Sri Lanka's top business leaders and professionals were initiated, at a special event, as ambassadors of Mother Sri Lanka, a not for profit organization aiming to build patriotism and positive thinking in Sri Lankans towards their country. The cream of the business sector of Sri Lanka attended the event.
The expectation is that these professionals, corporate and academic leaders will then use their vantage point as front-runners to spread Mother Sri Lanka's message of appreciation of the motherland and call to action towards giving back shat one owes to the country. As many of these leaders make frequent visits to foreign countries and have built enduring international relationships, it is also anticipated that the new members will circulate the true story of Sri Lanka overseas, whether it is to bring in new investment or negate false impressions. Membership into the movement will continue to be open even after the event.
 |
| Secretary to the President and Trustee of Mother Sri Lanka presenting Ganga Hewage of Unilever Sri Lanka, with the plaque representing membership into the Mother Sri Lanka Trust. |
Funded entirely by the private sector, the event saw a previously enrolled ambassador of Mother Sri Lanka, Justice Christopher G. Weeramantry, address the new ambassadors regarding their pivotal new role. He also acknowledged the great potential in the Sri Lankan people. "This tremendous reservoir of talent that we have among Sri Lankan people can be marshalled for the benefit of this country," he said.
Senior Minister for International Monetary Cooperation, Dr. Sarath Amunugama, who delivered the keynote address, outlined the methods in which the ambassadors could build up the country's image, change perceptions and give back to Sri Lanka. He said, "It is a good thing for us to have this overarching Sri Lankan culture, where we can interact with our fellow citizens irrespective of their religion, their caste, their community, even their language. We have to create that overarching culture and we must all believe in it."
Secretary to the President, Lalith Weeratunge, who is a trustee of Mother Sri Lanka, also spoke at the event. "Sri Lanka needed a movement like this for a long time. It has been able to bring together children, businessmen, administrators and highly qualified professionals irrespective of the domain that they represented," he said.
Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa was also present on the occasion.
Chairperson of the Mother Sri Lanka Trust, Janaki Kuruppu, spoke about the initial stages of the movement, how it has since evolved and what was expected from the ambassadors. "We have our education, our communication skills, our experience, our knowledge. Each one of you has been selected because we believe that you have these qualities and we feel you are patriotic deep within your heart," she said.
School children, judged winners of competitions carried out by Mother Sri Lanka to instill patriotism and appreciation of the motherland, performed a play and gave speeches.
A coffee table book, detailing the journey of Mother Sri Lanka from its inception in 2008 to the present, was also launched at the event. The book includes information on the organization's activities and tells the story of how the resilience of the Sri Lankan people did not allow 30 long years of terrorism to drown the hopes and dreams of their motherland. The first copy of the book was presented to His Excellency President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The book will be sold at bookshops to raise funds for the activities of the organization.
Mother Sri Lanka is a movement, which was initiated in 2008 during a time when Sri Lanka was struggling with the challenges of war and economic crisis. Its main aim was to change the perceptions and attitudes of Sri Lankans so that they learned to value their motherland and think of ways to help advance development in what little way they could.
To this end, Mother Sri Lanka organized a competition for 2600 national and international schools. The schools were given the theme, magen ratata rata negumata meaning, "What can I give back for the betterment of my country?" In addition, Mother Sri Lanka clubs have been formed in about 1000 schools, island wide, which would continue to implement projects that would put "country first". The organization has now expanded its reach to pre-schools too, by launching a programme to teach children to respect their national flag and anthem, to keep their country clean, to appreciate local produce and to be aware of the various cultural groups in the country. In the future, Mother Sri Lanka hopes to arrange seven-day camps for children above grade 6 from the North and East and the rest of the country to meet and form bonds. This programme is called the Friendship Bridge.
Mother Sri Lanka operates through a network of volunteers across the country. These volunteers have formed clubs at geographic level and coordinate various projects to help benefit the communities they live in. They source the funds for these projects themselves. In addition, Mother Sri Lanka is always open to new volunteers joining the organization to sustain ongoing and new programmes. |
E-mail
