Whenever a need arises, they are there to lend a helping hand, the most recent being providing necessities for the internally-displaced people of Vavuniya and working with the tsunami-affected, by building a kitchen for a school in Galle at a cost of Rs. 800,000.
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| Mrs. Abeysekera being congratulated by chief guest Justice Shirani Thilakawardana |
These were some of the achievements highlighted at the 88th annual general meeting of the Mallika Nivasa Samithiya, established way back in 1921 by Mallika Hewavitarne, mother of Anagarika Dharmapala.
The AGM was held at the Mallika Nivasa Home in Colombo 4. The chief guest at the AGM was Supreme Court Judge, Justice Shirani Thilakawardana. The Samithiya President Rohini Abeysekera, Deputy President Daya Piyadasa and Vice President and General Secretary Savithri Peiris were also present.
This charitable society has now turned into a multi-faceted organization, not only providing 85 elderly women a home but also branching out to meet the needs of youth who are on the fringes of poverty. Among the projects the samithiya has undertaken are the Dementia Care Centre set up in 2002, the Help-Age Scheme to sponsor a grandparent in 2008 and the Sneha Infants' Home and Day Care Centre which looks after 20 infants.
The event was preceded by the traditional oil lamp being lit on the lawn, followed by the chief guest and guests being led into the hall by a parade of boys, playing traditional drums and symbols. In the hall, a Buddhist monk chanted blessings and a second lamp was lit followed by a song sung by a group of girls from the day care centre. This was followed by the national anthem.
The AGM dealt at length with the progress of the various projects carried out over the year and the allocation of the home's monetary funds to benefit different projects. The Sneha Infants' Home and Day Care Centre serves the dual purpose of looking after around 20 children below the age of 5 and providing the older children pre-school facilities.
Seth Medura, established in 1978, currently provides 15 women the chance to lead an independent, self-sufficient life, for a nominal fee. It is the society's first paying home.
Finally, the next committee was elected, with Mrs. Abeysekera being re-elected as President.
Domestic violence
The role of women and equality were the highlights of Justice Shirani Thilakawardana’s speech on the issue of domestic violence.
Focusing on the equality of all humans, she stressed that theoretical equality is not implemented in real life society.
Referring to Mrs. Mallika Hewavitarne who devoted her time to helping the less-fortunate, Justice Thilakawardana said that though she came from a wealthy and prominent family, even if you took all the wealth away, you would realize, she was a great woman.
Referring to "social context stratification" or how people are divided into strata, based on stereotypes such as young, old, able and disabled, she said the rich are classed at the top and the poor at the bottom. But what humanity fails to realize and acknowledge is that "rich or poor, we are all entitled to the same human rights".
The Constitution and the law give equality to all, however this equality is rarely implemented in society today, where the privileged are more aware of their rights than the beggar down the road and often exercise their authority over the inferior, she said.
Dealing with the "stereotyping of males and females", she said, "Women have to take their rights. Be feminine but don't give away your rights." Often domestic violence stems from the lack of resistance from the women, allowing the males to dominate them.
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