Children of Kalmunai see brighter future at Sarvodaya Resource Centre

It is an eleven-hour drive to Kalmunai. Even late at night, the shops are still open and the streets busy - the scale of activity enormous. Although scarred by the long years of conflict and the 2004 tsunami, Kalmuni has been spared the recent escalation of violence.

At the Children’s Resource Centre, bright lights beckon. People are attending to the last minute details. While some hurriedly polish floors, the others are fixing coloured streamers and balloons and yet others, preparing the traditional entrance appropriate for the opening of a new building.

The Sarvodaya Children’s Resource Centre built for the Kalmunai community and opened on September 27 was constructed by the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement with generous funding by The AIG Disaster Relief Fund and Petra Nemcova of Happy Hearts Fund at Give2Asia. Give2Asia, a U.S. non-profit organisation providing personalized programmes and services for giving to Asia was established by The Asia Foundation to promote philanthropy to Asia.

The Centre was ceremonially opened by Dr. Vinya Ariyaratne, Executive Director, Sarvodaya and Sharadha de Saram on behalf of Give2Asia amidst a gathering of children, youth and adults from the nearby villages.

The aim of constructing a Children’s Resource Centre is to enable the children of Kalmunai to have access to facilities such as a computer lab, library and resource centre. The centre, will not only provide creative space for children but also serve as a district information centre for those who work with children, providing them with up-to-date information on children’s issues.

The centre will form part of the Sarvodaya Multi-Purpose Community Centre and will be open to Sinhalese, Muslim and Tamil children from the towns of Marathamunai and Pandiruppu in the Amparai District.

For many it is an opportunity to build for the future. Sixteen-year-old Dharmini, 13-year-old T. Saraniya and 17-year-old Kajenthillini hope to spend much of their time at the centre particularly over the weekends following classes in English and computer. “I am an O’level student and we don’t have facilities like computer training or even classes in English. Here, I can learn something which will help me find employment,” said Dharmini.

T. Saraniya, a Year 9 student has had a difficult childhood but she has hope for the future. “My family faces financial difficulties. My father committed suicide out of depression. Life is hard for my mother. The centre will provide space to forget my problems. I will be able to develop myself here because there will be other children to play with,” she says. Kajenthilini who will sit for her O’ level examinations this year feels the centre will provide her an opportunity to learn English.

Four girls from the Muslim community said they looked forward to meeting children from other communities and learning from them. “This is very important if we are to live in peace,” said Ye Abdul Wahid.

While the ground floor of the centre will house the children’s activity room, store room, office room and rest-room facilities, the upper level will house the lecture hall, computer lab and library. Project coordinator, Nithya Kaileshwari, explained that she hopes to hire out the lecture hall to other INGOs and NGOs to generate some income to run the centre.

Fifteen - year - old V. Kamijidan is a student at Kalmunai’s Fatima College. For Kamijidan, whose parents are not financially well off, education must lead to an income generating employment. “At Fatima, I am unable to achieve that. Here, at the centre I see myself following computer and English classes which will help me find suitable employment. The centre will also help me to develop myself,” he says.

“At school we are unable to meet children from other ethnic backgrounds,” said 14-year-old S. Nirmathan, who had come with his friend Kamijidan. “Although the majority of people living in Kalmunai are from the Muslim community, here, we don’t have these differences. At this centre we also have the security and safety of interacting with one another.This is what the centre means to me,” added Nirmathan.