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| Sunday, 23 April 2006 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Healing body
mind, and spirit of children
by Ranga Chandrarathne
Envisioned by late Prof. Anton Jayasuriya, the idea of setting up an Osteopathic Centre was conceived many years ago. However, when the Tsunami stuck very hard on Sri Lanka specially the Southern province, which left thousands dead and rendering others disable, LOCC team decided that the country is in urgent need of an Osteopathic centre, dedicated to children not only to restore them physically but also spiritually. They were motivated by President Mahinda Rajapakse's decision to declare a National Year of Children under the theme "A caring hand through childhood's land". This call for action by the President has won the unanimous support from leaders and nations world over, and the LOCC team enlisted help from Osteopathic colleagues worldwide to aid in balancing and harmonizing these Tsunami affected children, in order that they may well integrate into the mainstream society. Sri Lanka Osteopathic Centre for Children will be set up at Rajagama Viharaya in Galle, and will be the first of its kind in Asia. It will serve as a centre where training facilities will be available for future osteopaths in Sri Lanka and abroad. At the initial stage, LOCC sets up complementary and integrated Osteopathic clinical centres in principal locations in Sri Lanka, and these centres will be expanded into fully fledged medical centres with theatre facilities for children, with cleft palates, reconstructive surgery and dental centres specializing in, orthodontics and oral facial dentistry. Teaching Centres for children with learning difficulties will be set up in these centres in order to facilitate their further education and integrate them into the mainstream society as productive citizens. Children will be treated free of charge and patient care costs borne by the LOCC. The LOCC could operate, thanks to wealthy individuals and corporations and dedicated persons from all walks of life. The Osteopathic therapeutic methods will be in harmony with both indigenous and western therapeutic methods, and encompasses restoration, realignment of mind, body and spirit. Paediatric Osteopathy is tried and tested modality pioneered at a Centre set up in London, championed by the then patron Princess Diana of Wales. "I am proud to be part of this movement and as such, it is with humble gratitude to divine providence I sponsor this event. The world will see this as a call for action following our President's declaration and I sincerely hope that nations around the world will join forces and duplicate the efforts that are being created and brought to fruition in Sri Lanka this year, " said Dr. Lohitha Samarawickrema at the launch of the LOCC at BMICH. The ceremony was attended by a large number of professionals and children. "I met an Osteopath from U.K. She said, " I think we have been extremely successful. I have done research on Paediatric Osteopathy. Dr. Andrew David was the founder of Osteopathy. He founded it in 1874 when three of his children died of meningitis, in spite of all the medicine at the time which consisted primarily of alcohol, morphine. He was a lay preacher and also a medical doctor. So he decided that he would look for another way of finding out why there is illness and disease, and what can be done to cure it. So for ten years he studied the human body. He really thought, if God created the human body that He must create something within the body, which would heal itself. He came across this idea that the structure of the body and the function of the body has an enormous impact on how the body can heal itself. So he brought about this system of Osteopathic medicine, which is primarily physical medicine or hands on medicine with which you diagnose the problem that the patient has, and treat the patient." |
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