'Dire need for Northeast Children Secretariat'

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 October 2003, 20:11 GMT]
North East Provincial Commissioner of Probation and Childcare Ms Ranjini Nadarajapillai Saturday made an urgent appeal that a Secretariat for Child Welfare should be established for the northeast province to cater the urgent needs of thousands of children who have become destitute due to the war and are being maintained in several children homes, sources in Trincomalee said.

NEPC Chief Secretary Mr.S.Rangaraja hands over champion cup to the Batticaloa district team leader. Ms Ranjini Nadarajapillai also seen

Ms.Nadarajapillai was speaking at the conclusion of the provincial sports meet for children from 'Children's Homes' in the northeast province held Saturday at Trincomalee Mc Heyzer stadium.

Ms Ranjini Nadarajapillai said she has been making this appeal to the Chief Secretary of the NEPC to take up this matter with proper authority. She added that only the Northeast provincial council has a single department for social welfare and probation and childcare; In the other seven provinces in the country separate departments are established for social welfare and probation and childcare.

Ms.Nadarajapillai said, "Of the 157 children homes in the province, about three thousand children from only 48 homes have participated in the sports meet. About four thousand children of the other 109 children homes have been deprived of their right to participate in the sports meet as managers of these homes have not registered their institutions with the provincial department of probation and child care services."

She said all children homes in Vanni region have been registered with the provincial department.

Another section of children attending the sportsmeet

She said managers who run children homes, which have not been registered with the department concerned, are refusing to allow child care officers to enter their homes for inspection.

"I appeal to those managers who do not obey the direction of the childcare services authority that the department would be forced to take legal action them," warned Ms Ranjini Nadarajapillai.

Thousands of children in the northeast have been seriously affected by the two-decade-old war. The provincial department of probation and child care services with fourteen officers are currently finding very difficult to manage the children homes and to provide better services to those children now being cared by these institutions.

Provincial Secretary to the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Government Ms Kamala Sivasithambaram in her speech endorsed the appeal made by Ms.Nadarajapillai. She said she took up the matter with the Colombo authorities to have two separate department for Probation and Childcare and Social Welfare when she was holding the post of provincial director of social welfare and the post of probation and childcare and she failed to convince the authorities concerned. It's high time for the authorities concerned to make urgent move in this regard.



Children attending the sportsmeet



The Chief Secretary of the NEPC Mr.S.Rangarajah who was the chief guest said it was useless to hold processions and conferences on children rights declaration and child welfare without giving attention to the ground situation where more children suffer due to impact of the two-decade-old war.

He said," we are not in a position to provide children with better education and health facilities. A single institution cannot undertake this massive project of rehabilitating the affected children."

The Batticaloa district emerged champions with 180 points at the sportsmeet. The runner up was the Ampara district with 139 points. Vanni came third with 99 points followed by Jaffna district with 68 points and Trincomalee district with 60 points, sources said.



Guests ( L-R) Provincial Director of Industries Mr.Visvalingam, Director of Provincial Management and Training Department Mr.Krishnanthasivam, UNICEF Trincomalee head Ms Gabriela Elroy, Provincial Director of Social Welfare and provincial Commissioner of Probation and Childcare ms Ranjini Nadarajapillai



Mr.Rangarajah and other guests distributed the awards and prizes to the winners of the sports meet. UNICEF Trincomalee head Ms Gabriela Elroy, Provincial Governor's Secretary Mr.S. Amirthalingam and Deputy Chief Secretary (Finance) Mt.S.Mahalingam also participated as guests.