Children of the War
Posted on June 9, 2010 - Filed Under Charity, NB Recommends
As many of you may or may not know, I am half Sri Lankan. My heritage is very dear to my heart, which is why I am so happy to hear about the great work being done by Rebuild Sri Lanka (RSL) and the Abhina Foundation with their project, “Children of the War.” From 1982 to 2009, Sri Lanka was subjected to a deadly civil war between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE (the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam). The war ravished much of the island, displacing families and forcing guns into the hands of many young children and adults. Once the war waned, many of these troubled and disabled children have been moved into rehabilitation centers around the island. Recently, RSL teamed up with the Abhina Foundation to employ “Children of the War.” The project, which was introduced in eight rehabilitation centers, allowed both groups of ex-combatants to take part in therapeutic dance and drama workshops to produce a theatrical production that told the stories of the country’s conflicts and highlighted the incredible courage of these young survivors. It really is a fantastic project and was very successful. To see these kids singing and performing, when just over a year ago they were forced to take up arms and strap themselves with explosives, truly is astonishing.
Nothing like this has ever been done in Sri Lanka, and the government has now given permission to bring the project into more rehabilitation centers. In order to do so, the organizations will need to raise nearly $60K, which is no easy feat. That is why I am urging you to join me in doing all you can do to help support this project.
If you are able to make a donation or wish to learn more about the project, please contact Annoja Weerasignhe, of the Abhina Foundation, at abhina@slnet.lk, or Clare Allen, of Rebuilding Sri Lanka, at claredaisy@yahoo.co.uk. In addition, for more information about Rebuilding Sir Lanka, click here. For more information about the Abhina Foundation, please click here.
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4 Responses to “Children of the War”
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Thank you for raising awareness of the rebuilding programs in SL. I’m glad that you are proud of your SL heritage.
Hi! I don’t really know if this is the place to go but I’ll give it a shot. I recently saw a segment from the tyra banks show (I’m from sweden so we are propably behind on the episodes, but anyway) where mr Nigel Barker showed some clips from this documentary he had done for a foundation working against HIV/AIDS. I have, between 2009-2010, been working with an organisation called “Star For Life” which also works with solving the huge problem with HIV in Southern Africa. I would like to raze awareness of this organisation since it has been doing wonders in South Africa, the KwaZulu Natal province mostly, and is slowly spreading in Sri Lanka and Namibia aswell. You can visit their websit at : starforlife.org
I hope this message comes through and I pray that someone somewhere will look at the webpage, maybe visit my project blog
( aidsfreethatsme.blogg.se ) or that this message will just help the Star For Life in some way. Because it really does change lives.
All love from little me
Kind regards
// Frida Jensen, Ängelholm, Sweden
I love watching you on America’s Next Top Model, and reading about your work, and all that you do, fascinates me. I also enjoyed “meeting” your beautiful wife on one of the shows . . .you are a class act. I was happy to meet her . . . didn’t know you had such a great partner in life. You are both beautiful to watch, but even more beautiful for all that you do.
I NEED MY SON TO HELP M.HASSIM AJEESH (5YEAR OLD)BOY HE SUFFERING (MICRO EPILIPSE).HE CAN,T SPEAK. I AM HIS MOTHER MRS.N.NAJEEMA IHAVE THREE CHILDREN PLEASEKINDLY HELP MY SON TREATMENTOR FOOD YOU ALL GOD BLESS.