Apinám අපිநாம்

28/02/2023

𝐀 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐭
Ash Sheikh. M.B.M Firthous Naleemi
Apinam Community Core-Leader

Firthous Naleemi and his connection with Apinam and cpbr is a long and deep one. With that emotional conversation, the conversation began with him. He shared his gratitude for cpbr transforming himself as a messenger of peace in 2008 and then he started telling the story of how cpbr facilitated an in-depth process of becoming a healer in the very sensitive location of Kattankudy during the critical time period of 2021 & 2022.

“𝘈𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘐 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘱𝘣𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘐 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘣 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘐𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴... 𝘐𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴... 𝘐𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘴... 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘐 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥. 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘢 𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩, 𝘪𝘯 2021 & 2022 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴”

Kattankudy, a dense Islam Village become so critical location and context after the Easter Sunday attack and Covid 19. In that context, the woundedness of community members deepens with already existing scars, trauma, and stress.

With a very soft voice, Firthous Naleemi shared that “𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦. 𝘐𝘯 2021 & 2022 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘶𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 & 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦. 2022 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯, 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥. 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯”

Always the attitude, inspiration, and respect that Firthous Naleemi has toward women are so divine. End of the conversation “𝘐𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺 that 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯. 𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘉𝘪𝘴𝘮𝘪 𝘚𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘐𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘮 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯, 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯. 𝘋𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘦𝘭 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴' 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘶𝘦𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘤𝘺𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭. 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘸 25 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘣𝘺 𝘣𝘪𝘤𝘺𝘤𝘭𝘦. 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 100 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭. 𝘈𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴.”

Moving beyond as a religious leader he contributes to his community healing through the engagements Firthous Naleemi has with Hindu and Christian border villages in order to connect (coexistence) and reconcile the communities as well.

“𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘰, 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘪𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘤𝘱𝘣𝘳, 𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘋𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺”

Firthous Naleemithuma's contribution as the founder and chairperson of Bismi Institute brings hope to the heart that a generation free from ethnic-religious trauma will be possible one day on the earth...

Centre for Peace Building and Reconciliation - CPBR
Zivik Funding Programme

28/02/2023

𝐀 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐭
Ven.Ritigahawe Wineetha Thero
Apinam Community Member

Ven.Wineetha Thero is a Viharadhikari (Second chief monk) of three temples situated in Anuradhapura, as well as ae, serves his community as the teacher who teaches the subjects of Buddhism, Sinhala Language, and Literature to children and adolescents. Since he plays a crucial role in his community as a religious leader and teacher, he feels learning about identifying a conflict, accepting there is a conflict, and taking steps to transform it nonviolently is very important in strengthening himself and the social role that he plays.

“𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘯𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪-𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭. 𝘐𝘯 𝘮𝘺 22 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘬𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 1999, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘈𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘱𝘣𝘳 𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘯𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴” shared by venerable during the conversation.

Centre for Peace Building and Reconciliation - CPBR
Zivik Funding Programme

28/02/2023

𝐀 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐭
Rev. Fr. Gihan Senadeera OMI
Apinam Community Member

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘮 & 𝘤𝘱𝘣𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘱 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘺. 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰. 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘍𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨” during the beginning of the conversation Fr. Gihan shared with much love and empathy.

Rev. Fr. Gihan Senadeera OMI is the Parish Priest of the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, situated at the 18th Mile Post in Padaviya, in North central province engages in diverse activities to spiritually as well as developmentally strengthen the communities around him. His special contribution as a religious leader is implementing a learning program with nearly 85 – 100 children. This program that Fr. Gihan facilitatively leads, supports the children to enhance their English language and life skills. Also Fr. Gihan connects with three adjoining provinces of North Central (Padaviya), North (Mullaitivu), and East (Kawantissa) for missionary and charitable works.

When we discussed the conflict transformation learning experience, the father shared an interesting story….

"𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘺. 𝘈𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘸𝘦 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩-𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘯𝘪𝘤 𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘱. 𝘐 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘺𝘮𝘣𝘰𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦, 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴. 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘐 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥”.

With much contentment, father shared “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘗𝘐𝘕𝘈𝘔 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘞𝘩𝘺? 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴' 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵 & 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘱 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘵.”

Centre for Peace Building and Reconciliation - CPBR
Zivik Funding Programme
OMI WORLD

12/01/2023