Unity Mission Trust to enrich, unite lives of country’s youth

By Ben Fowler

On Saturday, the Ekamuthu Oray Makal Unity Mission Team had a public launch for the new non-profit organisation as well as for its website (unitymission.lk).

The event, entitled A Ray of Hope, was held at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute’s Auditorium.

The Unity Mission Trust defines its mission as to “Reach out to children particularly of the North, Wanni, and East of Sri Lanka to provide leadership training, personal capacity enhancement and foster growth of self-confidence in order to facilitate National Unity, reconciliation and integration between children of all areas of Sri Lanka, on the basis that children are our Nation’s most precious resource and foster the belief and acceptance that all children are equal sons and daughters of a united and beautiful Mother Lanka.”

Their help has come mainly in the form of food, footwear, medical support and infrastructure assistance – but of most significance, perhaps, is the organisations emphasis on cultural cohesion amongst the diverse areas of the country, or as they put it: “working in recognition of the multi-plural multi-ethnic and multi-religious social fabric of our beautiful Motherland.” “Building our nation by joining our hearts” said Guest of Honour, Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture for the Northern Province I. Ilaangovan, who added “mistrust must be erased.”

The event featured lively dancing and singing from schools and colleges across the country: the Chundikuli Girls School, Jaffna; Kallapadu Arasinar T.M.V., Mullaithivu; Thuya Joseph Vaz M.V., Vidutaltivu; St. Theressa’s Girls School, Killinochchi; Mullaithivu M.V.; Sithivinayar Hindu College, Mannar.

In June of 2009, the organisation first provided assistance at Menik Farm, providing milk, food, and school books. Since then, their services have expanded into distributing footwear and medicine, as well as helping to set up crucial infrastructure such as schools and plumbing, in order to help support teachers and nurses.

2010 saw the Unity Mission Trust head to Jaffna, Kayts, and Vidutaltivu. Bertal Pinto-Jayawardane, the Trust’s Coordinator, found his experience in Jaffna and Kayts deeply moving: “Some were wearing shoes for the first time in their life. Some asked how to wear them.”

From 27-29 December 2010, they held their first Ekamuthu Oray Makkal Unity Camp in Colombo, in which 500 youth from across the country were able to bond and interact in the capital. They visited the zoo, engaged in arts and crafts, sports, and music. Pinto-Jayawardane was struck by how “despondent and desperate” many of the kids were, and encouraging them to be comfortable expressing themselves was a high priority. His wife Shyamala, (Principal of the Shyamala School of Art) was there to help. At the camp the students were free to choose which activities they wanted to do.

Always wanting to do more, Pinto-Jayawardane expanded the agenda of the second Ekamuthu Oray Makkal Unity Camp (11-12 June, 2011, in Mullaithivu) to include leadership training and inspire confidence in order to “develop self-confidence”. One attendee of the camp, Logeswaran, delivered an impassioned speech that captivated the audience about the awful and lonely conditions growing up in a war-torn environment, and expressed his gratitude towards the Unity Mission Trust for implanting in him the desire to expand his horizons and to learn Sinhalese - “the language of brotherhood.”

He spoke with unfaltering conviction, without even notes to read from, despite it being his first time in Colombo and his first time the singular focus of so many people. It was truly testament to the Trust’s capacity to inspire confidence and leadership. Another student, Priyathanushan, equally confident, expressed gratitude towards the unity camp, saying it “helped me open my eyes”. He also spoke of the need to “transcend differences” in order to live in a “plural democracy”.

The Unity Mission Trust, which is neither an NGO nor a religious group, is an entirely volunteer-run organisation with about 30 members from all walks of life, including doctors, teachers, accountants, lawyers, bankers, and engineers. It operates off donations of Rs. 3,500 to sponsor a child at a unity camp, the next being in Mannar 27-30 Dec and Jaffna next May. Prospective volunteers need only inquire at the website (unitymission.lk).

“The State can do things at a certain level, but the people can reach out and that’s the true way to peace and unity and reconciliation”

At the event’s closing remarks, Pinto Jayawaradane made reference to the struggles of Martin Luther King Jr.’s desire for unity in a divided 1960’s United States as well as the war-torn Rwanda’s youth soccer team unlikely qualification for the 2011 U-17 World Cup, and he made it clear his vision of a unified Sri Lanka is one to be renowned world-wide.

These days, Pinto Jayawaradane says he’s being contacted by former camp attendees who have successfully graduated from school who are wondering what to do now. He’s hoping the organisation, which mostly works with ages 15-20, will be able to help the young men and women find jobs and thrive, no matter where in the country they are. “Hope for them beyond school,” he said, “that’s the future.”