Strengthening communal bonds through education

by Ananda KANNANGARA

Education Minister Bandula Gunawardane last week highlighted the importance of bridging the gap between Sinhala and Tamil communities from their tender age and said as an initial step both languages should be taught to all the children in the country.

Minister Gunawardane told the Junior Observer that both these communities should be given oppurtunities to mingle by introducing various group activities.

This would enable them to share their views and have a better understanding of each other's communities creating unity and harmony among them.

He said that such interaction should be promoted not only between these two communities, but also other communities in the country. Everyone should get together as the children of Mother Lanka he said.

“Bridging the gap between communities cannot be achieved overnight. Therefore, on the initiative of the Government, I have instructed officials to develop the language skills of communities first and thereafter pave the way for them to engage in extra curricular group activities,” he said.

The Minister also said under this programme, schoolchildren in the South should visit Northern schools regularly and vice versa to strengthen their bonds of friendships.

He has also instructed education authorities to promote sports and cultural activities among all communities and directed school authorities to help in this programme by conducting sporting and cultural events between schools in the South and North.

Meanwhile Minister Gunawardane requests children in the South to visit historical places in the Northern and Eastern areas and the Northern children to visit places of interest in the South.

Protective role of 'skin microbiota' described

A research team at the National Institutes of Health has found that bacteria that normally live in the skin may help protect the body from infection. As the largest organ of the body, the skin represents a major site of interaction with microbes in the environment. Although immune cells in the skin protect against harmful organisms, until now, it has not been known if the millions of naturally occurring commensal bacteria in the skin -- collectively known as the skin microbiota -- also have a beneficial role. Using mouse models, the NIH team observed that commensals contribute to protective immunity by interacting with the immune cells in the skin.Their findings appear online on July 26 in Science.

The investigators colonised germ-free mice (mice bred with no naturally occurring microbes in the gut or skin) with the human skin commensal Staphylococcus epidermidis. The team observed that colonising the mice with this one species of good bacteria enabled an immune cell in the mouse skin to produce a cell-signaling molecule needed to protect against harmful microbes. The researchers subsequently infected both colonised and non-colonised germ-free mice with a parasite. Mice that were not colonised with the bacteria did not mount an effective immune response to the parasite; mice that were colonized did.

In separate experiments, the team sought to determine if the presence or absence of commensals in the gut played a role in skin immunity. They observed that adding or eliminating beneficial bacteria in the gut did not affect the immune response at the skin. These findings indicate that microbiota found in different tissues -- skin, gut, lung -- have unique roles at each site and that maintaining good health requires the presence of several different sets of commensal communities.

This study provides new insights into the protective role of skin commensals and demonstrates that skin health relies on the interaction of commensals and immune cells.

Further research is needed, say the authors, to determine whether skin disorders such as eczema and psoriasis may be caused or exacerbated by an imbalance of skin commensals and potentially harmful microbes that influence the skin and its immune cells.

-ScienceDaily

[News in Brief]

by Rohana JAYALAL

New stamps released to mark Nallur Festival

There stamps were issued to mark the renowned Nallur Kanthaswamy Kovil Annual Festival at the kovil premises. Under the guidance of Northern Province Governor G. A. Chandrasiri, the Postal Department issued the stamps. Nallur has an old and rich history. It is considered as a place of social, religious and cultural significance in Jaffna.

 The Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil or the Nallur Murugan Kovil is one of the most significant Hindu temples in the Jaffna district.

The presiding deity is Lord Muruga in the form of the Holy Vel. The idol of the Nallur Devi or goddess in the style of Sembian bronzes was gifted to the temple in the 10th century by the Chola queen Sembiyan Mahadevi.

The year of foundation of the Nallur Kandaswamy Temple is 948 CE. According to the Yalpana Vaipava Malai, the temple was developed at the site in the 13th century by Puvenaya Vaku, a minister to the Jaffna King Kalinga Magha. Prince Sapumal (also known as Chempaha Perumal in Tamil), who ruled the Jaffna kingdom on behalf of the Kotte kingdom is credited with either building or renovating the third Nallur Kandaswamy temple.Three types of stamps in the five rupee denomination were released on the day of the hoisting of the holy flag.

Cashew cultivation expanded

The Sri Lanka Cashew Corporation has expanded its cashew cultivation programmes in the Anuradhapura, Mannar, Vavuniya, Kilinochchi and Mullaithivu Districts.

According to the Regional Manager of the Cashew Corporation, the cashew cultivation in the Anuradhapura District has covered nearly 6,000 acres, especially in the Mahawilachchiya, Medawachchiya, Mihintale, Thantirimale and Oyamaduwa areas.

The Finance Ministry has instructed the relevant authorities and district level institutes to investigate into production cost anomalies and the inefficiency in production processing for the purpose of remedying the expensive production cost.

Jaffna Dutch Fort nearing completion

The reconstruction of Jaffna Dutch Fort is nearing completion. It is the aim of the Government to restore the colonial-era fort to its former glory and make it a major tourist attraction in Jaffna.

The Fort was first built as a small garrison in Jaffna by the Portuguese after they invaded the north in 1618. The Dutch captured in 1658 and expanded it further. The British took it over in 1795.

The Government has spent Rs 104.5 million for the restoration work while the Netherlands has granted Rs 55 million for this purpose, according to Economic Development Ministry sources.

The X-shaped Dutch Church, which was destroyed by the LTTE is also currently being restored under the Jaffna Fort Restoration Project of the Government. The President's House within the Fort's four acre extent is also under renovation as part of project's final phase, sources said.