national educational policy. According to the general observation of the study, overwhelming majority of families was found to be nuclear, whereas there was a gradual decline of an extended family system. Research findings show the fact that there is a remarkable tendency of dwellers for romantic love out of which most of them ending in marriage. Here, it could be expected that the responsibility of life is minimum whereas the emotional reaction is at its maximum. Most of families were becoming female headed as their husbands who functioned as breadwinners had been died as well as some of them were arrested or remanded.The study was revealing that there is a high rate of unemployment and under employment. The highest proportion of male employed population is engaged in elementary occupations as unskilled laborers. Some of employed belongs to personal and protective services workers and sales and services elementary occupations respectively. In case of vulnerable behavior several aspects of deviant behavior were considered because the slum dwellers generally commit these crimes. These are gambling, drinking, beggary, theft and sex offences.As a holistic viewpoint, there is a huge gap between slum dwellers and other city dwellers. It is directly affect their personal lives that live in slums. They have built prestige as slum dwellers. Most of them adjusted to this life style. They don’t have an idea to escape from this image. They survive from this. It’s become as a cycle. Thus they are economically distressed and even frustrated. Therefore empowerment should be reached through three main strategies as economic participation, social participation and political participation. |
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