Through the special
assistance of SIA arranged by Mr Tan Kah Hoe, we were permitted
to take with us about 120 cartons or 1,500 kg of foodstuff,
clothing, stationery, medicine, wheelchairs, walking aids etc.
to be distributed to the less fortunate as well as victims of
the recent floods in Sri Lanka. This is in addition to the
two 20-foot containers that we had shipped three weeks earlier
to Colombo, filled with used computers, clothing, books,
household equipment, television sets etc. Unfortunately up till
the end of our trip, the containers could not be released by the
Customs Authority. The task of distributing those
goods will now be left to the
Singapore (Sri Lanka) Club to do it on our behalf.
At the Colombo airport, we
were met by Mrs Carol Swee, President of the Singapore (Sri
Lanka) Club. Carol who had worked very hard and tirelessly
to plan and arrange our trip also kindly volunteered to act as
our Tour Guide for our trip. This meant taking time off her
exceedingly busy schedule of managing her Karaoke and Chinese
Restaurant business in Colombo, and social obligations as
President of the Singapore Club, and other non-government
agencies and volunteer organizations there. In fact because of
our trip, Carol could not accompany her hubby Paul to Singapore,
to send their son to the Army for
national service. We are
truly grateful for her personal sacrifices, commitment and
dedication to our Firefly Mission cause and projects. The
trip would not have been possible without Carol and her husband,
Paul’s help.
Carol facilitated the
immigration and customs clearance at the Colombo airport and we
breezed through with our 1,500 kg load without a hitch! Although
tired and sleepy, the team arrived in Sri Lanka in high spirits
and quickly loaded the goods into our 45-seater coach and two
vans, and proceeded straight to Hikkadawu in the south, on the
first leg of our trip.
FLOOD
RELIEF
Since our trip coincided with
the occurrence of one of the worst floods to hit Sri Lanka in 50
years, Firefly Mission decided to do its part to help the flood
victims. Members had wanted to personally do a distribution at
the flood areas but we were advised against it for health and
safety reasons.
Instead, we left about ten
cartons of used clothing, medicated oil, panadol, torchlights,
biscuits and sweets, stationery at Venerable Galle Udita Maha
Thero*’s temple in Galle for him to distribute to the
flood
victims on our behalf. On the last day of our trip, we also
presented several boxes of relief goods to Mr A.H.M. Ziyad, Co-Ordinating
Secretary to the Minister, Ministry of Port Development &
Shipping at a simple presentation ceremony held at the Ceylon
Continental Hotel. Firefly Mission also presented Mr Ziyad with
a cash donation of 80,000 rupees for the flood victims.
At the end of the
presentation ceremony, Mrs Carol Swee, executive committee
members of the Singapore (Sri Lanka) Club and the Firefly
members were very pleased to receive the good news from Mr Ziyad
that port charges had been waived for the two containers. The
task is now left to members of the Singapore (Sri Lanka) Club to
help sort and distribute the contents to the flood victims and
other deserving charitable organizations.
Educational Projects
During their 7-day tour of
Sri Lanka, Firefly Mission members planted the seeds for their
two key projects in Sri Lanka.
We laid the foundation stone
for the building of a Boys’ Home in the grounds of the
Wijayananda Buddhist Training Institute in Dangedara, Galle.
Estimated to cost about 795,000 rupees, the Home is expected to
be completed
by March, 2004. It would provide care and educational facilities
for about 25-30 boys from poor families in the surrounding
villages. Venerable Galle Udita Maha Thero, the chief monk of
the Institute had always wanted to build a Boys Home, and this
is the beginning of a realization of his dream.
In Piliyandala, the Firefly
Mission performed a ground breaking ceremony for the building of
a Training Institute on a 12,400 sq ft piece of land donated by
the parents of Venerable Inderatne. This will be built in memory
of the Venerable’s 18-year old brother, a promising young
student of the Central College, who died in a motor accident in
March this year. Venerable Inderatne informed Firefly Mission
that he would like the Training Institute to provide training
for college students to prepare them for employment. He said it
should have seminar rooms where career talks and lectures could
be held. Venerable Inderatne would also like to invite overseas
instructors including those from Singapore to conduct such
sessions / workshops. Firefly Mission made a pledge of 530,000
rupees towards the
building of this Training
Institute. Final plans and details are subject to further
discussions in the next couple of months.
WELFARE AND CHARITY
In Galle, the FFM team
visited the Yasodara Girls’ Home. We were warmly welcomed with a
harvest dance performance by the brightly costumed girls and
treated to biscuits, coconut juice and bananas. Some basic
necessities,
clothing, confectionery, toys and stationery were distributed
and members interacted with the delighted and happy children in
a spontaneous song and dance.
We also visited the State
Receiving Home in Kithulampittya. Some members cradled the
babies and gave the children hugs and kisses and were greatly
touched by the cherubic smiles they brought to the childrens’
faces. Balloons, sweets, toys, towels and clothing were
distributed. A sum of 14,000 rupees was also donated to the
home.
At the Samabodhi Home for the
Disabled, Firefly Mission donated 5 wheelchairs, 6 pairs of
crutches and more
than
half a dozen walking aids, foodstuff, medicine and clothing.
Members were moved by the disability of the residents and the
lack of basic facilities in the dimly lit Home. A cash donation
of 20,600 rupees was handed to the supervisor of the Home.
On the way to Nuwara Eliya,
the FFM team made an unscheduled stop at the Sri Suboda Junior
School in Buttala. Students and teachers were pleasantly
surprised and warmly welcomed the Singapore visitors. Members
distributed stationery, balloons and confectionery to the 125
students, and also danced and sang with them.
In Colombo, we visited the
Lalith Athulathmudali Centre for Primary Education And Day Care
which the Singapore Club has been actively supporting. The
crèche, established by the Ministries of Defence, National
Security and Internal Security of Rathmalana in 1988 has
about
95 children aged 2-6. Children could be left there to be taken
care of whilst the parents are at work. During the visit, we
were warmly welcomed by a repertoire of songs sung by the neatly
dressed children. At the end of their performance, they were
treated with sweets, toffees and biscuits, and given balloons
and rubber balls to play.
In order to extend our
assistance to other less fortunate homes that we could not
personally visit, Firefly Mission handed 45,500 rupees to the
Singapore (Sri Lanka) Club, for distribution to charitable
projects to be decided by its executive committee. An
additional 10,000 rupees was also donated for the purchase of
exercise books for schools.
SIGHTSEEING
Taking advantage of the fact
that Sri Lanka is one of the world’s ancient centre for
Buddhism, we visited various Buddhist temples. These included
the Wijayananda Temple in Galle, the Werehena Temple in Matara
which had a statue of the biggest Samadhi Buddha in Asia. In
Kataragama, we visited the Maha Devala Hindu Shrine and the
Kirivehera Dagoba. At the Tooth Relic Temple in Kandy, we were
accompanied right into the Inner Chamber to view the golden
caskets containing the tooth relic. The Firefly Mission
presented the Chief Custodian who granted us an audience, with a
7,500
rupees donation for the
Scholarship Fund administered by the Temple. In the ancient
capital of Anuradhapura, we made offerings of robes and
umbrellas at the sacred Sri Maha Bodhi, the oldest historically
documented tree in the world. Not far way, was the oldest
dagoba in the country, the Thuparama Dagoba, believed to
enshrine the Collarbone Relic of the Buddha.
PARTICIPANTS COMMENTS
For most participants, this
was the first time they went on such a mission and they were
happy to be given the opportunity to experience it and to learn
and be inspired by the dedication, compassion and enthusiasm of
the more seasoned and experienced volunteers
On the whole, most were
grateful for the opportunity during the short few days to
contribute in whatever small ways to improve the lives of the
less fortunate in Sri Lanka. Many expressed the wish to return
on another Mission to provide help to other parts of Sri Lanka
and to reach out to more people. Others wanted to return as
tourists to visit the lovely beaches and hill resorts in the
future. There is no doubt that the linkage between Singapore and
Sri Lanka is now firmly rooted and set to grow!
