On the 2nd of April 35 members of KAROD was in the capital of Sri Lanka for the fist time in their life to bring out their talents and skills to prove that they are no more disable but DIFFERENTLY able. As some of our members affected by the civil war, but came to visit the south with the Good News saying we want “PEACE NOT WAR“. There were other dramas staged in the same platform but ours titled ‘MANITHAM MALARTUM’ was first in the rank . Members who acted were amputees, hard of hearing and speech (Tsunami victims) polio victims, sight impaired and those with other deformities. UNICEF supported us to train them through Alakial Kalamantram of Kilinochchi (Vanni).
The content and music, songs were all done by members themselves. All the stories of the drama came from their own experience.
The outcome was audience was surprised to hear the message of PEACE coming from Vanni and till the drama was over they never thought it was done by the differently-abled. Members were very happy to act in a big stage and were able to forget their disability and found equal to others gave them a self esteem. Going around the Colombo town was a unique experience. After that they were invited to Kandy to perform at SETIK, especially for children. There were also students from Bradford Peace Studies Center, who were visiting Sri Lanka from UK. They had an opportunity to meet our members.One of the students who visited from UK wrote to us as
"I recently visited Sri Lanka from the UK, where I am
studying for a masters in Conflict Resolution/Peace
Studies. I came to learn more about the conflict and
the country, and I was very fortunate to be able to
travel to many places within Sri Lanka to meet with a
wide variety of people. During the trip, I visited
Kandy and saw a play put on by KAROD performers,
funded by the National Peace Council. So I am writing
to thank you, and all the peformers, for a wonderful
experience. The acting, music and the message were
moving and inspiring to me, and I thoroughly enjoyed
the play.
You and KAROD are an inspiration, and your work is
astonishing given the immensely challenging conditions
in which you all work. Please keep up the good work!
If you have time, I would be very interested to hear
more about the future projects planned by KAROD? I
would also be interested to know how you became
involved in this work?"
Very best wishes,
Kathryn
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