Beauty and Brains
Nestled among the villages, with the experience in a hostel whilst at school, enjoying the simple sight of women harvesting the paddy fields, Opposition Leader of the Western Provincial Council Rosy Senanayake had a very happy childhood. "My two brothers, three sisters and I shared a strange bond and I owe everything I have today to my mother and my father," she smiled.
It is not easy to understand a person on the first meeting but with Rosy, this came most naturally as her aspirations and passions for our nation, its people, children and women was a recurring sentiment that travelled the length of the interview. Author Susie Switzer quoted, ‘There would be no passion in this world if we never had to fight for what we love’ and the discourse with Rosy, former beauty queen - now political activist, sealed the truth that she had love; love for this nation which fuelled a deep passion within her for the welfare of its people and its environment.
Her exposure to multi-cultural and multi-religious societies began at a very impressionable age when as an 18 year old, she had the good fortune of going to England, before which she completed her education at Ferguson High School, Ratnapura. Whilst working, she studied as well at the then Polytechnic and got the opportunity of travelling around the world to a number of countries. After five years abroad, during which time she married Athula, Rosy returned home. The wealth of her encounters while on travel, the sound upbringing she attributed to her younger days couched in the villages, and the disciplined, routine life in the hostel paved way for the emergence of a flexible woman with a sensitive heart and a love for people. "If I see anything unjust, I get angry very soon but I also cool down fast. I believe in forgiving for I don’t use vain words when I pray, ‘Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us..’," she sketched her personality with affirming confidence.
With a passion for this nation, intertwined with her desire to make sure that her own three children and grandchildren will be proud to be standing on Sri Lankan soil, calling it their own and not being propelled by the circumstances around them to shy away because of their ethnicity or any other factor, Rosy is on a cause close to her heart; but she does admit there are challenges. "I am a people’s person and I thank the public for putting their confidence in me. I am also thankful to the UNP leader and the rest of the opposition parties for agreeing to give me this responsibility. However, I would have been very happy if we were elected to be in the ruling party because there is so much to be done in the areas of education, environment, health, women and children and more." Knowing that her place as Opposition Leader for the Western Provincial Council has limitations when it comes to progressing with her own dreams for the nation, she smiled when saying, "We will be a strong voice - we will support all measure to improve the lives of the voters who elected us and will stand against any that are self-serving or unjust. At the end of the day, we want a productive council, one that can look back and be proud of what it has achieved."
Education
"It is sad to note that we still have 14% of children who do not enter school by the age of five. This tells a story," she observed adding that one out of eleven who sit for their A/L’s fail all their subjects and the rate of failings in Mathematics is very high. She feels that investment of money in the field of education should follow with a process of evaluation which would assess and see if the money was put to good use.
"We live in a borderless global village," she emphasized adding that this echoes the necessity for IT to be an essential knowledge area in children, in addition to the universal language of English. "Our education system needs to be relevant to the employment needs of this country. When we talk of developing the human resource through education, we need to find out what each individual child is good at and then mould the child and direct the child in the right direction," she said totalling that with 53% of the provincial council income going into education, she can’t help but wonder whether the money has been invested properly. "Are we happy?" she questioned.
Health
Referring to the recent epidemics in our land, she stressed the importance of a country with proper health conditions for the revival in the isle’s main foreign income source – tourism. With the deterioration in the country’s sanitation, she stated that although the Western Province is the economic hub of the country, the clearing of garbage in the province in itself is a neglected exercise.
Women and children
Migrant workers make up a considerable share of the female work force and bring in a large proportion of foreign income; Rosy’s query trickled down the line of whether we have centres established in the island to aid such migrant workers. "Do we give them the training they need?" Violence against women, according to her has risen very high in the land and although the Domestic Violence Prevention Act was passed in 2005, the country lacks proper infra-structure at the grassroots level to implement the Act. "There need to be Women’s centres in grassroots levels with lawyers, trained counsellors and a doctor who can advise them on reproductive issues."
Rosy avowed that an empowered woman would definitely empower her family, and children need such a stable colouring in their growing environment born through an empowered mother.
The true win
With the jubilant echoes of the country saluting the commitment of the war heroes, Rosy united with them in congratulating the military forces in the victory. "However, there still persists a problem; everyone knows there’s a political question. Therefore, we need to politically resolve the issues at hand. Defeating terrorists over geographical space will bring about partial victory. We need to defeat them politically and internationally and unless we do, we cannot be 100% satisfied." The day we win humanity, according to Rosy, is the day we as a people learn to respect the fact that we live in a multi-cultural and multi-religious society. "We must not forget this. We need to respect each others’ freedom to choose because we are all equal."
She furthered that we also need to build up good international relations and strengthen our bilateral relations with international countries, especially with the "democratic" countries because we are perceived to be democratic. These would, in her opinion, create the setting to develop our economy and to keep the trade going.
"We need to change our political system where we have a national policy that is implemented regardless of who comes into power, if it is for the betterment of the people. I would like to see good governance, right ethics and a political body that is respectful and sensitive to every segment in society." Moreover, she uttered that it is the people’s trust that matters when you are a politician. She feels it unfortunate that Sri Lanka, with its beautiful palm fringed beaches, hospitable, kind hearted and intelligent people is not a country that stands tall amidst its surrounding nations as it once used to. She feels the responsibility laid on her shoulders and the shoulders of others in power to work towards the realignment of our society, not only with education but with the right attitude, thinking patterns and a nurturing environment. These, she feels, would create a nation which fosters a safe and healthy backdrop for our children, and a country of which others would say, ‘There’s this small island called Sri Lanka and it is a paradise.’
JENNIFER RODRIGO FOR DAILYMIRROR.LK
It is not easy to understand a person on the first meeting but with Rosy, this came most naturally as her aspirations and passions for our nation, its people, children and women was a recurring sentiment that travelled the length of the interview. Author Susie Switzer quoted, ‘There would be no passion in this world if we never had to fight for what we love’ and the discourse with Rosy, former beauty queen - now political activist, sealed the truth that she had love; love for this nation which fuelled a deep passion within her for the welfare of its people and its environment.
Her exposure to multi-cultural and multi-religious societies began at a very impressionable age when as an 18 year old, she had the good fortune of going to England, before which she completed her education at Ferguson High School, Ratnapura. Whilst working, she studied as well at the then Polytechnic and got the opportunity of travelling around the world to a number of countries. After five years abroad, during which time she married Athula, Rosy returned home. The wealth of her encounters while on travel, the sound upbringing she attributed to her younger days couched in the villages, and the disciplined, routine life in the hostel paved way for the emergence of a flexible woman with a sensitive heart and a love for people. "If I see anything unjust, I get angry very soon but I also cool down fast. I believe in forgiving for I don’t use vain words when I pray, ‘Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us..’," she sketched her personality with affirming confidence.
With a passion for this nation, intertwined with her desire to make sure that her own three children and grandchildren will be proud to be standing on Sri Lankan soil, calling it their own and not being propelled by the circumstances around them to shy away because of their ethnicity or any other factor, Rosy is on a cause close to her heart; but she does admit there are challenges. "I am a people’s person and I thank the public for putting their confidence in me. I am also thankful to the UNP leader and the rest of the opposition parties for agreeing to give me this responsibility. However, I would have been very happy if we were elected to be in the ruling party because there is so much to be done in the areas of education, environment, health, women and children and more." Knowing that her place as Opposition Leader for the Western Provincial Council has limitations when it comes to progressing with her own dreams for the nation, she smiled when saying, "We will be a strong voice - we will support all measure to improve the lives of the voters who elected us and will stand against any that are self-serving or unjust. At the end of the day, we want a productive council, one that can look back and be proud of what it has achieved."
Education
"It is sad to note that we still have 14% of children who do not enter school by the age of five. This tells a story," she observed adding that one out of eleven who sit for their A/L’s fail all their subjects and the rate of failings in Mathematics is very high. She feels that investment of money in the field of education should follow with a process of evaluation which would assess and see if the money was put to good use.
"We live in a borderless global village," she emphasized adding that this echoes the necessity for IT to be an essential knowledge area in children, in addition to the universal language of English. "Our education system needs to be relevant to the employment needs of this country. When we talk of developing the human resource through education, we need to find out what each individual child is good at and then mould the child and direct the child in the right direction," she said totalling that with 53% of the provincial council income going into education, she can’t help but wonder whether the money has been invested properly. "Are we happy?" she questioned.
Health
Referring to the recent epidemics in our land, she stressed the importance of a country with proper health conditions for the revival in the isle’s main foreign income source – tourism. With the deterioration in the country’s sanitation, she stated that although the Western Province is the economic hub of the country, the clearing of garbage in the province in itself is a neglected exercise.
Women and children
Migrant workers make up a considerable share of the female work force and bring in a large proportion of foreign income; Rosy’s query trickled down the line of whether we have centres established in the island to aid such migrant workers. "Do we give them the training they need?" Violence against women, according to her has risen very high in the land and although the Domestic Violence Prevention Act was passed in 2005, the country lacks proper infra-structure at the grassroots level to implement the Act. "There need to be Women’s centres in grassroots levels with lawyers, trained counsellors and a doctor who can advise them on reproductive issues."
Rosy avowed that an empowered woman would definitely empower her family, and children need such a stable colouring in their growing environment born through an empowered mother.
The true win
With the jubilant echoes of the country saluting the commitment of the war heroes, Rosy united with them in congratulating the military forces in the victory. "However, there still persists a problem; everyone knows there’s a political question. Therefore, we need to politically resolve the issues at hand. Defeating terrorists over geographical space will bring about partial victory. We need to defeat them politically and internationally and unless we do, we cannot be 100% satisfied." The day we win humanity, according to Rosy, is the day we as a people learn to respect the fact that we live in a multi-cultural and multi-religious society. "We must not forget this. We need to respect each others’ freedom to choose because we are all equal."
She furthered that we also need to build up good international relations and strengthen our bilateral relations with international countries, especially with the "democratic" countries because we are perceived to be democratic. These would, in her opinion, create the setting to develop our economy and to keep the trade going.
"We need to change our political system where we have a national policy that is implemented regardless of who comes into power, if it is for the betterment of the people. I would like to see good governance, right ethics and a political body that is respectful and sensitive to every segment in society." Moreover, she uttered that it is the people’s trust that matters when you are a politician. She feels it unfortunate that Sri Lanka, with its beautiful palm fringed beaches, hospitable, kind hearted and intelligent people is not a country that stands tall amidst its surrounding nations as it once used to. She feels the responsibility laid on her shoulders and the shoulders of others in power to work towards the realignment of our society, not only with education but with the right attitude, thinking patterns and a nurturing environment. These, she feels, would create a nation which fosters a safe and healthy backdrop for our children, and a country of which others would say, ‘There’s this small island called Sri Lanka and it is a paradise.’
JENNIFER RODRIGO FOR DAILYMIRROR.LK
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