An updated database on children needed

The lack of proper mechanism or an updated database to obtain accurate information with regard to the children in the country has proved to be a hindrance in carrying out work related to their development and welfare, say an official of the Child Development and Women's Affairs Ministry.

An accurate database on children is vital for various projects carried out not only by the Child Development and Women's Empowerment Ministry but also other institutions and organisations, such as, the Education Ministry, Social Services Department and Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs). The officials point out that frequently programmes for the welfare of children are conducted based on the available databases which are not up to date.

As a result of not having a proper database, these institutions generally lag behind when such programmes are implemented.

Taking into consideration the urgent need for a proper database ,the Child Development and Women's Empowerment Ministry has taken the initiative to form an up-to-date database in the Ministry.

Therefore, the Ministry plans to gather the necessary data on children from all parts of the country , the Child Development and Women's Affairs Ministry official said.

The Education Ministry also gathers data of school children through the School Census programme. As the accuracy of the school census database is comparatively high, since the census is carried out annually, the Child Development and Women's Affairs Ministry aims get the necessary data from the School Census database, too according to an Education Ministry source .

However, he said that school census programme does not cover the entire child population in the country but only those in the school system.Therefore the need for a database covering the entire child population of the country is still there he pointed out .

R.J

Population census in March

The Population census which was postponed due to a delay in the preparation of documentation work will be held on March 20 with the assistance of Grama Niladaris and other authorised officers, according to the Department of Census and Statistics(DCS) sourses.

The period from February 27 to of March 19 will be allocated for gathering of information and the Department of Census and Statistics stated that Grama officials will be visiting houses and other buildings during this period islandwide to obtain necessary details for the population census.

Census taking in Sri Lanka dates back to the late 19th century. Prior to 1871, estimates of population had been made from time to time on the basis of returns made by village headmen. The first scientific census in Sri Lanka was conducted on March 27,1871 by the then Registrar General's Office. In fact Sri Lanka has the longest history of Census takings among SAARC countries and Sri Lanka has been conducting census every ten years since 1871. .

The DCS, with the intention of improving completeness, quality, and timeliness of the data,information gathered in the forth coming census is planning to adopt various new and emerging technologies in the whole census process. According to the the Census and Statistics Department,This year's census,which is to be conducted using latest technology.

The census would give valuable information on demographic and other related characteristics, useful to planners, policy makers, administrators, researchers, and other data users, The Department said.

The government requests the general public to assist the Department of Census and Statistics by allowing the Grama Niladari or any other authorised personnel to affix labels either on the frame of the front door or in any other prominent place near the front door and not remove it until the end of the year. - RJ

Siku, the latest polar bear sensation

Remember the cute little polar bear named Knut at Berlin Zoo that captured the hearts of millions the world over from 2006 until his death in 2011? Now the latest polar bear sensation is Siku , a male polar bear cub born on November 22 , 2011, at Skandinavisk Dyrepark ("Scandinavian Wildlife Park") in Djursland, Denmark.

After his mother failed to produce enough milk to feed him,Siku was put into care at the Scandinavian Wildlife Park in Kolind, 105 miles northwest of Copenhagen, a privately-owned zoo housing animals native to Scandinavia including wolves,brown bears, and reindeer.

There, the zoo keepers will hand-rear him, providing 24-hour foster care to the tiny cub until he reaches a year old. In terms of popular appeal, he is by some considered to be a possible successor to Knut, A YouTube video showing Siku at one month old attracted hundreds of thousands of hits in just twenty-four hours and he was hailed internationally as an online sensation, especially after appearing on the official BBC website. His name means "sea ice" in the Inuit language Inupiag.

According to the Scandinavian Wildlife Park,the name is symbolic because polar bears are 1000 per cent dependent on sea ice for their survival. Due to global warming the sea ice in the Arctic Sea is rapidly diminishing, and the latest forecasts predict that the polar bear may be almost extinct in the wild 40 years from now.Siku's mother, Ilka, had no milk in her breasts for the third year running, and so the park decided to "immobilize" her.

According to park manager Frank Vigh-Larsen, Siku weighed three pounds (1.8 kg) at birth, but grew within his first month to seven pounds' (3.2 kg) weight.

Receiving insufficient milk from Ilka, Siku was revealed on surveillance video inside the bear cave to be "moaning and being unruly all the time. At two days old, he was removed from his mother, as remaining with her could have endangered his life. Vigh-Larsen was quoted as saying, He likes to be very social between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. In the first week he slept in his crate, but now he refuses to sleep in there and instead sleeps in bed with me.

Full integration of Siku is expected to take two years. In spring 2012, Siku will be re-introduced to the zoo’s five adult polar bears, including his mother, Ilka.

However, Vigh-Larsen emphasises that he does not want Siku to be too heavily compared to Knut, to deter extensive merchandise production and huge numbers of visitors.”What happened to Knut was a disaster. He was used in order to sell teddy-bears and tickets. Therefore we are doing everything we can in order to distance Siku from Knut as much as possible,” he stresses.

Instead, Vigh-Larsen hopes that Siku will serve as an "Ambassador and communicator for the Arctic area and the climate changes which occur up there."

- Courtesy:Internet