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Deshodaya Bus Tour Brings Message of Peace and Good Governance |
Volunteers
distribute Vision Declaration |
Between May 8th
and May 11th, Deshodaya (National Awakening), Sarvodaya’s
program on peace, and it’s Mobile Leaders Program supported by
Sarvodaya USA organized a nationwide bus tour with the message
of sustainable peace and good governance.
The bus tour that started on May 8th at Sarvodaya’s headquarters
in Moratuwa headed northwest to Gampha and Puttalam districts
and ended in Ratnapura after visiting war affected eastern
districts of Trincomalee, Batticoloa, and Amapara. The group of
more than 80 people on two buses traveled together for four days
through 11 of the 25 administrative districts in Sri Lanka. The
group stopped in several villages and towns distributing Vision
Declaration.
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The Vision Declaration
prepared through the survey of over 2,700 people from all over Sri
Lanka, is a document that embodies aspiration of Sri Lankan people
towards sustainable peace. The declaration identifies that to
effectively pursue the visions created by Sri Lankan people, major
changes must take place in the governance system and that people
must become true participants in political processes. Enabling the
pursuance of this goal, is vision to create a society where
religious, ethnic and cultural groups respect each other, where
people can closely participate in the decision-making processes,
where economic and development programs are people-centered and
where people uphold environmentally friendly lifestyles.
More than 80
participants, mostly young people selected through youth camps held
throughout the country participated in the tour. They had come from
several districts including war affected Vavuniya, Trincomalee, and
Batticoloa. They were Sinhalese and Tamils; Hindus, Muslims,
Buddhist and Christians.
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Danuska, a mobile leader, explains the Vision Declaration |
Street drama group performed several short plays throughout the
trip |
A man in Puttalam holds wadde and the Vision Declaration |
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Surendra, an 18 year
old, from Vavuniya district in northern Sri Lanka saw the bus tour
as an opportunity to participate in educating people about the
issues that contribute to ongoing war and Sarvodaya’s message of
peaceful co-existence. It was also an opportunity for him to make
Sinhalese friends from other parts of the country.
“The trip was an opportunity for us to bring the message of good
governance and peace,” says Deshodaya director Chaminda Rajakaruna.
“The visit coinciding with Sinhalese and Tamil New year was an
attempt to interact with people from all over Sri Lanka and
understand the challenges and difficulty they face,” Mr. Rajakaruna
adds.
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The tour featured
a team of nationally acclaimed street drama artists who
performed short plays on public spaces such as on bus stops,
public grounds and city streets.
For Milton Perera, a tractor driver, from Marawila, Puttalam
Sarvodaya’s peace and good governance initiatives were
“appropriate and timely.” He said, “increasingly life has been
difficult, there is a lot of economic pressures and escalating
war is worsening the situation.”
The group, on the road for than 16 hours a day, traveled more
than 1,000 kilometers (550 miles) often negotiating through
several security checkpoints. They received enthusiastic welcome
from Sarvodaya village and district committees, and people in
the villages and towns where the group stopped.
The bus tour is the continuation of Deshodaya’s preparation
towards People’s Constitutional Convention to be held in October
2007.
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Chaminda Rajakaruna, Deshodaya
Director, hands the Vision Declaration to policemen. |
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