Press Release
California-Based Nonprofit Announces Plan to Develop Ecumenical Center in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka
San Luis Obispo, California (April 29, 2004): VeAhavta, a nonprofit based on the Central Coast of California, has announced a plan to develop the “House of Peace Ecumenical Center” (“HOPE Center”) on its 7-acre “Grace Care Center” in Trincomalee (Uppuveli), Sri Lanka, which it intends to open on August 1, 2004. HOPE Center will foster interfaith dialog and will serve as a model for peaceful coexistence among people of different religions in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka is a nation rich in religious diversity. Among her population of approximately 18.5 million, Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity and Islam are all practiced. Approximately 70 percent of the population is Buddhist, 15 percent Hindu, 8 percent Christian, and 7 percent Muslim. Most analysts who have studied the 20-year-plus civil war in Sri Lanka have concluded that, although religious differences play some role in the conflict, its origins are complex and stem more from ethnic as opposed to religious diversity. Nonetheless, “faith-based violence” and “religious hate crime” seem to be on the rise, and many Sri Lankan government officials are presently giving serious consideration to legislation prohibiting the “unethical conversion” of people from other religions. It could, therefore, be argued that tensions stemming from religious differences are playing a greater role in the conflict today than they did in times past.
According to the organization’s President, Eric Parkinson, a local attorney and a director of the organization since 2001, these concerns prompted the Board of Directors of VeAhavta (a Hebrew verb meaning, “You shall love”) to embark upon the development of the HOPE Center. As Parkinson sees it, “Regardless of how significant a factor religious diversity plays in the war, any solution to the national crisis and armed conflict will more depend upon the ability of the parties to articulate a vision of a democratic pluralist social order within which political and other institutions are entrenched that respect the fundamental equality of all the national and ethnic identities and religious traditions, and that provide them with dignity and justice as equal and integral partners of the state. The directors of VeAhavta – and of course our overseas representatives – are well aware of the religious diversity that exists in Sri Lanka, in Trincomalee and, more importantly, at our Grace Care Center; and we are all determined not to allow religious differences to devolve into religious bigotry. We are also desirous of fostering peaceful dialog among people of different religions in the Trincomalee area.”
VeAhavta’s work in Sri Lanka started in October of 2001, when it purchased an abandoned and dilapidated hotel located on a 7-acre parcel on the beach in Trincomalee at a cost of $260,000, originally intending it to serve only as an orphanage for 100 children. Within a year of its purchase, and at a cost of approximately $85,000, the buildings on the property were fully restored and furnished, and the property was transformed into the “Grace Care Center,” which officially opened its doors and accepted its first 10 children on August 31, 2002. The Care Center is now home to 100 children, each of whom is financially supported through donations made by “foster families” in the United States. VeAhavta, in partnership with Rev. S. Jeyanesan of the Church of South India, also provide full-time daycare for an additional 100 children at the Grace Care Center, free vocational training for 90 destitute youth per year, and – in addition to the HOPE Center – are currently constructing “Mercy Home,” a 100-bed residential nursing home facility that will be operated in the tradition of Mother Teresa of Calcutta’s “Missionaries of Charity,” and “Mercy Clinic,” a state-of-the-art medical facility on the property.
According to its “Vision Statement,”VeAhavta’s purpose is “to care for others who are in need…regardless of race, religion, creed, nationality or socio-economic status” by, among other things, “providing needy communities with material and human resources such that the people in these communities may meet their basic needs for food, safe drinking water, clothing, adequate shelter and education.”
The 3,600 square foot facility that will serve as HOPE Center will contain a large, open common area to be used for gatherings and meetings and four separate “prayer rooms.” Although the common area will remain free of all religious ornaments and symbols, VeAhavta will invite respected local clerics from the Buddhist, Hindu, Catholic and Muslim faiths to adorn the inside of their prayer rooms in the manner of their choosing and to provide religious instruction in their rooms to the Grace Care Center residents – the 100 orphaned children for whom VeAhavta and the Church of South India have been providing full-time care since 2002, and the 100 elders who will eventually occupy Mercy Home. Bylaws, which each of the clerics will participate in drafting, will govern the use of HOPE Center, and Rev. Jeyanesan – who has managed the Grace Care Center since its opening – will also oversee the operation of the new facility.
“Our aspiration is that the HOPE Center will serve as a model for religious harmony in Sri Lanka and that it will, in some small way, contribute to the recent advancements made toward peace. With the help of some very dedicated and peace-loving individuals, the Grace Care Center will be a place of religious freedom, a place where the adherents of each religion can peacefully co-exist and yet also preserve their own unique traditions and identities,” says Jeyanesan.
As Parkinson states, both he and Jeyanesan are aware of the resistance they may encounter in developing the new facility: “We recognize that, for whatever reasons, some people may not feel comfortable participating in HOPE Center or even contributing funds for its construction. Therefore, our directors have resolved that only those funds specifically designated for ‘HOPE Center’ will be used for the development and maintenance of the facility. VeAhavta will not use any unrestricted funds for HOPE Center. In this way, donors who do not wish to contribute to this new project can be assured that their unrestricted contributions will only be used for VeAhavta’s other programs.”
Further details regarding HOPE Center and VeAhavta’s other programs can be obtained through the organization’s website: http://www.you-shall-love.org.
Contact: Eric Parkinson
VeAhavta
A Nonprofit Corporation1190 Marsh Street, Suite B
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
Phone/Fax: 805.542.9357
http://www.you-shall-love.org
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Originally published May 16, 2004