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| Sunday, 10 August 2003 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Twins centre to launch welfare programmes by LAKMAL WELABADA Siblings are a gift. We love our siblings for many reasons. They are a part of our flesh and blood, born from the womb of the same mother carrying the genes of the same father. They are the best companions who share a lifetime relationship, both in good and bad times.
And if sharing with a brother or sister is a gift, then being born on the same day with a difference of only a few minutes is considered even more special. Whether on the road, in a bus or any other public place 'twins' have a special attraction. Apart from their similar looks, twins are said to be born with special talents and skills. Upuli and Chamali Gamage, identical twin sisters decided to highlight this phenomenon by forming an association of twins for the first time in Sri Lanka. As a result the Sri Lanka Twins Cultural and Development Centre was founded on August 23, 1993 marking the birthday of the twin sisters. Today the twins association bears a 7000 membership of twins, triplets and quadruplets from the 14-day-old twin infants to a 90-year-old granny duo. Among them are 56 sets of triplets, 27 sets of quadruplets and 16 sets of Buddhists priests. All of them will be meeting under one roof very shortly. Acclaiming the tenth anniversary of the twins' association. The second grand cultural show of twins will be held at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium at 5.30pm on August 23. The chief guest will be the Minister of Power and Energy Karu Jayasuriya and the guest of honour will be the Minister of Youth and Sports Affairs, Johnston Fernando.
The print media sponsorship is by Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (Lake House) and the stadium reservation is done by the Youth and Sports Affairs Ministry. Upuli Gamage, Chairperson of the Sri Lanka Twins Cultural and Development Centre, along with her twin sister, Chamali, the Deputy Chairperson is enroling new members to their association even at this moment. "We initiated this with the idea of developing the aesthetic talents and skills of twins which is a distinctive feature found in them, including us," said Upuli. "But once we started enlisting, we realised that while helping to develop their talents, there are so many other things in their lives that we should pay attention to. That is because ninety five percent of the families with twins suffer due to poverty. Most of these families are not in a position even to get their daily meals, and the struggle is doubled with the addition of twins. I don't have to explain to you how it might be with triplets and quadruplets," she lamented. Upuli said that two fathers from Ratnapura had committed suicide as they were unable to feed their families. One of them had first got twins, and after a few years got triplets. He was a poor labourer who did not get work often. His wife, the mother of the children, could only have a cup of plain tea and a glass of water. She did not have enough milk to breast feed the three. Once she nursed two of them, there was hardly any milk left for the third baby. The father who could not bear the hungry cries of his new born babies and the tearful face of the helpless mother, committed suicide leaving the poor wife and five children (twins and triplets) alone to face hardship.
After being exposed to such heartbreaking stories of 'twins' in the country, the Twin Centre has decided to launch a social service scheme for needy families, to go along with the annual show which helps to reveal the hidden talents of the twins. "We try to get foster-parentship for such destitute and wretched families. Also with state assistance we are trying to give houses to them; at least one house per year for a single poor family. We got this idea after getting to know of a mother and her four-year-old twin sons. Their father had deceived the mother giving a forged name and address for marriage. Then he left her after she got pregnant. She now gets hysterical attacks from time to time and tries to kill her twins with a knife. The grandmother looks after the children. They all live in an 'Ambalama' at Pitakotte. So if we can start a housing project for them, it would be a great 'Punya Karma'," explained Upuli. The People's Bank has allocated Rs. 250,000 as a donation for 100 poor families with twins. Each family will get a People's Bank account with Rs. 5000 at the cultural show on August 23. The Twins' Centre has forwarded a 'Sannasa', (letter in copper scroll) with a document containing 12 requests for favourable consideration by the government. (see box) "We hope we will get a positive response not only from the government, but also from the private sector," said Major Mahinda Hettiarachchi, Managing Director of the Twins' Centre. Mahinda is the husband of Upuli, and the person who runs the show spending out of his own resources. "We do this neither to earn money in return nor to get fame or popularity. The only thing we want is to launch a service. It's difficult. If I won't get the kind assistance from the government and well-wishers, I do not think we can continue," he said. The Twins' Centre is plagued by the shortage of funds. The annual membership fee of Rs. 100 does not provide enough capital for the requirement as the majority of members cannot afford even this amount. "We have to spend about four to five lakhs of rupees on the annual cultural show," said Mahinda. Apart from this the Twin Centre does not have a permanent residence for its operation. "We get twins from remote areas. Since they are really talented youth, most of them are in our twins' cultural dancing and singing troupes. When they come to Colombo we face a severe problem of accommodation. At present everything is handled at our own residence at Boralesgamuwa," said Upuli. However, the Sri Lanka Twins Cultural and Development Centre hopes to get national status by declaring 'August 23' as National Twins Day. And then to propose to the UN to name it 'World Twins' Day'. "We have already got membership from the International Twins' Association. And we are enlisted into the third place. The first and the second in the list are Nigeria and Canada respectively," said Mahinda. At present, the world's largest gathering of 'born togethers' is reported from Chinese Taipei. And our twins hope to break this record by forwarding the Sri Lankan list of 7000 odd memberships of twins, triplets and quadruplets. Holding a twins' world congress in Sri Lanka in 2005 is the next plan of the twin-chairperson Upuli. "I also hope to have the Asian centre for twins in Sri Lanka. That is because we are enriched with a valuable cultural aesthetic heritage. For example we have three forms of dancing; 'Udarata' 'Pahatharata' and 'Sabaragamuwa' and lovely folk songs. We have twins with wonderful aesthetic talents and skilled hands to perform many other arts. We can easily get international acclaim through them," she said. It is hoped that the tears, sweat and toil of the Twins' Centre will open the doors of success to the thousands of 'born togethers' in Sri Lanka. Getting back to the forthcoming twins' cultural show, the other highlights will be the competition to select the 'Cutest twin kids', 'Best twin youths' and 'Oldest twins' in the country. In addition to that there will be a few sub categories like the 'Tallest twins', 'Shortest twins' etc. The Sri Lanka Twins Cultural and Development Centre invites all members and nonmembers to witness the second historical grand show of 'born togethers' which is free of charge. Members coming from remote areas should inform the centre in advance to get overnight accommodation which is available for them. Sannasa The 12 requests forwarded by the Sri Lanka Twins Cultural and Development Centre for the consideration of the government: (1) To provide an opportunity for both twins (triplets or quadruplets) to be admitted to the same school at the same time. (2) Not to impose any admission fee on them. (3) To give scholarships for twins coming from underprivileged backgrounds from primary school level to university level. (4) To give at least one house annually for a single poor family with twins. (5) To provide twenty job opportunities to the Twins' Centre in the government service per year. (6) To grant a certain percentage for twins when the state scholarships are given. (7) To get the participation of Twins' Cultural Troupe in the state ceremonies. (8) To provide assistance to improve health and nutrition levels for poor families with twins. (9) To provide a permanent place for the Sri Lanka Twins Cultural and Development Centre. (10) To get sponsorship and other assistance for every function and ceremony of the twins' centre. (11) To provide required assistance for self employment. (12) To declare August 23 as the National Twins' Day. For more information on the Twins' Centre, check out their website - |
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