Cairo lights up with Vesak lanterns

Saturday, 24 May 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Vesak celebrations in Cairo were organised by the Sri Lanka Embassy with the participation of the Sri Lankan community living in Egypt on

14 May 2014. The Embassy premises were decorated with Buddhist flags and Vesak lanterns. The decorations were extended to cover part of Sri Lanka Street on which the Embassy is located. The main attraction was the revolving Vesak Lantern with eight sister-lanterns. A ‘Dansela’ was also organised to serve fruit juice to passing motorists. Ven. Pahalawewe Dammasiri Thero conducted the day-long religious program. It included a ‘Sil’ campaign, alms-giving, chanting Pirith, Dhamma sermon and Dhamma discussion. A group of talented Sri Lankans presented Bakthi-Gee, evoking pleasant memories of Vesak celebrations in Sri Lanka. Their performance was much appreciated by the gathering. While thanking the community members for their generous contribution and support, Ambassador Sudantha Ganegama Arachchi said that all of them came together with the Embassy to celebrate Vesak in Cairo to show the world that the core foundation of the Sri Lankan identity is religious and ethnic harmony. He further said that addressing the needs of the Sri Lankan expatriates is a priority under the ‘Mahinda Chinthana’ policy framework of the government. It is in this context that the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) sponsored the air ticket of Ven. Dammasiri Thero to travel to Cairo for the Vesak celebrations. Ambassador Ganegama Arachchi appreciated the Mahinda Chinthana’s specific focus on Sri Lankan expatriates and thanked the SLBFE for its patronage. He took the opportunity to announce that the three-month long fund raising campaign for wheel-chairs would come to an end on Vesak Day and the collected funds would be used to purchase wheel-chairs to be sent to ‘Rana Viru Sevena’ for the benefit of the brave soldiers who were disabled in the fight against terrorism, defending the territorial integrity of the motherland. The day long program of Vesak at the Embassy premises was attended by more than 300 members of the Sri Lankan community in Egypt.