Thursday, June 28, 2007

Out-Board Motor Repair training by Sewa Lanka and World Vision

As part of its Livelihood Development for Tsunami-Affect Youth by Providing Vocational Training, the Sewa Lanka Foundation has trained twenty unemployed youths in Out-Board Motor (OBM) Repair and Maintenance.

The project, which cost roughly 1.1 million Rupees, was funded by World Vision. The participants were selected from the Muslim and Tamil communities living along the coastal areas of Ampara District and were provided with certificates and repair toolkits at a function held at the Sewa Lanka Foundation Hall in Thambattai, Thirukkovil, on Thursday June 21st.

World Vision District Manager, Nallathamby Nallarajah, along with Simmon Buller, a volunteer from the UK working as Management Advisor for Sewa Lanka, and A.L. Faleel, District Director of the Sewa Lanka Foundation, were present to award the trainees who successfully completed this three-month course.

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Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Kadakkaraipalli Mosque receives NECORD Fisheries Community Hall and more

The Minister of Housing and Common Amenities, Mrs. Ferial Ismail Ashraff, was recently the Chief Guest at a function for projects related to the Kadakkaraipalli Mosque.

The Minister handed over a Fisheries Community Hall, which was built at a cost of 3.5 million rupees on the premises of the Kadakkaraipalli mosque. NECORD (North East Community Restoration and Development Project) quickly constructed this building within a period of only four months at the request of Minister Ashraff. The other purpose of the function was the handing over of a burial ground boundary wall, constructed at a cost of three million rupees, to the Kadakkaraipalli Mosque. The Kadakkaraipally burial ground boundary wall is within the purview of the Kalmunaikudy Mohideen Jummah mosque whose Chief Trustee, Dr. S.M.A. Azeez, took charge of the wall.

Both the fisheries building and the boundary wall were handed over to the mosque before the annual flag hoisting ceremony on Saturday June 16th.

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Sunday, June 17, 2007

Vocational Training Centre in Sammanthurai by USAID and CH2M HILL

Minister of Irrigation M.I. Anver Ismail was the Chief Guest at the foundation laying ceremony for a Vocational Training Centre in Sammanthurai on Tuesday June 12th. USAID and CH2M HILL are to construct this centre from their Sri Lanka Tsunami Reconstruction Project fund at a cost of 240 million rupees.

Mr. Ismail, USAID Project Manager Michael Gould, and Construction Manager Larry Belken laid the foundation stones for the construction of the buildings, which will be completed next year. The centre is aimed to benefit and develop the skills of tsunami-affected students in the coastal areas of Ampara District.

M.T. M. Saheed, Assistant Director of Vocational Training Authority of Sri Lanka, presided over the meeting after the foundation laying ceremony was over. The Vice-Chancellor of South Eastern University, Hussain Ismail, and the Director of Vocational Training Authority of Sri Lanka, Bandula Thilakasiri, were also present.

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Friday, June 15, 2007

Governor announces new Office for Animal Production and Health

Hon. Re. Admiral Mohan Wijewickrama, RSP, USP, Governor of the Eastern Province, was the Chief Guest at the opening ceremony of the Assistant Director’s Office of the Department of Animal Production and Health in Ampara on Tuesday, June 12th. The Provincial Director and Assistant Director of the Department, Dr. C.K. Sivapalasingham and M.C.M. Junaid respectively, and veterinary surgeons from the twelve D.S divisions were present along with their officers and livestock farmers.

The Governor cut the ribbon and lighted the traditional oil lamp to declare the office open. At the meeting held after this function the Governor said that the veterinary surgeons and officers of the Department of Animal Production and Health had been functioning from the Director’s office in Batticaloa while covering Ampara District, which is a very large area.The surgeons and officers had to travel a long distance to Panama, down south, and to Mahoya south-west of Batticaloa. This was quite costly and took several days to render their services to the poor and down-trodden livestock farmers of Ampara District.

“This office, opened under Mahinda Chintana, will help develop livestock farming in Ampara District and will benefit livestock farmers while reducing the difficulties of veterinary surgeons and other officers of this
sector who were operating from the Batticaloa district,” said the Governor.

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Sunday, June 10, 2007

Tamil and Sinhalese newspapers launched in Ampara District

Eastern Publications (Pvt) Ltd has released a Sinhalese news weekly, Nagenahira, and a Tamil news weekly, Kizhaku Sooriyan, for the Sinhalese and Tamil reading public in eastern Sri Lanka. To mark this occasion, a launch ceremony was held on June 3rd in the Ampara Town Hall where journalists, religious dignitaries, NGOs, local politicians, and renowned businessmen were in attendance.The Editor of Nagenahira, George De Silva, said in his address that these papers are intended to create understanding, coexistence, harmony, and peace among the three ethnic communities living in the east that are now divided due the existing war. People living overseas and interested in bringing peace and development to a Sri Lanka that has been deteriorated by war and the recent tsunami are funding the publications.

The weekly papers are priced at Rs. 25/- and are now available in many shops in Ampara District. They carry stories and articles on politics, history, culture, science, education, and current events in the District. The weekly publications also carry a model question paper for the benefit of students studying in Grade V and hoping to participate in the scholarship examination in August this year.

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Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Dr. Gary Morgan examines Livestock Sector

After much work, including considerations of the Local Advisory Committee meetings conducted in the various livestock-producing areas of Ampara District, CASP's Master Plan for the livestock sector is nearing completion.

Dr. Gary Morgan, Vice President of CASP and an expert in livestock issues, travelled to Sri Lanka recently for this purpose. After meetings and discussions with the Ministry and Provincial Officials of the Livestock Sector in the Ministry, Dr. Morgan visited various dairy farms in places where dairy farmers have been actively engaged in livestock.

CASP Livestock Specialist, T. Chandrapragasam, then took Dr. Morgan to Pottuvil, Alayadivembu, Akkaraipattu, Addalaichenai, and Ampara to show him the current situation.Also on the agenda were discussions with NGO representatives who are very interested in expanding their livestock activities, which were inspected Dr. Morgan and who also investigated the feasibility of implementing these projects with funding assistance.

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