They're no different from you

By Uthpala Gunatileke

• Give an extra special Christmas gift 

So, grinning from ear to ear and joyously calling out to each other, the kids from Mother Theresa's Home Mutwal, streamed into Millennium Park to 'have fun'. For the 'akkas' who organised the afternoon, the external students of the Undergraduate Department of Aquinas College, watching the happy bunch prancing around the Park was, by itself, sheer 'fun'.

For the past four or five years this has been their special Christmas 'gift' to the children of Mother Theresa's Home. Says a staff member who is responsible for steering the programme, "These children at the Home don't come from happy families. Their stories are always pathetic ones. So doing something for them at least once a year gives us so much of joy." 

Ranging from 6 to 20 many of the children come from broken homes, and some have never seen their parents. Being at the Home has made it possible for them to go to school and lead a normal life as far as possible. But at special times of the year like Christmas, when families get together to celebrate and have a good time, wouldn't they miss having a family too?

"People say that it's pointless to do something for them only at Christmas. But if you can do something at least for Christmas, it makes a big difference for them," says 20-year-old Sumal, one of the Aquinas' students. 

Keeping with this spirit, the undergraduates of the University of Moratuwa also made a gift of their time and attention for less fortunate children, launching a project called "A Glimpse of Heaven". For the last few months they have been visiting homes for children, trying to listen, understand and help. Seeing what the children are capable of, they decided to organise a talent show. "We visited three homes, Ladani in Katuneriya, Holy Cross Home for Children in Marawila and Lama Gramaya in Hanwella. When we went, they sang songs for us and it made us realize that they too have talents which stay hidden because they don't get a chance to show them,"' says Lumindra Perera, President of the Rotaract Club of the University of Moratuwa, which shouldered much of the project.

The talent show also called 'A Glimpse of Heaven' went on the boards at Tower Hall, Colombo on December 8. Lumindra says it was a success, hugely enjoyed by the participants from the three homes. 

"It gave them a sense of importance about themselves to go on stage with their talents and also in seeing their names in the souvenir." Lumindra says that they plan to keep in touch with the homes and make sure that the money collected from the show is used for special purposes like building a library rather than for daily expenses. 

Give an extra special Christmas gift 

Prithipura (infants) Home Hendala, Wattala-930635 Contact: Mr. Peter de Kretser 

They need: 
* Milk powder 
* Washing powder
* Food-dry rations 
* Pynol/Dettol 
* Nappies 
* Bed sheets, towels 
* Mosquito nets
* Baby soap, powder
* Safety pins (big) 
Cough syrup, panadol, plaster, vitamin B&C 

Prithipura Home
Hendala,
Wattala
930447
Contact: Mrs. Neita deSilva 

They need:
* Linen
* Dress material for 25 girls and 47 boys. 
* Well used clothes
* Mosquito nets 
* Ceiling fans
* Detergent powders-Pynol, Vim 
* Milk foods 
* Dry rations.

Cancer Institute Maharagama. 
842051, 842052, 840232 
Contact: Dr. Ariyaratne. 

They need: 
* Mosquito nets
* Invalid foods- Isocal, Sustagen, Resource, Impact (available at Osusala). 

Victoria Home for Incurables 
10, Sri jayawardenapura road, 
Rajagiriya. 
862570 
Contact: Mr. Kingsley Thewarapperuma 

They need:

* Clothes 
* Bed sheets 
* Detergents 
* Painting ogf the building 
* Painting of the 190 beds 
* Maintenance of the home garden 
* Repairs to the roof 
* Repairs to the drainage system (All cash donations should be sent by post or person to the home. There no collections being carried outside. The home is exempted from taxes) 

'S Club' drops from No.1 to No.3

Last week the group S Club 7 notched up their second No: 1 in the UK with 'Never Had A Dream Come True'. The song was aimed at the Christmas market as the video showed the group singing with snow in the background. It worked for a short spell - in other words just a week perhaps because it lacked the geuine seasonal feeling. This week S Club 7's 'Never Had A Dream Come True' dropped to No: 3 position. Meanwhile a report datelined Monday December 11, hinted that S Club 7 had been given $ 700,000 as extra cash to enable the act to stay together. Rumours are floating around that the group has plans to split up.

Eminem the artist with the best selling album so far for this year, underlined his strength further in the singles field as his new release 'Stan' went straight to No:1 in the UK. The white rapper who very often seems to be on the wrong side of the law, belts his way through the track 'Stan', which was only released a week ago. It has sold the right number to qualify for the No: 1 spot this week. The single 'Stan' was competing with the novelty single 'Can We Fix It' by Bob The Builder. As usual at Christmas time every year the novelty singles come out as every one wants to make money targeting the kids. Also it's the usual time of the year when the race is on for the Christmas No: 1 in the UK. It is not too late to write off 'C' as the single debuted at No: 2. Either it increases on sales or gives way to the other releases. For the moment the king is Eminem from the US who has now notched up two No: 1 songs in the UK. Earlier this year his single 'The Real Slim Shady' topped the chart. The song 'The Real Slim Shady' was considered the best song to be released for the year 2000 but as the months have rolled over, Robbie Williams' new single 'Supreme' may fit into the category of best song. Eminem's follow up to 'The Real Slim Shady' was called 'The Way I Am'. In October that track peaked at No: 8. The current chart topper and the two previous singles are taken from Eminem's album 'The Marshal Mathers.'

Britney Spears is keeping up with her releases on the UK market. Her latest single 'Stronger' checked into the Top 20 at No: 6. The song as one would expect is in the mould of her previous songs. But in the video Britney appears to be taking on an image similar to that of pop queen Madonna. Britney has almost completed a tour of the UK with her last gig expected to be in Manchester this month. Last week the queen of pop - Madonna - placed yet another song on the UK singles chart. 'Don't Tell Me' another brilliant release from her 'Music' album, entered the chart at No: 4. This week though, the song has dropped to No: 11. The release of 'Don't Tell Me' coincided with news of robbery at Madonna's London when she was asleep with her partner Guy Ritchie and two children. Madonna apparently had lost a few things including the keys to her Range Rover. Meanwhile Madonna and Guy Ritchie will get married on 22nd December in Dornoch, Scotland. Some people are already wondering if it is a decoy for the couple may really turn elsewhere for their nuptials. 

The Smashing Pumpkins went their own way after the rock band performed for the last time in Chicago on December 4th fronted by Billy Corgan. Something seems to be wrong at the Whitney Houston camp. She was pictured bleary-eyed at a very recent concert in the Bahamas. A week earlier it was reported that her 80-year-old father had stepped in to run her business affairs which are reported to be crumbling.

More Mirror Magazine

Return to Mirror Magazine Contents