The annual Dudley Senanayake memorial oration will be delivered this year by renowned scholar from Malaysia Dr. Param Coomaraswamy. A Barrister at law from the Inner Temple, London Dr. Coomaraswamy has been President of Transparency International, Malaysian Chapter and was President of the Malaysian Bar Association from 1986 to 1988.
From 1990 to 2005, he was a Commissioner of the International Commission of Jurists and served as its President from 2004 to 2005.
The oration to be held on October 14 at the BCIS auditorium at the BMICH at 6 p.m. is hosted by the Dudley Senanayake Memorial Foundation partnered by the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung.
Dr. Param Coomaraswamy, an authority on human rights is one of the founder members of The Malaysian Bar Council's Human Rights and Legal Aid committees, and a Life member of the Law Association of Asia and the Pacific (he was its President from 1993 to 1995). In 1994, he was appointed special rapporteur on the independence of Judges and Lawyers by the UN Commission of Human Rights and served on that mandate until 2003.
He is also a member of The International Board of the London based article 19---the global campaign for free expression. He was a member of the regional working group for an ASEAN Human Rights mechanism and was awarded the 2002 'Justice of the World' award of the International Association of Judges in 1999 and also the International Peace and Justice award from the Irish-American Unity Conference.
He was called to the Bench of the Society of the Middle Temple, London as an Honorary Bencher. In the same year, he was conferred honorary membership of The Law Society in England and Wales. In 1987, he was conferred honorary membership of The Law Society of New Zealand.
It is fitting that such an eminent personality should deliver the memorial oration of one of Sri Lanka's most loved and distinguished statesmen the late Dudley Senanayake, whose 100th birth anniversary was on June 19, this year.
Prof. Rohan Jayasekara elected Dean
The Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo elected Prof. Rohan W. Jayasekara as Dean of the Faculty last month. He is the first academic from a Basic Sciences Department in the Faculty to be elected Dean.
Prof. Jayasekara joined the Faculty of Medicine as a lecturer on January 1, 1974. Later he proceeded to the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in the UK in 1977 on a Commonwealth Research Scholarship to read for his PhD in Cytogenetics which he obtained in 1980. On his return to Sri Lanka he established the first Human Genetics Unit in the country in 1981.
He is a pioneer in the field of Medical Genetics in Sri Lanka having taught many generations of undergraduates and postgraduates in Medical Genetics.
He was appointed to the Chair in the Department of Anatomy in 1999 and is at present the Senior Professor of Anatomy and the Founder Director of the Human Genetics Unit. For his work in population genetics and publishing of the original research article "Genetic Variation in Sri Lanka" Professor Jayasekara was made a Fellow of the Galton Institute, London.
Prof. Jayasekara served as acting Dean, acting Director of the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine (PGIM), member of the Senate, member of the Board of Management of the PGIM and member of the Council for many years.
He has also chaired several National Committees such as the one on "Genetically Modified [GM] Food in Sri Lanka" for the Ministry of Health and the Committee that formulated a Draft National Policy on the "Biomedical Ethics of the New Genetics and Assisted Reproductive Technologies in Sri Lanka" for the National Science and Technology Commission[NASTEC].
UL Club charity dance to help the needy
UL Club, Sri Lanka, an association of ex- Air Lanka and SriLankan Airlines management staff, is organising a Charity Dance at the Continental Hotel on October 14 to raise funds for needy children.
Under the banner "Friend-in-Need" the club offers student support scholarships to deserving students from disadvantaged areas. The funds generated from the event will help increase the number of deserving beneficiaries.
The UL Club project is in Moneragala, rated as the second poorest district in Sri Lanka to initiate the programme. The UL Club in collaboration with the Divisional Secretariat conducted a field research in Buttala to identify the most deserving children for this project. The respondents included children who had lost either their mother or father or both and children of parents who are disabled, who are being looked after either by grandparents or relatives. They need care and support to meet their basic social and economic needs.
The Student Support Scholarships began in September 2010 by selecting 15 students from three schools in Buttala - Dutugemunu Central College, Pelwatta Navodya Vidyalaya and Kukurampola Vidyalaya who were granted scholarships. The G.C.E(O/L) students received Rs 1,500 per month for one year and the G.C.E(A/L) students Rs 2,000 per month for one year. So far 39 students have benefited from this programme from 12 schools in the district.
The UL Club hopes to grant 50 Student Support Scholarships and work towards increasing it to 100. The Sunday Times is a media sponsor of the event.
Holy Angels Sisters and teachers undergo Axis V Learning teacher programme
A teacher training programme was conducted by 'Axis.V Learning' of India for teachers of Holy Angels School of Hope, Paiyagala, from September 1 - 4. The four-day programme focused on teaching methodology for improving the learning effectiveness. Managing Director of Axis.V Mr. Shivkumar assisted by his wife conducted the training programme for 20 teachers and sisters of the school.
Destroyed by the 2004 tsunami, the Holy Angels School of Hope was rebuilt with aid from Singapore and is now managed by the Holy Angels Sisters who have done wonders with the school which is well kept and well run. The students are mostly children of fisherfolk who had been shifted to other schools until this school was completed. They are now happy to be in a school closer to their homes. The sisters are starting an English medium class next year.
Despite a language barrier, the teachers benefited greatly by the training programme, judging by their comments at the presentation of Certificates of Participation. They presented a variety entertainment of song, dance and skits and also spoke on what they had gained by the programme. They were very enthusiastic and eager to put what they learnt into practice.
Axis.V Learning has now opened an office in Colombo. Later this month, they will launch computer-based English courses for the children at the Holy Angels School of Hope as well as at St. Theresa's parish at Thimbirigasyaya and plan to expand to other schools, adding IT and Maths courses in due course.
Law College 75 batch get together
The Law College batch of 1975 will have their get-together next Saturday, September 17, at Hotel Sovereign (in front of McDonalds), Rajagiriya starting at 11 a.m.
The '75 group was the first batch of Attorney at Law students after the fusion of the profession between Advocates and Proctors.
Batch members are requested to contact the organizers Lakshmi Gunasekara -tel: 0718323192 and Kanthi Kannangara -tel: 0777508490.
Lecture by wildlife expert
Mahendra Siriwardhana, the eminent conservation biologist and researcher in wildlife ecology, will deliver a lecture on ''Exploring the Faunal Species Diversity in Sri Lanka".
The illustrated lecture, under the auspices of the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society will be held on Thursday, September 15 at 6 p.m. at the Institute of Engineers Sri Lanka (Wimalasurendra Auditorium), 120/15, Vidya Mawatha, Off Wijerama Mawatha (BMICH) end), Colombo 7.
The lecture is open to the public and entrance is free.
Official launch of the Ray Wijewardene Website
The official launch of the Ray Wijewardene Website, www.raywijewardene.net accompanied by the screening of two documentary films featuring the vision and views of the late Dr. Ray Wijewardene, aviator, engineer, farmer and inventor, and alumnus of Cambridge and Harvard universities will be on Wednesday, September 28 at 6.15 p.m. at the British Council Auditorium, 49 Alfred House Gardens, Colombo 3.
This event is co-sponsored by the Ray Wijewardene Charitable Trust, TVE Asia Pacific and the British Council.
Lanka Mahila Samiti
The 81st Annual General Meeting of the Lanka Mahila Samiti was held at the Samiti Training Centre at Kaduwela recently. The following members were elected to the Central Board.
President: Thilaka Perera; Vice President: Ranee Herath; Hon Gen Secretary: Prema Ilapperuma; Hon. Treasurer: Malkanthi Perera.
Committee: Priya Arandara, Mangalika Dahanayake, Benita de Mel, Thelma Gunawardene and Vinitha Wickremasinghe.
Royal College Colombo Group of '85
The Annual General Meeting of the Royal College Colombo Group of '85 was held at the Raja Bojun recently. The following members were elected
President: Rajiv Nanayakkara;Vice President: Viraj Weerasinghe; Secretary: Commodore Sumith Amerasinghe; Assistant Secretary: Saman Hewage; Treasurer: Sidath Balachandra
Executive Committee: Dittha De Alwis, Sudath Liyanagunawardena, Dayashantha Mapa, Ajith Indikadulle, Rajendra Seneviratne, C.I. Lucien Sooriyabandara, Mishantha Masinghe, Captain Athula Pothupitiya, Piyal Hewage, Dhananjaya Rajapaksha, Jehan Canegaratne and Ramesh Abeywickrama.
Ragama Medical Faculty go green at exhibition
The Ragama Medical Faculty's third Medical Exhibition from September 5 to 10, at the Faculty premises under the theme 'Healthy Environment- Healthier Sri Lanka' drew large crowds of students, youngsters and adults.
Much emphasis was on the 'Go Green' concept that was recently adopted by the Faculty, the first among all state universities to do so, focusing on environment friendly projects such as recycling, processing bio-gas using the waste from the canteen and making the Faculty polythene free to name a few. The Faculty also has a building that uses solar power as its only form of energy.
The exhibition had exhibits on diverse topics such as Locomotion and skin, Eye, Public Health, Legal Medicine, Speech and Hearing, Heart and Circulation, Toxicology and snakes and much more. "The exhibition emphasizes on prevention and management instead of cure,' said Senior Lecturer and Media Coordinator for the exhibition Dr. Karahin Arachchige Salvin.
Illustrative diagrams, videos, miniature models and simple and clear explanations enabled the visitors to easily comprehend the facts and relate what they saw to events that they experience in their daily lives or see on television.
It was a great opportunity for the university students to develop their leadership and organizational skills. "Part of the training is how they communicate with and educate patients and the exhibition provides them with this exposure," said Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Rajitha Wickramasinghe.
Discussions were also organized for school children, based on various health and safety issues faced by youth giving them the opportunity of posing their questions directly to the speakers and thus clearing their doubts. The discussions were also aired on the televisions and PA system enabling other visitors too to watch or listen in.
St. Nikolaas Home blows out its 60th candle!
By Shalomi Daniel
Blue and white balloons and ribbons daintily decorating the hall, a big blue and white structure in the shape of 60 in the garden and just next to the entrance to the hall, on a little table, a cake in the shape of a diamond.
St. Nikolaas Home for elderly Burgher ladies was celebrating its 60th anniversary.
Officially opened on August 22, 1951 by Richard Lionel Spittel who gifted the land on which the Home was built, to the Dutch Burgher Union (DBU), the Home started with nine residents and currently houses 39. “There is room for more as the Home can hold about 50 people,” says chairperson Mervyn Dirckze.
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| Residents enjoying a fancy dress party. Pix by Ranjith Perera |
The festivities began with a service of thanksgiving for the many blessings they had received; their gratitude was reflected in the decorations which bore the logo ‘To God be the Glory.’
Entertainment followed with a fancy dress parade, with the ladies joining in the fun dressed up as various characters ranging from Little Red Riding Hood to My Fair Lady!
Miriam Seneviratne dressed up as a Dutch girl, has been at the home since February this year and says she is “very happy here”. An avid reader she reads anything, from books about the royal family to cats “depending on what I feel like!”
However, she also enjoys watching TV and playing various games. “Thanks to that TV,” she says pointing to the large screen in the hall, “we watched the royal wedding!”
However, Miriam is clearly not the only fan of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Frances Sheriff, another resident at the Home, showed us a picture of the royal couple which she had not only cut out from a newspaper, but had also got laminated! The picture now occupies a prominent place on her cupboard.
“We are safe at the Home and have a lot of freedom,” says Frances who has been at the Home for five years. Matron Christine Van Hoff and the assistant matron are kind and considerate, she says. Christine has been the Matron for the past 15 years and is helped by an assistant matron, six girls and a gardener.
The well maintained garden and the clean quarters resonate with affection and happiness, as friendly chatter and jokes are exchanged.
The Home which is maintained by the DBU has as its main source of income the fees that the residents pay for their board. The criteria to be a resident are that they need to have a Burgher connection such as a parent who is a Burgher and they also should have a sponsor.
The Home has a doctor on call and each resident maintains a medical book. Those who wish to have a nurse could have one too.
The Home consists of individual rooms and dormitories, and furniture is also provided by the Home while the residents are allowed to bring their own furniture too. “The residents go to church often in groups,” said Christine adding that a priest also visits the Home especially for those who are unable to go to church.
Though most of the residents’ children live overseas, they are visited by other family and friends.The Home takes much pain to ensure that the residents are safe and happy. To put it in Mervyn Dirckze words “they are treated like our own mothers.”
The celebration of one resident’s 100th birthday last year in grand style is one such example. As she was British, they had contacted the British High Commission and asked if they could get her a card signed by the Queen. And they did get her a card signed by the Queen! What’s more, they treated the birthday girl in a right royal fashion too!
Sadly, she has since passed away. “We made a special chair for her and then the British High Commissioner at the time knelt in front of her and presented her with the card!” said Mr. Dirckze with a laugh.
In addition to celebrating birthdays regular outings are also organized. “We took them to Bolgoda recently for a day’s outing,” says Mr. Dirckze. The residents also go out for various elders’ programmes including a monthly elders’ programme followed by lunch at Christ Church.
Some of them have been at the Home for as long as 28 years and the oldest is 94 years old! There are others who have been at the Home for only a few months. They keep themselves occupied by engaging in various activities such as playing carrom and card games, singing songs and watching TV.
“I hold a monthly meeting with the residents and one person from each section speaks on behalf of their respective section and voices their suggestions and requests,” explained Mervyn Dirckze.
Those who wish to sponsor a meal could do so by paying the amount to cover the cost of the meal to the DBU, as the Home prefers to cook the meals taking into consideration the health of the residents.
“We invite those who donate meals to join the residents for the meal to make it all the more meaningful,” said Mr. Dirckze.
As the residents enjoy company and are ready to share a jolly story and a good laugh, those who wish to spend quality time with the residents can do so by visiting them at the Home.
Those interested can contact the Home on 2717411 or drop in at 73/50 Saranankara Place, Dehiwela. |
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