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01.21.2006 On 4th January 2006, Settlor of the MJF Foundation, Merrill J. Fernando invited friends and Trustees of the Foundation to a New Year celebration of a different kind. A simple ceremony at 8.30am on Wednesday 4th January marked the commencement of the Foundation’s most ambitious single project to date. The Ambagahawatte Centre, being constructed on the outskirts of Colombo, will render service to the sick, abused women and children and underprivileged people.
The MJF Foundation Vedagama will be a free Ayurvedic Hospital where specialist, rural Sri Lankan ayurvedic physicians of repute will offer traditional, natural treatment to people who cannot afford hospital and doctors’ fees. These physicians will be selected and offered facilities and remuneration by the Foundation, based on the verification of their credentials and effectiveness judged by a recognized ayurvedic institute. The Vedagama (meaning ‘village of healing’) aims to treat 1,000 sick people each week. The other aspects of the Vedagama will be a biodiversity project assisted by IUCN, the Conservation Union, whereby several endangered and useful species of medicinal plants will be cultivated in properties owned, co-owned or managed by MJF Group entities. Additionally the Vedagama will include a research facility where local or foreign students wishing to study ayurveda will be provided the facilities of a working ayurveda hospital as a research base, in return for contributing to the compilation of knowledge of Sri Lanka’s ayurvedic heritage. This knowledge will be selectively published and used to revive and uplift ayurveda through greater awareness of its potency and harmony with nature. The second dimension of the project will be a facility for Diri Piyasa, an organization that is doing invaluable work amongst abused women in Sri Lanka. Facilities for the Centre for Abused Women at Ambagawatte will be provided without charge by the Foundation to Diri Piyasa. These facilities will include temporary accommodation in the form of a hostel, as well as reception, advisory, counselling and office facilities for Diri Piyasa. The MJF Foundation Ambagahawatte Vocational Training Centre will include a training and demonstration facility where disabled and other underprivileged persons will have the benefit of training in certain trades including plumbing, electrical wiring, carpentry, masonry etc. The objective is to empower these persons in improving their lives through their own efforts. The training facilities will be conducted in association with reputed companies specialized in these services. On satisfactory completion of the training courses, successful students will be issued certificates and provided with employment opportunities. The Rs. 100 million project is expected to be completed by December 2006. An engraved stone tablet at the entrance to the Centre conveys the sentiments of the Settlor in embarking on this project. It reads: “We come into this world with nothing, we leave with nothing, and the wealth that we acquire in our lifetime is with the effort, involvement and commitment of many others. And so, whilst still amongst those who made my success possible, I would like to share that wealth with those who helped generate it. That is why I established the MJF Charitable Foundation.” Merrill J. Fernando Settlor of the MJF Charitable Foundation This MJF Foundation Centre is the manifestation of a dream. It is a dream that first came to a young Sri Lankan entrepreneur in the 1950s, and it is a dream that stayed with him until its realization progressively from 1988. Merrill J. Fernando dreamed of a business that would go beyond traditional boundaries and be of human service. That business is Dilmah, his family tea, and it renders human service through the MJF Charitable Foundation. The Centre that shall be constructed here is built in thanksgiving to God who made this dream a reality. It is also dedicated to millions of people around the world who drink Dilmah, and thus make the work of the MJF Foundation possible. In serving the community, the Centre is an acknowledgement of the dedication of workers on Dilmah Tea Gardens and factories, which makes Dilmah possible, and who shall therefore justifiably benefit from their efforts through this and other projects of the MJF Foundation. 4th January, 2006 |
