President to hand over housing units today :

Dwellings for valiant soldiers

by Dhaneshi YATAWARA

Victory gained a year ago, our war heroes return to their families, completely healed of injuries. Families of war heroes have turned a new page in their lives.

Dreams of his family were never realised for the past three years. In many cases the soldier was the sole breadwinner of the family. For every officer and soldier protecting every inch of the motherland was a priority than fulfilling the expectations of his family. Helping soldiers to make their dream come true is the duty of all citizens in the country.

To encourage all Sri Lankans to support the service personnel who dedicated their lives to bring lasting peace to the country the Government initiated the 'Api Wenuwen Api' Fund. A house could be the most appropriate gift to show our gratitude and appreciation to the valiant soldiers. Building a house is a tedious task to a family. The responsibility is on the shoulders of the father as the son has to serve the country.

Armed forces personnel are not just another set of professionals. Their disabilities are not due to their mistakes. Children lost their fathers not because of a suicidal attempt. It is not that they are helpless but are facing a slight slow down in their lives. Parents, wives and children of officers and soldiers killed in action are facing enormous difficulties following the loss of their breadwinner.

It was the vision of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa to provide a house to a soldier.

Once a valiant commanding officer during the aggressive times of the war against terrorists, Colonel (Rtd.) Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, who assumed duties as the Secretary of Defence under President Mahinda Rajapaksa's regime in 2005, recognised that his foremost task was to boost the morale of the service personnel. For the soldier, the care given to his family through the welfare measures the Government initiated through the Ministry of Defence (MOD) is a major relief. Housing was the burning issue among the service personnel.

"The pathetic stories of war heroes have moved the country to support the vision of President Rajapaksa and the Secretary of Defence, said Chairperson of the Seva Vanitha Unit of the MOD Ioma Rajapaksa. The Seva Vanitha Unit coordinates and monitors a housing project funded by the 'Api Wenuwen Api' program.

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa directed officials to start building 700 houses for war heroes.

Completing the first stage of the program, houses built in the Kandy district are ready to be handed over to war heroes and their families. "Completing the first phase of the housing project is a great achievement", Ioma Rajapaksa said.

President Rajapaksa will hand over the houses at a ceremony to be held at the Senarathgama Vidyalaya in Katugasthota today.

A house under construction

A constructed house

Wife of Staff Sergeant S.K. Krunawansa of the Special Forces will be the first to receive her house from President Rajapaksa. Staff Sergeant Karunawansa died on May 18, 2009 during the final phase of the battle in Puthumathalan.

The Api Wenuwen Api fund aims at constructing 50,000 houses for war heroes and the project to build 700 houses through the fund is at its first stage.

"The housing project will be implemented islandwide. The first project is to be completed in Kandy," Ioma Rajapaksa said.

According to Rajapaksa the house will be constructed on the land of the soldier. "The idea of the Secretary was to make the disabled war hero to live with his family. They missed their families a lot during the past three years," she added.

Since the number of service personnel was high among the selected 700, the Ministry of Defence selected Kandy to commence the project. Houses in Kurunegala are nearing completion. The second phase will commence in the Matara and Hambantota districts.

The houses are for service personnel of all three forces. Construction works of this project started nearly three months ago. "Construction work is carried out by the engineering services units of the Army, Navy and the Air Force.

On completion each house will worth over Rs. 2.5. million.

"Sri Lankans living here and abroad make generous contributions to the fund.

It is our duty to ensure that the funds are used properly," she said.