Sunday Times 2
United by young leaders
First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa was the chief guest when the Unity Mission Trust (UMT) held their Ray of Hope event at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute on September 13. The Unity Mission Trust, a non-profit voluntary organisation started back in 2009, is the brainchild of Bertral Pinto-Jayawardena whose aim was to build a group of young individuals committed to fostering unity, integration, healing and reconcilliation amongst the youth of Sri Lanka.
First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa being welcomed. Pix by Mangala Weerasekera
“We have now impacted over 3500 lives of young leaders across the nation and we are committed to strengthening the network of UMT, that will perpetuate the message of a new Sri Lanka – united by young leaders who are equal and valuable sons and daughters of a beautiful Mother Lanka,” said Kshyahla Pinto-Jayawardena, welcoming the guests.
The First Lady was escorted into the hall by the dance troupe of Meihandam Maha Vidyalaya, Jaffna. The colourful dance denoted blessings to the event and showcased the potential hidden in the North. A part of UMT’s mission is to unearth the talents in the visual and performing arts and use it as a tool to bridge the ethnic gap.
The First Lady presented awards to 23 young leaders who showed much dedication in upholding the values of UMT. These inaugural Unity and Integration Award winners were selected from amongst 3500 students in the UMT network. These youngsters have made exemplary efforts to foster unity and integration amongst student peers across ethnic and religious divisions.
The awards went to: Methunshanka Suduwelikandage, Sasha Pinto Jayawardena, Fazlan Faiz, Dinushkanth Thiyagarajah, Anfal Nilar, Vishwa Steinwall, Mohomed Firnaz Najimudeen, Maleesha Fernando, Priyathanushan Balasingham, Vinoth Manimaran, Yasodha Selvarajah, Shani Samuel, Sajisangar Karunanithy, Ahmed Ibrahim Mohamed Hizam, Shehani Rajendra, Tania Lakshmana, Elon Newton Prunthaban Gunarajah, Shivanthi Ratnayake, Mayurranraj Sadacharalingam, Eric Evan, Anne Roche and Anne Keshali Fernando. The Hewisi band of the St. Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia heralded the award winners.
Also launched at ‘Ray of Hope’ was the ‘Power One Hundred’ programme which will handpick young leaders who have just completed their A’L examinations and conduct a special programme doe them focusing on career guidance, capacity development and volunteerism. The 100 student leaders of the ‘Power One Hundred’ made a grand entrance carrying lamps into the hall in synchronised movement.
Following a vibrant performance by the dance troupe of Hillwood College Kandy, three young leaders spoke of the UMT and what it meant to them. Shiranthi Rathnayake from Kegalle spoke in Sinhala, Shehani Rajendra addressed the gathering in English and Priyathanushan Balasingham in Tamil. “The Unity Mission Trust has brought me closer to friends of Tamil origin and I realise that they are made of the same blood, flesh and bones and we share the same ideals,” said Shivanthi, adding that her UMT journey has helped her change perspectives in forging new relationships with the brothers and sisters of the North.
Priyathanushan said that his involvement in the UMT has gained him special attention in his village in Mullaitivu and he has used that to bring about awareness of social harmony. Speaking in Tamil, he kept the audience gripped with his emotive speech that transcended linguistic barriers, urging the country’s youth to take a stand in uplifting social harmony at all given times.
“Smiles can change lives… even if we did not understand what each other spoke of, we woke up and greeted each other with a beautiful smile,” said Shehani Rajendra speaking of her experiences at the Unity Camp held last year.
Talented Kuvenia Kumarasuriyar sang a song that was written by her for the UMT which calls upon brothers and sisters of Mother Lanka to rise like lotuses from the mud and speak the language of peace. She had created the catchy song at one of the Youth Camps in just 20 minutes and UMT’s Music Director Rukshan Perera set it to music. Such is the talent of Sri Lanka’s youth which is slowly but surely erasing the scars of the civil war and embracing unity, for a better tomorrow.
comments powered by Disqus