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For a nation to rise
The Dharmavijaya Foundation completed 25 years last week
By D.C. Ranatunga
'Develop the man first, the country will then develop.' This was the motto of the Most Venerable Madihe Pannasiha Maha Nayaka Thera. For well over half a century, he travelled the length and breadth of Sri Lanka promoting this philosophy of the Buddha.

The key social service organisation he founded - the Dharmavijaya Foundation - to spread this message completed 25 years last week. The silent service rendered by the Foundation under his guidance through 418 societies set up in 18 districts is enormous. Established under an Act of Parliament (Act No. 62 of 1979), the Foundation works closely with Buddhist temples.

During the last two and a half decades, the Foundation had initiated programmes to improve the educational, economic and health needs of the rural folk. In promoting education, needy children at both school and university level have been given scholarships and many have benefited from the programme of providing textbooks .

In the health sector, medical and eye clinics have been a regular feature where free service is provided for patients in rural areas.The students attending Daham schools on Sundays are given kola kenda and nutritional programmes are arranged for them on a regular basis.

The Foundation promotes vegetarianism among the public and conducts awareness campaigns against smoking and the use of liquor and drugs.Special attention is also paid to uplift the standards of temples in rural areas. The Foundation helps monks in such temples to pursue their higher education.

Flood and drought relief programmes are arranged in times of natural disaster. Batuwangala, a village in the Galle District which was destroyed by the floods last year was totally rehabilitated at a cost of over a million rupees by the Foundation. In the early part of this year, 872 drought-hit families in Kataragama were given dry rations.

In keeping with the Buddha's preaching on the need to meet regularly and discuss matters of public interest, the Maha Nayaka Thera made it a point to hold meetings of the Foundation once a week. He had the Thursday evening for the Foundation meeting and rarely missed it.

The trustees of the Foundation are conscious of the late Maha Nayaka Thera's keen interest in lifting the living conditions of the rural folk. They are committed to seeing that his wishes are fulfilled.

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