Facets of poverty; Mental health as a cause of Poverty ……….

I know that the society or the world we live has many divisions or the world is divided into many segments / divisions due to various reasons. You can think of many divisions today compared with past. The only divisions or the main divisions that we knew in the past were, caste and class. But within caste and class you see uncountable number of other divisions. Divisions within a caste and a class.

Money is not the only deciding factor in categorizing ‘classes. Land or types of the assets own, sizes or the currency value of the ‘movable or immovable properties that one’s own. Level of Education is not just a criteria that can be used to measure ‘social status’ of a person it has a co-relation with one’s ‘categorization of class’.    Because one’s job or the profession, earn a living is the basement of one’s class or deciding factor of one’s class. If you take a single category of job, you see many or various divisions within.

‘Health is wealth’. According to this theory, even if you own everything (standard criteria) materially expensive or valuable that are known as ‘measurements of one’s richness or level of poverty’, if you are not mentally alright ‘you are not rich’. Even though America or Russia or Japan or any other country says that they are ‘the most richest countries in the global map, if the total number of people seeking for mental health related advice, seeking for treatment, help or support , can you say ‘ my country is a rich country?  

If you have immeasurable other valuable resources; heritages, enough of forestry, jungles, clean breathing space, safe drinking water, no air pollution, no traffic issues leading to poor mental statuses /enhancements,‘your country is a rich country. My country is a rich country.   

Richness or level of poverty, facets of poverty vary from community to community, society to society, country to country, region to region, continent to continent.  Some worldly rich countries has turned into poor countries due to various social, cultural, economic and political reasons. Wars are one of them. Over years, richness of cultures vanished or bombed or stolen or else imprisoned or assassinated.  Reasons for this could be either political or economic or stupidical or attitudinal or temptation over ownership of lands, geographical identities or demarcations of territories or any other similar. If any terrorist group says, they fight over their rights to equal economic rights , must rethink and analyze the ‘economic power’ they hold by calculating the currency values of the weaponry equipment they own, brains they have invested, network they created, the funds or money they get every minute from various parties.

The other reasons why, this rich world sooner or later turn into a ‘poor world’ is ‘soil erosion. Decaying or vanishing ‘land size’. Today, I heard that 20% of our land has faced an issue common to many countries in the world, ‘soil erosion’.  This will lead to ‘spend more and more money to build ‘stronger houses’, residences for increasing population. (i.e. storied houses, housing complexes) we measure one’s level of poverty by calculating the size of the land one’s own (land size is an indicator of poverty) so naturally if you say, we are losing about 20% of our land each year or already lost it means we have become not rich but poor. The original size of the country, island we live is 65610 square feet, inclusive of waterways. What is the remaining land area then?

If annually or every decade or so if you see or face ‘floods’, ‘face drought than rain, people who live near mountain Fujiyama  faces issues, if you see more glaciers vanishing from the world map, you cannot say ‘we have no issues related to poverty’. If a budget of a government will have to allocate more money for ‘disaster management’, distributing dry raising among the farmers and people can we say we face no threats of poverty?

And if you see or meet many persons imprisoning every day for various socio, economic or political reasons, can you say ‘we have no issues related to poverty?  

‘Good Governance’ is known as a rich sign or a symbol of a society with less social or cultural or political issues.  

Vanishing or decaying other resources such as oil, coal leading to maximum poverty because the world will have to spend more money to seek for alternatives.  

Positive attitudes helps us to reach the solutions to existing issues of poverty.

Thank you for reading.   

Thirsty?

Try kurumba. A local, continental beverage, available island wide. Kurumba is the immature version of the pol (coconut).

If you do not think of growing coconut, you cannot consume kurumba and we cannot cook ala (potato) curry or pol sambol. (Mixture of finely grated coconut, salt to taste, about half a tea spoon of lime, one or two curry leaves, finely chopped garlic)

Whether you drink kurumba or eat green gram with grated coconut depends on ‘availability of coconut’ in the market. To the market my dear colleagues, friends, coconuts do not arrive from moon or from space. You have to grow coconut or at least you must refrain from cutting down coconut trees, if you have any further plans to consume coconut in the future.

Friend, you can reach moon without any passports. How? All what you have to do is ‘read the price lists of coconut at local markets (super or super, super). If anyone at any counter asks you ‘your reason to visit this island, say it is not cookies this time, it is locally grown kurumba.

If you are ready to pay Rs. 60/= you can consume kurumba with no difficulty, of course if you know the technique of consuming / drinking kurumba without a straw, protecting cleanliness of your ‘master suit’.

Friends, do not worry at all, if you have no interests towards consuming kurumba. These what I am saying here applicable to those who love kurumba and do not hate coconut.

And in this what century (?) 25^th Century (?) we live, you will have to find a man who has the ability to climb a coconut tree in order to pluck coconut. If you know no man with the ability mentioned above, you can stop growing coconut and start seeking alternatives. Kurumba is kurumba and thambili is thambili (king coconut) I do not know what policy the government must introduce, if you know no man thinking of growing coconut or know how to pluck coconut without really climbing it (the tree dear friends).

Do not try to analyze the meaning of the word, king coconut (one of the favorite beverages of many in the country and across globe) It is not something that kings permitted to drink and others are prohibited.  No bar, you can select the type you like to consume. Choice is yours, whether to drink kurumba forgetting king coconut or drinking king coconut forgetting kurumba.

By the way, do not try to buy kurumba from the nearest liquor shop.

And dear friends, if our people decided to stop growing coconut and start cultivating more brinjalls instead, remember, there will be no curries serving cooked with coconut oil, kokis & Kewum (sweet meats) fried in deep oil.

By the way stop insulting the mothers of others, even if they know no cooking using coconut/ coconut oil. Following are some of the users of consuming kurumba

While gossiping with your never changing friends try sip kurumba. It will definitely boost or enhance your abilities of gossiping in any future to come.

Kurumba can be used or introduced as an alternative for teens who shows interests towards liquor and cigar, when partying.

Expect more talks about coconut in the near future from the speeches of all chair members, beetle members, discussions of swans together with elephants, while some offer coconut pooja for Goddesses and gods asking various help like in the last presidential election of America.   

Can we sell coconut or kurumba in America just because we buy flour from them or just because they follow the strategies of Open Economy?

Can we sell kurumba in the countries of OPEC, just because we buy their oil?

Can you export our kurumba to the islands, sisiliana just because we purchase what they grow in their Island?  

Thank you reading.

  

'A library for every school'

The libraries and children’s Education is something  that should be interconnected or linked with each other. 

Every government should try to allocate reasonable amount of money allocation for ‘educational needs of a country. Mainly to improve the educational needs of Primary Sector, Advance or higher educational needs of students (adults or other) a country. Education is a right, no need to remind because it is something almost every person of the world knows.   Facilitating or providing necessary educational tools, equipment, library or laboratory facilities, teaching aids for pre- primary sector of schools and universities is a responsibility of the authorities of the relevant sector.

Very often before an election and rarely after an election education sector unions and students councils organize ‘protests’ asking for more allocations to the sector. In most the educational institute there is a pattern that the management ‘increases the fee of students up to a certain level, or increases the percentage that each student should pay. I do not know (I have not studied or researched) whether the authority increases the ‘allocations ‘in each year / when they prepare the budgets.

When an administration of a country do not have any extra expenses such as ‘war expenses/expenditures’ and any other areas that they need to allocate more money, such money can be invested to improve or to develop education sector. All above depends on the ‘policy plans or strategies of a government. The strategies or the mechanisms of a government, their focus areas may vary depending on the policy plans of each government.

A library is indescribably an important resource that can be used to enhance education not only of a child, teen or a young person but also of a mature person. There is a saying ‘reading makes a complete man’.  

I do not think that there is any policy or a law that says ‘each school should have a library’. Though you see notices that enhance students‘ interests towards reading good books or abilities. i.e reading makes a complete person’ etc.

Though there is no such policy ‘we know that most schools in urban or semi –urban sector schools owns a library and a laboratory. About couple of months earlier, I met set of students who collate money (tin collection) to set up a library in one of the schools in Bulatsinhala area of the country. And today I say that near ‘rasa fm’ channel there was a board that displays a message;‘ book collecting centre’ aiming at implementing or improving library facilities of rural schools and schools that needs such attention.

So when can we minimize this gap between towns and villages,  the schools in the urban or semi –urban, rural or schools in remote or isolated areas.

How about planning a project ‘a library for every school’ (big or small, in towns or remote areas) if government start something like that, the private sector, I am very sure might help them from the bottom of their hearts. It is no easy for them to do something like setting up / implementing libraries single handedly, alone. To achieve bigger goals ‘bigger ways, successful ways the policy support and accurate decision making is essential.

Foot-path Wishes every person who takes efforts every possible way to ‘build a library’, improve a library without trying to destroy them, ‘all the best’. 

This essay is a dedication to those who love books and those who encourage ‘book authors’, publishers, sellers etc. through policies and otherwise.  

    

Justice and Administration

I saw what today's newspapers have reported. The decision of the courts with regard to the incident; distributing materials for the people who obtain sil. 

Giving something is no harm, if you have a clear definition for what ever you are distributing among your friends, devotees, etc. A government , more than any other charity or welfare organization, get more chances to engage in such activities such as, providing donations for needy, providing dry raising, daily necessities, School uniforms etc. It is not something new to our people. Even during or before an election every government gives or distribute various things in order to motivate their followers. 

some things people get indirect ways or direct ways, sooner or later, immediately after elections, i.e jobs for those who vote for them, for those who came into power.  some government / party has short term plans or long term plans for such activities i.e. distributing sewing machines for those who know some knitting and those who know no knitting. i know that some just keep the machine for their own benefit keeping at a corner. often those who really want a machine to start a self employment gets no machine.  

Aiming at elections every party try to follow some strategies. Normally such decisions are taken by 'party members', or election committee/ organizing committees of the political parties. According to my awareness within a party or within a government, one person cannot take decision as they please. Yet, unfortunately what happens is 'the person who directly involving  gets either credit or the blame' face the direct consequences, results of the decisions. For example, if a government opening  a new road constructed by relevant engineers, it is not the engineers gets the credit, it is the government.  

After elections, if you have noticed 'some 'have built new walls, added some extra rooms for their residences, how? taking their share for working in campaigns,  by supporting distributing various ways such as distributing hand bills etc. There are various strategies that every government have followed before they came into power, become 'administering authority/ party'.  

So, tell me what is right?

Imprisoning , banning,  throwing out of ministries , cancelling minister-ships, recently we experienced more unlike in the past. some got very minor punishments , some of them got serious punishments. i feel like comparing the seriousnesses of some incidents and punishments given with each other. i have a summary of everything within me but i leave it to you , the reader to weigh them carefully visiting back and forth within the line of history of administrations, present and past. 

Faith and fate are not just two words i guess.  who will give compensation for those who sacrificed their lives and dignities, each and every drop of blood for the country they live other than  embracing 'Imprisonment' , Punishment'?

Mr. Lalith Weeratunge is a good secretary with a lot of talents and experience in his field. 

i am going to windup this essay by asking few more questions from the government, people of the country, people across globe. 

'Is serving your country 'an offense'? 

Is raising a hand, voice against terrorism an offense?  

What do you know about human shields?  

Do you know the number died due to activities of terrorists? Number of soldiers killed, various ways? 

Can you name the terrorists you have punished for their crimes committed?

When was the international courts of justice first setup/established, before 2009 , between 1976 - 2009? 

Thank you for reading.