{"id":41882,"date":"2015-06-29T01:25:30","date_gmt":"2015-06-29T05:25:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=41882"},"modified":"2015-06-29T01:25:30","modified_gmt":"2015-06-29T05:25:30","slug":"absence-of-vanity-is-one-of-the-greatest-attributes-of-chandrika-kumaratunga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=41882","title":{"rendered":"Absence of Vanity is one of the Greatest Attributes of Chandrika Kumaratunga"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Prof Carlo Fonseka, Chairman, Wijaya Kumaratunga Memorial Hospital, Seeduwa<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to the Christian Prayer Book, “the days of our age are three score years and ten” but on the 29th of June 2015, President Chandrika Kumaratunga transcends that limit with a bang. Physically, she is as fit as a fiddle. And her mind is like a razor\u2019s edge. Upanishadic wisdom is that “the sharp edge of the razor is difficult to pass over”. So it has been proved in President Kumaratunga\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n

Pedigree<\/strong><\/p>\n

By birth, Chandrika, daughter of SWRD and Sirimavo Bandaranaike, both Prime Ministers of the country, inherited the best known Sinhala family name the world over. In 1962, Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike, a leading light in the Non-Aligned Movement, made a signal contribution to the settlement of a Sino-Indian border conflict. World renowned philosopher Bertrand Russell also intervened in the conflict by addressing letters directly to Mr Chou-En-Lai and Mr Jawaharlal Nehru. <\/p>\n

In Russell\u2019s book Unarmed Victory (a Penguin Special, published in 1963), he says that “\u2026the efforts of the conference in Colombo and Mrs Bandaranaike\u2019s mission to both the Indian and Chinese governments may soften the present impasse\u2026” (page 102). To my knowledge, Mrs SB is the only leader of our country, if not the only Sinhalese, that Bertrand Russell has referred to by name, in his vast body of writings on all matters under the sun. This makes Bandaranaike the globally best known Sinhala family name. <\/p>\n

In 1978, on marrying the film idol and charismatic politician Wijaya Kumaratunga, when CB chose to change her illustrious and famous family name for Kumaratunga, she demonstrated that absence of vanity is one of her attributes. I recall that Nelson Mandela believed that “absence of vanity” is an important attribute of a great politician.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Dreams and schemes<\/strong><\/p>\n

However that may be, by marrying my nephew WK, CB provided me with numerous opportunities to get fascinating glimpses into the way her resourceful brain works. Heaven knows that she can dream dreams and scheme schemes. Unfortunately, her period in power \u2013 from 1994 to 2005 \u2013 saw the worst phases of the separatist, terrorist war in Sri Lanka. So, many of her dreams and schemes could not be translated into reality. As I write, I have on my table, a 424 page book titled \u2018The World\u2019s Great Speeches\u2019 edited by V N Ahuja and published by Goodwill Publishing House, New Delhi. Included in this volume is a speech by President CK, delivered at the SAARC Summit in New Delhi in 1995. Interestingly, her speech is sandwiched between a speech by Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin!<\/p>\n

Wijaya Kumaratunga Memorial Hospital<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of President Kumaratunga\u2019s minor plans that was perfectly executed on the 9th of October 1999 \u2013 the 54th birth anniversary of Wijaya Kumaratunga \u2013 was the hospital in memory of her husband, the Wijaya Kumaratunga Memorial Hospital, Seeduwa. She appointed me the Chairman of the WKMH on Day 1 and its\u2019 Chairman I have remained to this day. The Board of Directors of the Hospital, which includes the experienced accountant and business executive in the Katunayake Free Trade Zone, Neil Umagiliya and the distinguished public servant and ex-ambassador to France, Chandra Wickremasinghe, agreed that it is appropriate to celebrate the 70th birthday of the creator and guiding light of the WKMH by telling the world about the way the hospital has served the area in which WK was born, grew up, and lived and moved and had his being.<\/p>\n

Truth to tell, on the eve of President Kumaratunga\u2019s second bid for presidential power in 1999, the Wijaya Kumaratunga Memorial Foundation launched the WKMH on a 3 \u2013acre block of land at Seeduwa along the Colombo-Negombo highway. In the beginning it served mainly as an OPD service for fevers, colds and coughs. There were however, two wards with 60 beds for the treatment of moderately ill patients who required indoor treatment. Under the guidance and patronage of President Kumaratunga, who tragically lost an eye in a bomb attack on the 18th of December 1999, the WKMH gradually expanded, incorporating a well-equipped eye unit. By 2013, it had an eye unit with a state-of-the-art operating theatre complex; an emergency treatment unit; a dental unit; an ulcer treatment unit; and a total bed strength of 164. It had two ambulances available for transfer of patients. In 2013, the total number of patients who received OPD treatment was 135,796. In addition, 15,963 patients received treatment in hospital. This spectacular advance was facilitated and mediated by the guiding spirit whose 70th birthday we are celebrating on the 29th of June 2015.<\/p>\n

Record of service<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although WKMH does not enjoy the status of even a traditional district hospital, it has proved to be a reliable health facility of first contact serving the public in memory of WK, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Partly because President K lost an eye in public service, WKMH invested substantially in expanding its ophthalmological services. The hospital was fortunate to procure the services of a young doctor – Shamintha Amarathunga, MD \u2013 specializing in ophthalmology to run the eye unit. The commonest and most easily curable cause of blindness in our country is cataracts. And a more dexterous cataract surgeon than Dr Amarathunga I have yet to see. In one 12 hour marathon session, he dealt with 254 cases, with no more post-operative complications than any other surgeon. He had put WKMH on the map. The services of WKMH eye unit have been made available to conduct eye clinics and camps for cataract surgery in many parts of the country.<\/p>\n

During the last couple of years, WKMH has also emerged as a much sought-after centre for the treatment of wounds and ulcers. Dedicated leadership and service are provided by a young doctor Gayan Jayakody. In this field too, WKMH has been attracting patients from many parts of the country remote from Seeduwa. Running the day-to-day work of the hospital with gentle, quiet efficiency, is Dr Sarojini Jayalath, who has been the Medical Officer In Charge from Day 1.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n

As Chairman under successive administrations, I have now learnt to chair the activities of the hospital by remote control. Something that Mrs Indira Gandhi once said remains in my memory. It goes like this: “My grandfather once told me that there are two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. He asked me to belong to the first group because there is much less competition there.” For my part, I unashamedly try to belong in the 2nd group. But the credit should really go to the great lady whose 70th birthday we are currently celebrating. Without her, there would not have been a haven of healthcare called the Wijaya Kumaratunga Memorial Hospital.<\/p>\n

Courtesy:The Island<\/em><\/p>\n

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By Prof Carlo Fonseka, Chairman, Wijaya Kumaratunga Memorial Hospital, Seeduwa According to the Christian Prayer Book, “the days of our age are three score years and ten” but on the 29th of June 2015, President Chandrika Kumaratunga transcends that limit with a bang. Physically, she is as fit as a fiddle. And her mind is …<\/p>\n

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