The World Challenge - 09:

Sri Lankan health project among 12 finalists

Sri Lanka's entry that has been chosen as one of the 12 finalists in the contest 'The World Challenge - 09' run by BBC, Newsweek and Shell, is the 'Safe Bottle Lamp Project'. It was launched to prevent bottle lamp burns. They cause great misery, such as pain lasting several weeks, gross scarring and sometimes death.

Burns caused by makeshift unsafe kerosene lamps are a problem in Sri Lanka, where one fifth of the population has no electricity. These injuries can be prevented. There have been instances where all the fingers of both hands were mutilated with gross scarring of the face and neck. These accidents still continue, but to a lesser extent. One accident occurred on June 15 in Puttalam destroying a small kadjan house and killing two young children.

Even in Colombo, unsafe lamps are still used, such as in some shanties in Narahenpita, and they are still sold in places like Kotahena, Nugegoda, Rajagiriya etc.

Safe Bottle Lamp Project is the brainchild of a Sri Lankan surgeon, Dr. Wijaya Godakumbura, who designed a simple safe lamp that can be easily mass produced at low cost. It is an effective, inexpensive and quick solution to a problem encountered in many developing countries.

Dr.Godakumbura launched it by replacing 775,000 of the unsafe lamps in use with their 'Sudeepa' safe lamps, they must have saved many lives. In 2006, it was a Sri Lankan project that won the first prize.

If the 'Safe Bottle Lamp Project' could repeat that success, they would use the prize money of USD 20,000 to make safe lamps to be given free to the needy. The website of the project is www.safebottlelamp.org. This project aims to prevent human suffering. It has been operating for 17 years, showing the persistent need for that work and their commitment.

The WHO and UNICEF have stated that the use of this lamp "could prevent the many kerosene burns that occur around the world each year". It is happy to note that it has already won Rolex, Lindbergh and Reader's Digest awards.

The online voting will commence on 28th September. Others in the field are from India, UK, Kenya, Namibia, US, Thailand, Haiti, Indonesia, Israel and Afghanistan.

An account on it appears in the contest website.

A film on it would be telecast on BBC News @ 7.00 p.m.on Saturday 3rd October @ 7.00 a.m., 2.00 p.m. and 10.00 p.m. on Sunday 4th October.

The contest website www.theworldchallenge.co.uk carries voting instructions. On line voting would be possible till 10th of November.