A new Centre to promote peace in the Eastern part of Sri Lanka was inaugurated on the day of 3rd Tsunami anniversary (26th of December 2007) at the Sarvodaya District Centre in Trincomallee.
The Sarvodaya Peace Resource Centre Trincomallee, the construction of which was sponsored by the Province of Upper Austria and IICP, will serve as a focal point for promoting inter-community and inter-religious harmony and capacity building in non-violent conflict transformation. This unique Centre consists of the following.
It has been three years since the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 26th December, 2004, the worst natural catastrophe in Sri Lankan history. The disaster killed 31,229 people and injured 23,189. A total of 4,100 people are still reported missing and the number of displaced was 516,150. Nearly 90,000 houses and 40,000 shallow water wells were either damaged or destroyed. Altogether more than one million people who resided along the coastal lines of 13 administrative districts in Sri Lanka were affected by the tragedy.
The Multi Purpose Community Centre (MPCC) at Neelabemma was opened by Mr. Jayant K. Singh, the Chairman / Managing Director of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare on Saturday, 20th of October 2007. This Centre provides many services to the people. Primarily, the Spiritual, Social and Economic empowerment process is facilitating through the MPCC that consists of a Pre – School, Sarvodaya village Bank Centre, Health Centre, Library, Society Office, Divisional office, IT (Information Technology) center and a Community Hall for other community based activities.
Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne, founder of Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement, received Sri Lankaabhimanya (Pride of Sri Lanka), country’s highest honour today. In an event at Presidential Secretariat Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapkase conferred the highest honour to Dr. Ariyaratne. Dr. Ariyaratne was recognized for exceptional honor and glory brought to the country through Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement.