Lessons with a difference

With Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha

Famous people

The Founder of the Red Cross Movement:

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We bring you today another interesting lesson dealing with a famous personality from the English lessons book written by Professor of Languages, Sabaragamuwa University, Rajiva Wijesinha. Read the passage given below carefully in order to do the exercises. Answers will be given next week.

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Henri Dunant was born in 1828 in Switzerland. In 1853 he became manager of a bank. This was a very good job. Dunant enjoyed his work and led a happy life, but in 1859 he heard about a battle in which many people died and many more were wounded.

This was the battle of Solferino in North Italy when French soldiers defeated the Austrians. Dunant was very sad about the soldiers who were helpless on the battlefield, and he tried to make them better with the help of the women of the nearby town.

This experience changed Dunant's life. From then on, he wanted to find a way to stop the suffering of men and women after a war. He therefore started an organisation to help the victims of war.

In 1862 Dunant wrote a book about his work at Solferino. Then he travelled through Europe, and asked people in many countries to start their own movements to help people who suffered in wars. In 1863 in Geneva in Switzerland, there was a conference of people from different countries.

They decided to join the different movements from different countries. This was the beginning of the World Red Cross Movement.

Because the conference was in Switzerland, they decided that the flag of the new world movement to help people injured in war would be the reverse of the Swiss flag. The Swiss flag has a white cross on a red background. So the flag of the new movement has a red cross on a white background. The people at the conference therefore called their movement the Red Cross.

Dunant gave up his job to work for the Red Cross Movement, and soon he became very poor. When he was old, he entered the hospital in Heiden, a small town in Switzerland, because he could not look after himself any more.

But then, the Norwegian government told him that he had won the Nobel Peace Prize. This was in 1901, the first time anyone got the Nobel Peace Prize. Alfred Nobel gave prizes in many subjects, but the Nobel Peace Prize is the most famous because it goes to people who help to make the world peaceful and safe for other people.

Every year the Norwegian government gives this prize to the person who did most for peace during the year.

Dunant was very happy when he got the Nobel Prize. Though he was poor, he had helped people. The world understood this and the Norwegian decision made this clear to everyone.