Category Archives: charitable outreach

March 31, 2024 · 2:30 am

Elephant Orphanage & Elephant Lore: Dilmah Initiative at Uda Walawe

Kamanthi Wickramasinghe, in Daily Mirror, 25 March 2024, where the title reads thus: “Üda Walawe ETH: A home away from home for baby elephants”

Spectators witnessing another busy feeding hour at the Uda Walawe ETH —Pix courtesy: Dilmah Conservationh

Inauguration of ‘Elephant Knowledge Walk’ 

In a bid to spread more awareness among visitors to the Uda Walawe ETH, Dilmah Conservation in collaboration with the Department of Wildlife Conservation renovated the ‘Elephant Knowledge Walk’ to educate local and international visitors on why the Asian elephant needs to be protected. Apart from that a souvenir shop was also opened to support local communities.

The Uda Walawe ETH was set up to rehabilitate elephants that were orphaned due to various reasons including the Human-Elephant Conflict. At the ETH, elephant calves have very little contact with humans which is vital to boost their chances of survival in the wild. Here, human interaction is only limited to feeding hours. The calves are being fed every three hours with infant milk but also encouraged to develop natural foraging habits including grazing.

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March 28, 2024 · 5:18 pm

The Crocus Terrorist Attack: Steven Seagal, the Australian Embassy, the Perpetrators and Victim

An Observer in a Black Sea town  …. with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

The American actor Steven Seagal has just visited the victims of the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack, who are now in the National Medical and Surgical Centre named after N. I. Pirogov.  Steven said: “What happened was a terrible tragedy that should not have happened. And I think that Russia will serve as an example and let the world understand that you can’t just do this to any people and go unpunished. I thank the doctors for the prompt work they are doing. I am glad to see that the patients are feeling well and are recovering. God bless them.”

 Steven Seagal visiting the victims of the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack.

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March 20, 2024 · 8:01 pm

Colombo Ladies serving Hindu Ladies College in Jaffna

Goolbai Gunasekara in The ISLAND Newspaper, 17 March 2024 … entitled “My time at Hindu Ladies College”

Following in her mother, Clara Gunaskara nee Motwani’s footsteps, principal and teacher Goolbai Gunasekara revolutionised the sphere of English education in Sri Lanka …. & this account is her trip down memory lane.

Mrs. Visaladhy Sivagurunathan, a philanthropic Hindu lady, had gifted the property of Hindu Ladies’ College to the school in 1943. [My] Mother […. of the Motwani  lineage] …. was the school’s fifth Principal. Under her, the first Past Pupils’ Association was formed, with Mrs. Jeevaratnam Rasiah as its first President. Miss Thambu (Mother’s long suffering Tamil tutor) was its Secretary. Just recently, I was invited to speak to the Colombo branch of the HLC alumni.

I met a former HLC teacher there — Mrs Navaratna, formerly Leela Ponniah — along with many old friends. The reverence in which Mother was held was very heartwarming, and it was a moving experience to hear the stories they related of instances in which Mother had touched — and sometimes directed — their lives.

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March 5, 2024 · 12:08 pm

Hulugalle’s Appreciation of Revd Senior’s Career in Old Ceylon

FROM the recent ISLAND article …. 3-3-2024 …. by HAJ HULUGALLE on Revd SENIOR of Trinity and Ceylon” .… with highlighting emphasis added by The Editor, Thuppahi

“Robert Crossette Thambiah and I, devoted old pupils of his, published these short poems in a slim volume called “Vita Magistra.”
The centenary of the birth of W. S. Senior falls on Friday, May 10. Some of my younger readers may well ask, who he was and why any notice should be taken of his hundredth birthday. Walter Stanley Senior came to Ceylon in 1906 and, when I first met him in 1910, he was Vice-Principal of Trinity College, Kandy. He was a fine classical scholar, a great teacher, a social worker and, although a Yorkshireman, Sri Lanka’s best poet.

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January 25, 2024 · 7:18 pm

Arrowheads directed at AUSTRALIA DAY…..Today

Item in THE ADVERTISER Newspaper in Adelaide … web-reference gone walkabout … But see ………………………… https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/cricket/cricket-australia-boss-nick-hockley-left-speechless-after-grilling-from-radio-host/news-story/199aa83d0e60b1da470ce4721b05b861

The issue that’s reaching boiling point today is the Australia Day debate. Australian cricket captain Pat Cummins has added his voice to calls to change the date from January 26:

“My personal opinion 

INSERTION: photos of typical Australia Day displays in Sydney in 2023 as  concurrent ceremnies occurred in all cities, town and villages

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January 23, 2024 · 5:40 pm

Boiling Point: Arrowheads Aimed at AUSTRALIA DAY

Item:  https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=AAWEB_WRE

But the issue that’s reaching boiling point today is the Australia Day debate. Australian cricket captain Pat Cummins has added his voice to calls to change the date from January 26: “My personal opinion is I absolutely love Australia and think it is the best country in the world by a mile. I think we should have an Australia Day but I think we can probably find a more appropriate date to celebrate. Australia Day is meant to be a celebration of everything Australia in our history. I think we could choose a better date.”

 

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December 31, 2023 · 11:56 pm

AULD LANG SYNE …. For All Ye Visitors to THUPPAHI

AULD LANG SYNE  …. Two Renderings

Rod Stewart – Auld Lang Syne ….   Live at Stirling Castle = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaSQJjkfTAk

Last Night Of The Proms 2023 – Live At The Royal Albert Hall =

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December 24, 2023 · 9:38 am

For the People of GAZA … “Little Drummer Boy”

Web Item conveyed by Dr Firazath Hussain of Wellawatte, Colombo

From Ramallah Friends School to the world, we share our version of the timeless “ Little Drummer Boy.” Our hearts come together in prayer for the safety of the children in Gaza. May our shared prayers echo for peace and justice, weaving a tapestry of hope that goes beyond borders, embracing the shared humanity we all hold dear……… 162,402 views Dec 4, 2023   ….. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsEbIVJy0Gg    

 

 

 

 

 

A NOTE from One Thuppahi, 24 December 2023:   

“I cried ….. tears came naturally …. especially when the WEB decided on its own to present a rendering of DANNO BUDUNGE sung by Kishani Jayasinghe …..  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plaKsOtC3b8    

….   then more tears welled.

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December 24, 2023 · 12:01 am

A Suppository FOR An Innocent’s Arse in England

A Suffering Ignoramus

About half a century back I was driving with my wife to Bath when I found myself struggling to breathe. We drove immediately to the Bath hospital where I joined the Emergency queue. The same problem persisted: fit and well but couldn’t breathe! I quickly saw that the others in the queue were far worse off than I was. One had a deep gash in his neck; another a badly wounded arm, etc, etc. My non-breathing was trivial to everyone except myself!

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December 23, 2023 · 7:25 pm

Palestinian Muslims & Israeli Jews in ‘Concert Unity’ at Haifa in Mid-2020

Item sent to Thuppahi by Jayantha Somasundaram, A Sri Lankan Friend in Canberra, December 2023

Matthew Paul Miller, known by his Hebrew and stage name Matisyahu, is an American Jewish reggae singer. In this concert in Haifa he asked 3,000 Muslims and Jews (none of whom had met before) to come together and learn the song “One Day” by Matisyahu in under an hour.  They learned how to sing and harmonise the lyrics in three different languages.

The resulting concert, which was made in collaboration with Beit HaGefen, the Haifa Municipality, and the Port of Haifa, is a breathtaking display of unity and beauty. 

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