A new world through cheerful childhood

by Dushyantha Madugalle

Astriking feature of the national rally of La-Kri-Vi movement was the amalgam of children of diverse ethnicities and religions at the Vihara Maha Devi Park to experience a sense of togetherness and the much-aspired unity in diversity. The core message of the event seems to be that of preparing the children for a truly multi-ethnic society where individuals will celebrate diversity while appreciating the core spiritual values with ultimately peace-loving and law-abiding citizens.

Fr. Joseph Cooray OMI

It was a colourful evening, perhaps, one of the memorable evenings for a gathering of children from diverse parts of the country. The children were all in the age- group of 5-15 and belonged to diverse ethnicities and faiths.

The rally of children at the Open Air-Theatre, Vihara Maha Devi Park, was different to any other gathering in that the children moved freely among themselves and engaged in meaningful activities which strengthened their friendship. The highlight of the event was the distribution of prizes for the children who won at diverse competitions. There were debating, essay-writing, poetry, drama and art competitions.

The National La-kri-Vi rally is held once in five years and Fr. Joseph Cooray OMI is the National Director. The headquarters of La-Kri-Vi is at Deans Road. The Rally was attended by children from all over -Sri lanka, south and north.

The chief guest was Rt. Rev. Dr. Bishop Norbert Andradi, OMI, the Bishop of Anuradhapura. The guest of honour was the Very Rev. Fr. Rohan Silva, OMI, the Provincial Superior of the OMI Fathers in Sri Lanka.

The proceedings of the day began at the Fatima Church premises. The walk from Fatima Church to Vihara Maha Devi Park was followed by the National Rally in the afternoon from 2 to 5

It is truly a children’s movement. It was the national rally of the Sri Lanka La-Kri-Vi (Lama Kriyakari Veerayo) Movement under the theme ‘a new world through children’, the motto of the movement.

Terrorism

An important aspect of the movement is that it has recognised the need for early-childhood development in general and in the post-conflict scenario in particular. Although the conflict ended with the defeat of terrorism, the protracted conflict had left a large number of traumatised children and orphans who needed to be reoriented in their attitudes and system of values to make society a better place to live in and inculcate in children constructive values such as religious tolerance and greater understanding of diverse cultures.

The movement has also recognised the fact that the formal system of education has, over the years, failed in citizen-building and character development. It is obvious that the current system of education does not focus on creating an individual who would consider it as his or her abiding duty to safeguard freedom, justice, peace and harmony among diverse ethnic groups.

La-Kri-Vi movement has developed its pedagogy in such a way to achieve personal growth both as an individual and as a group through a series of actions (educative activities) to inculcate in children values such as solidarity, accepting self and others, being responsible, sharing own values and concerns, setting goals, organising actions, love and concern for the environment and spiritual formation (encourage children to practice one’s own religion or faith). The movement is run by children themselves under the guidance of volunteers who serve as promoters of the movement.

Vision and mission

Guided by the vision of the founder of La-Kri-Vi, Fr.Felix Mavel of Oblate of Mary Immaculate (OMI), the movement is embarked on a mission under the motto ‘Create a better world through children’ by developing children’s (aged 5-15) personality and leadership qualities. What is significant is that La-Kri-Vi is run by children themselves and is secular in nature. It has opened its doors to children of diverse ethnicities and faiths. The national rally is a testimony to widespread support that La-Kri-Vi enjoys among the children of diverse ethnicities and the blessing it receives from religious and community leaders such as Muslim clerics and Buddhist monks. The movement is affiliated to the International Movement for the Apostolate of Children (IMAC).

Education system

A notable feature of the movement is that it provides an education system which encourages children to discover their strengths, skills and talents. The children themselves become agents of their transformation and of their milieu. Significantly the La-Kri-Vi movement provides a firm foundation for the children to nurture values of multi-ethnic, multi-religious culture, using life-based formation and exposure. Concepts such as ethnic harmony and national reconciliation are taught through the interaction among children of different ethnicities and who belong to diverse religions in a friendly atmosphere. While developing excellent socialising skills, children learn that all religions advocate core values in different words.