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Children take centre stage on tsunami anniversary |
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Thursday, 22 December 2005 |
Over 200 children will gather on the beach in front of the Sri Lankan village of Seenigama on 26 December to release balloons containing their negative thoughts about the tsunami, writes Daily New 221205 at http://www.dailynews.lk/
Forwarded by Budhi Mulyawan 221205.
The spectacle at 4pm is part of a programme of events to mark the first anniversary of the disaster, which hit the region on Boxing Day last year. It will be followed by the children blowing up a second balloon containing positive thoughts about what the months after the tsunami brought to their village, which they will keep.
The event has been organised by the Foundation of Goodness, a charity working in Seenigama, which is on the south coast of Sri Lanka, about 100km from the capital, Colombo. Over 120 people were killed by the tsunami in Seenigama and thousands more were lost in neighbouring villages, including Pereliya, where a train had stopped and people clambered on board mistakenly thinking they were climbing to safety.
Among the other events due to take place in Seenigama on 26 December is the hanging of white flags along the road leading to the village temple to represent every villager lost in the tsunami. There will also be the simultaneous planting of a tree in every home in the village in memory of tsunami victims and the gifting of a school supplies package for a year, to benefit 888 children from the area, as well as medical insurance policies to the 279 children in Seenigama - the first time the children have ever had such insurance.
The day will culminate in an evening procession by villagers past the white flags and lit oil lamps to the temple for Bodhi Pooja, a Buddhist ceremony during which the tsunami victims will be remembered. The villagers will also join the rest of their nation to observe a two-minute silence in memory of the 35,0000 people who lost their lives in the tsunami. The silence will start at 9.24am, the moment the first wave hit.
Kushil Gunasekera, founder of the Foundation of Goodness, says: "The first anniversary is a time to remember with respect those who were tragically lost on 26 December last year by invoking blessings through meritorious activities on their behalf, which is the Buddhist tradition.
"In Buddhism, death is usually marked with gifting of alms to the Ven. Monks after one week, three months and then on an annual basis, and this is particularly special considering the circumstances in which so many people perished.
As a village, Seenigama wishes to stand united on 26 December and look forward, rather than backwards, to make this setback a blessing. We also want to remember the compassionate donors worldwide who have helped the villagers get back to normal life as fast as possible by allowing them to rebuild their community in ways they never imagined."
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