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When a bomb exploded in the ill-fated Kandy - Anuradhapura bus on
February 2 morning near the Dambulla bus stand, many people in the
neighbourhood volunteered to help the victims. Some climbed in to the
bus through the opening created by the explosion and removed the injured
passengers to the vehicles offered to take them to the hospital.
Those kind hearted people did not care about the risk involved. They
did not care getting their clean clothes soaked in blood of the wounded.
Some went to the hospitals and donated blood.
This kind of help was offered to support the victims of the
Kebithigollewa, Nugegoda, Dehiwala, Fort Railway Station and several
other places affected by bomb explosions. There had been hundreds of
thousands of demonstrations of human kindness after the Tsunami on
December 26, 2004.
The history of human kind is full of stories about the kindness,
care, devotion and even self sacrifice extended to save the lives of
others. The Bible story about the Good Samaritan is quoted as the best
example for human kindness and voluntary spirit.
The Red Cross, Red Crescent and St.John’s Ambulance Brigade are a few
movements established several decades ago and known world over for the
humanitarian services rendered by cadres affiliated to these
organisations.
According to the Buddhist stories based on Bodhisatta Sumedha, his
fulfillment of Paramitas or collecting merits to attain Buddhahood was
commenced on the day he volunteered to improve the road for the arrival
of the Buddha Deepankara.
The Master looked through his Buddha wisdom and proclaimed that
Sumedha would become a Buddha under the name Gotama in the future.
In another birth Bodhisatta was born as a son of a noble family. He
grew into a youth with very good human qualities. One day he attended to
a community meeting held in an open place. It was full of fallen leaves
and dead-sticks.
He cleaned the place where he was standing. Several people moved to
that clean place. When he kept on cleaning the surrounding areas and
several youths with voluntary spirit joined hands with him. They were
able to clean the entire area very quickly.
The meeting came to and end; but the youth and his team of volunteers
continued their good work. Gradually the movement spread over the
country. Some chiefs were jealous of Magamanawaka’s fame and the growing
number of followers. They mis-reported to the king who ruled that
country that the youth was building up his forces to capture the throne.
The youth leader was lucky enough to change the attitude of the king
and made him to understand that the voluntary service movement was
launched purely to make life for the people easier.
There are many similar stories of voluntary service and dedication
for common causes regarded with high esteem among the people belonging
to other religious and cultural backgrounds.
My main objective in writing this article is to point out the
importance of organisation to bring together, the good Samaritans, the
service minded people the do-gooders willing to extend their voluntary
service with the soul objective of making this society a better place
for living.
Any person with the knowledge and connection with numerous people’s
organisations working for the social development would point out that
there is no necessity to form new organisations. There is some meaning
in this objection. But the point is that there is public scepticism
about the working of the NGOs.
Sarvodaya, Service Civil International, Saukhyadana, St. John’s
Ambulance Brigade and the Red Cross are some of the organisations famous
for mobilising voluntary labour to serve the community. While some
people hail these NGOs for their services there is a section in the
community which disagres.
There is a nation-wide effort made by the Government to muster the
support of the public to help the Security Forces to safeguard the lives
and property of the public.
While congratulating the Government for taking a correct step, I
would like to suggest that voluntary service units should be established
all over the island to meet the challenges come from anti-social
elements as well as from the nature.
I would like to recall that the Government in power in the fifties
introduced National Service for the students of the teacher training
colleges, universities and other institutions of higher learning.
While encouraging the good NGOs to carry on with their good work, the
Government should evolve a system for the patriotic volunteers to serve
the country joining in the military or non-militery fields according to
their preference.
J. G. JAYAWICKREMA - Galewela
Your article titled ‘Cookery Book’ in the Daily News of February 5
and subtitled ‘We live to eat or eat to live’ is quite appropriate in
today’s context. Equally important as these two is the adage ‘What to
eat’.
I don’t think I’m wrong in saying that the animal world has to eat
for survival, but we humans are blessed with a mind to think and eat and
to be of use to society.
Most of our children in their teens or twenties and some adults too,
specially the affluent live to eat like gormandizers.
Lifestyles, values and eating habits are changing in a rapidly
changing society. Everything is overdone, extravagance and waste are the
order of the day.
We see eye catching Pizza Huts, restaurants at every turn,
show-casing their pastries, hotdogs, bread rolls, cookies etc. and empty
stomached children make it their daily meal. The young ones are not
worried about nutrition.
The buffet lunches and dinners advertised at ‘Cut-Rote’ prices in
Colombo City and outside are patronised by the elite. Sometimes they
enjoy eating beyond the limit not considering the harm done to
themselves. No doubt there are the exceptions.
In days of yore, we as children stepped into school after a good meal
of rice and curry, rice based products and cereals prepared at home.
Today’s empty stomached children just munch a snack or two and their
minds are not ready to assimilate what is taught in the class room.
If I am to deviate from the point, let me say there’s no simplicity
prevailing now. The word is one of the past and this applies to our food
as well. In every respect people are used and getting used to
ostentatious living.
A simple meal of rice and curry with jak, bread fruit, dried fish,
mallun etc. are hardly known to children in the cities. Why not change
our eating habits? Just think and eat and good health will follow.
The modern world is going international. Undoubtedly it is a must.
Our food habits are also going international. Why not take the good in
them and omit the bad.
We are living in a wicked, comparative world where corruption is
rampant. Selfishness reigns supreme. Everybody is concerned about
themselves. Very few think of the less fortunate. Let us put an end to
the extravagance and waste in Sri Lanka.
To conclude I wish the quote how true are the words of the Buddha
‘Arogya Parama Labha’ and in the Parabhava Suthra Bhojanamhi Matannu
meaning taking food in the right proportion.
Let us be moderate in taking food and make Sri Lanka a healthy
nation.
S. PEIRIS - Panadura
Due to the successive collective agreements, the emoluments in the
banks have reached a level which has facilitated the removal of
disparities in the prevalent emoluments among the different banks. These
have made banking as one of the coveted professions in the country.
In this context it may be apt to point out that:
a) The Executive President and/ or the surviving spouse receives the
same emoluments as the retiring President.
b) Parliamentarians too have their retirement benefits revised with
the revision of allowances of the current Parliamentarians. It is
sufficient for both (a) and (b) to serve one term of office which does
not exceed five to six years.
c) The Central Bank’s retired employees too have the advantage of
having their pension revised along with the upward revision of the
salaries of the current staff.
d) In the public service, the surviving spouse continues to receive
the same pension as the deceased staff and their emoluments and pensions
are revised periodically. The recent revision enables the pensioners of
any vintage to receive pensions equivalent to the entitlements of those
who retired in 1997. It is to be extended to the year 2000.
e) Bank of Ceylon continues to pay the variable Cost of Living
allowance to the pensioners and absorb the PAYE tax as for current
staff. On the other hand, People’s Bank has freezed the Cost of Living
allowance to the last drawn amount to those who retired after June 1996
and has passed on the PAYE tax payment to the retiree.
In the People’s Bank, the marginal benefit of 90 per cent gross as
pension and non-recovery of the commuted pension as the incentive has
been eroded and has swept away the steady pension and reduced it by as
much as Rs. 10,000 per mensum for those who retired immediately after
the freezing.
f) The Bank of Ceylon has increased its pension for surviving spouse
to 50 per cent whereas People’s Bank continues it at 20 per cent.
However both banks are yet to emulate the state.
Tinkering and piecemeal solutions and handouts will never solve the
recurrent problem faced by the Bank pensioners. Banks have to accept
reality. Emolument for employees are fixed on the basis of job
description, required qualification, experience and other relevant
consideration.
The periodical revision of emoluments is outside this consideration.
It is a question of wages chasing prices where the escalating Cost of
Living and the erosion of the rupee value has prompted the payment of
enhanced emoluments to make both ends meet. This twin adverse impact
equally visits the current staff as well as the pensioners.
Therefore, we have suggested to request all the banks to revise the
pensions simultaneously with the triennial invariably upward revision of
the salaries or base the monthly pension as an agreed percentage of the
gross salary drawn by the current staff of similar grade, seniority and
salary point.
This we feel will eliminate all inter grade, intra grade heartburns
and provide a stable income envisaged and implemented in the case of the
employees in other countries and selected recipients in our own country
itself.
A. GOPALAKRISHNAN - Northern Province Banks
Pensioners’ Welfare Assn
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