Going that extra mile for a cause!

by Rosanne Koelmeyer Anderson

As Pollock describes, for Ananda Jayasinghe too, 'the dignity, the grandeur, the tenderness, the everlasting and the divine significance of motherhood was incomparable.

Maternal love! Thou word that sums all bliss' seems to have been tolling in his ears as he yearned to make a significant contribution for the less fortunate pregnant mother's and children in the Kesbewa district in Jambureliya; a Maternity and Children's Clinic.

From its humble beginnings of a ramshackled little room in a dilapidated house of J. H. D. Gunasekera, it stood the test of time and today, on a land gifted by Martin Gunasekera, philanthropist Ananda Jayasinghe, Chairman of the Antler Group (Pvt) Ltd. paved the way for the fully fledged Jambureliya Maternity and Children's Clinic which was inaugurated last week amidst a large gathering and handed over to the Kesbewa Municipal Council at a cost of 10 m which will spearhead its functioning under the purview of the Ministry of Health.

The Maternity and Children's Clinic is equipped with all medical amenities and State-of-the art technology and an asset to the Kesbewa District and the people of the Kesbewa electorate.

Minster of the Western Province, Indigenous Medicine, Social Welfare, Probation and Childcare and Council Affairs, Prassana Ranatunga, speaking at the occasion said that the Jambureliya Maternity and Children's Clinic was one of the best in the Kesbewa district while Minister of Sports and Public Recreation and Kesbewa District Minister, Gamini Lokuge commending the services of the philanthropist, said that this was a great service rendered towards the upliftment of the folk at Jambureliya and an example to the private sector who could similarly step in and pursue bringing a change in many districts.

The minister proposed that the philanthropist be asked to address the schools in the Kesbewa District at least once a month. "We need people like you with great vision; people should be enlightened and enriched," he said.

Ananda Jayasinghe whose forte is screen printing in Sri Lanka; the founder of the trade in Sri Lanka and apparently the largest in Asia said his aspiration is to simply help mother's build the nation. "Being family oriented, respecting motherhood and bring up a balanced family are key concerns for me and others too should think similarly, it would make a world of a difference to life", he expressed.

Afterall, "No joy in nature is so sublimely affecting as the joy of a mother at the good fortune of her child" - Richter.

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