Ｓｒｉ Ｌａｎｋａ Ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓｈｉｐ Ｄｅｌｅｇａｔｉｏｎ ｉｎ Ｓｉｃｈｕａｎ

At the invitation of the CPAFFC， the Delegation of the Association for Sri Lanka-China Social and Cultural Cooperation (ASLCSCC) visited Sichuan Province from March 1 to 5. The head of the delegation， ASLCSCC President Indrananda Abeysekera is an old friend of the Chinese people and a recipient of the title of Friendship Ambassador conferred by the CPAFFC. He had visited Sichuan twice before. The main purposes of his current visit was to express solicitude and support for schools in the earthquake-stricken areas and to develop friendly relations with the province in education， culture， and religion.

Chilly wind was blowing as it was early Spring in Sichuan. Braving the fatigue of traveling and the cold weather， the delegation set off at 5 a.m. for the ruins of the old Hanwang Township of Mianzhu City where the earthquake hit hard in May 2008 to mourn for those who lost their lives in the quake. In formal attire with flowers in their hands， members of the delegation presented a white bouquet in front of the Bell Tower with a heavy heart and stood in silent tribute to quake victims. Abeysekera said with deep emotion， several years ago Sri Lanka was stricken by tsunami. Last year China was hit by earthquake. Facing such severe natural disasters， the Sri Lankan and Chinese people did not become disheartened and desperate. Rather they encouraged and helped each other. Our friendship has stood the test of time.

Abeysekera has made great efforts to enhance the friendly exchange between Sri Lanka and Sichuan. When the earthquake stroke Wenchuan last year， Abeysekera immediately sent a message of condolences to the Sichuan Provincial People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (SIFA). Last October while attending the Western China International Economy and Trade Fair held in Sichuan， Abeysekera paid a special visit to the temporary school premise of the Aba Teachers College to meet the students and the teachers. On that visit he delivered grants to three students. Upon his return to Sri Lanka， he introduced the Qiang ethnic culture to the Sri Lankan people in local media.On his current visit， he returned to the Aba Teachers College where he proposed to put on an exhibition of 50 pieces of works of art done by the teachers and students of the college in the capital Colombo and the coastal city of Balapitiya which suffered great loss from the tsunami. The ASLCSCC would cover the international travelling and local expenses of the exhibitors. Abeysekera also suggested the Balapitiya Teachers College and the Aba Teachers College establish sister college relationship. His enthusiasm and sincerity impressed the teachers and the students deeply.

While visiting the Deyang Dongqi School which suffered severe losses during the earthquake， the delegation donated US$1，000 as grants to ten disabled students as well as paintings by Sri Lanka students， and encouraged the students to study hard and adopt an optimistic attitude towards life. The delegation donated some books to the school library， and recommended Ginthota Maha Vidyalaya， a Sri Lankan school which suffered from the tsunami， to twin sister school ties with the Dongqi School.

Hu Zonglin， secretary general of the Deyang Municipal Government met with the delegation. Nandasena Madawanarachchi， honorary president of the ASLCSCC and director general of the Ministry of Education， read out a letter of encouragement from the Sri Lankan Education Minister to the Deyang Education Bureau. During the meeting， Nandasena Madawanarachchi said， Sri Lanka is a developing country and our Association an NGO. While we are not rich in terms of material， we are rich in spirit and passion and willing to lend a hand to our Chinese friends. When the tsunami struck Sri Lanka， the first international donation we received was from China， a vivid expression of Chinese people’s friendship towards the Sri Lankan people. Director General Nandasena Madawanarachchi proposed that Sri Lankan English teacher volunteers could come to Deyang for short term teaching assignments. He also proposed that a Sri Lankan school in the tsunami-hit area establish sister-school relations with one of the schools in Deyang.

While in Chengdu， the delegation attended the opening ceremony of “Peace and Love—an Exhibition of Paintings by Sri Lankan and Chinese Children”. The exhibition was jointly sponsored by the SIFA， the ASLCSCC and the Chengdu Yibo School. The paintings provided by Chengdu were done by children from Dujiangyan， one of the most severely quake-affected cities. The delegation decided to take these works back to Sri Lanka for charity sale. The proceeds will be donated to schools in the earthquake-stricken areas for reconstruction. Young students of the Yibo School performed dances and martial arts as part of the opening ceremony. The delegation members were deeply impressed. Abeysekera expressed the wish to promote exchanges of visits between children’s performing art groups of China and Sri Lanka， and would like to invite Chinese martial arts teachers to teach in Sri Lanka.

The delegation visited the Rehabilitation Centre for Children with Hearing Impediments run by the Sichuan Disabled Persons’ Federation， and donated a lot of books to the Centre. Abeysekera said， as assisting disabled children was an important task of his Association， he hoped more cooperation with China in this regard would be carried out in the future.

The delegation also visited the Sichuan School of Administration where Nandasena Madawanarachchi delivered a speech on “Friendly Relations between Sri Lanka and China”， in which he recalled the history of friendly exchanges between the two countries. He told the audience， the Association had already set up an academic research institution in order to better learn from China’s important experience in carrying out reform and opening up policy. The Association would like to conduct academic exchange with the Sichuan School of Administration.

The delegation called on Master Da’en， vice president of the Sichuan Buddhists Association and Abbot of the Chengdu Daci Temple. The delegation presented the Temple with precious gifts including a Sri Lanka white jade Buddha and eight pieces of auspicious Buddhist treasures.

Qin Lin， president of the SIFA met with the delegation. The ASLCSCC presented a long scroll with messages of sympathy and support to the people in the earthquake-stricken areas in Sichuan. The scroll carries signatures of the Sri Lankan Prime Minister and many other cabinet ministers. SIFA President Qin Lin said that she would pass the scroll to the Sichuan Earthquake Museum to preserve. The delegation suggested the alma mater of the Sri Lanka Ambassador to China forge sister-school ties with the Guangya School.