Duleep, 54, greets us with a beaming smile as he opens the gates to Sumaga Vocational Training Centre for the Mentally Retarded. Having been at this home since its inception over 30 years ago, Duleep is eagerly awaiting 'Sahana Eliya 2', a song and dance competition to be held on Saturday, December 6 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the John de Silva Memorial Theatre.
A follow-up to Sahana Eliya 1, a drama competition held in 2006, this year around 250 participants from 18 homes across the country including those in the North, East and North West will vie for the awards. Walking into the training centre, we saw participants hard at work, dancing to folk tunes and seemingly enjoying every minute of it.
"The aim of Sahana Eliya is to give them an opportunity to show off their abilities and also to experience the 'Colombo lifestyle' which they are otherwise unable to as they are from remote areas," said President of the Ceylon Association for the Mentally Retarded (CAMR) Eardley Tillekeratne.
"Unlike a physical disability, mental retardation is not manifested in any particular way and so most often society expects these people to be able to do the things that 'normal' people can, not realising that they only have the intellectual capacity of maybe a five-year-old child." said Nandani Wijerathnam, a committee member of CAMR.
This form of disability cannot be cured, but it can be improved to a great extent. "Early intervention is the key to assisting these individuals and it is important that people realise that this condition can be improved,” she said.
"A lot of these children have a special talent for the performing arts like dancing and singing. Society must realise that each of them has something very special to offer and so encourage them," said Vice President, CAMR, Ramya Salwature.
Another one of these talents, we discovered, is cooking; something both Pasindu , 15 and Kosala, 21, enjoy immensely. An expert at making rotti, Pasindu, who has been coming to this training centre for the past seven years, and was in Sahan Eliya 1. Sanka and Pubudu,the comperes for this event who have been preparing for the past six months, said they too were looking forward to the show. Twenty two-year-old Sanka, who loves to dance, studied at Lumbini Maha Vidyalaya and did his O'Ls in Sinhala, Social Studies and Art. Pubudu, also 22, who is involved in the running of the home, studied at St. Paul's Milagiriya, and hopes to find employment soon.
They are just a few of the more than 30 people above the age of 16 who attend the Sumaga Vocational Training Centre which conducts its workshops daily from 8.30 a.m. - 3 p.m. The aim of this training centre is to foster and promote medical, educational, vocational and spiritual services for mentally retarded children and adults and get them out into society. CAMR also provides training for aspiring teachers and caretakers.
Encouragement and support for these special members of society is of the utmost importance, so the public is urged to come and support the efforts of this centre on Saturday, December 1. Tickets priced at Rs. 500, 200 and 100 are available at the Sumaga Vocational Training Centre, 435/1, Galle Road, Mount Lavinia. |
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