Abstract:
Kilinochchi is one of the war-torn districts and still struggling to come out of poverty due to its poor
human and physical resources. As many families are living under the poverty line in this area Samurdhi
programme is implemented as a solution to alleviate poverty. Since the measurement of poverty
amongst these households is questionable, the alleviation also not successful. Therefore, this study
attempts to measure poverty via the Multi-Dimensional Poverty Index (MPI) and associate the poverty
status of Samurdhi beneficiaries in the Maruthanagar GS division among the 100 Samurdhi beneficiaries
who were selected based on a conditional, convenient sampling method. It is identified that
improvement in the components of MPI through the activities of the Samurdhi poverty alleviation
Programme facilitated the people to emerge out of poverty in part or whole. The findings confirm
that the Samurdhi Programme assisted the beneficiaries to come out of severe poverty by means of
education, health, and livelihood development when other factors are not changing. In the sample
households, it was also noted that 40% of the households were still in extreme poverty, despite
the assistance they obtain from the Samurdhi programme due to other influencing factors. It is concluded
that other behavioural patterns should also be changed if people want to move out of poverty.
