Pri's blog

I have been having a conversation with Jamie Enoch, Research and Policy Analyst at the UKCDS, on a study that the UKCDS did for DFID on Mapping Infrastructure Research for Development .  You can read the exchange of words  on the Linked In AFCAP (African Community Access Programme) group if you are a registered member of Linked In, and are inclined to join the group. .  Much of it is show casing the work of the International Forum for Rural Transport and Development (IFRTD) , which, though supported by DFID for several years, received no mention in the report’s chapter on transport.   Despite this omission, it is good to know that another analyst, e.g. Steven Jones, an Associate Professor at the University of Alabama, working with AFCAP on identifying " rural transport issues in Sub-Saharn Africa (SSA) to be targeted for future research... aimed at developing a more comprehensive understanding of the overall health impacts (crashes, polllution. healthca...

The Association of Women Affected by War (AWAW) launched the AWAW- FOKUS advocacy road map “What the Women Say – ACTIONS- not Words Count”  - at Earls Court, Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo, this evening. None of the sophistication of most Colombo book launches, but extremely well put together, and an occasion to catch up with some key people working with women – Shyamala Gomez, Nimalka Fernando, Kamini Vitharana,  Mrs Sumana Sumanasekera formerly Women’s Bureau and newly appointed as Chairperson of the National Committee for Women (NCW, or as my aunt, Manel Abeysekera,  would have said during her tenure as chair, NATCOW), as well as Rajiva Wijesinha, Jehan Perera,  and (not in my league)the British High Commissioner, the Norwegian Ambassador and other MPs. We learned from the Chief Guest , the Hon Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaranatunga (confirmed later by others) that  1325 advocate and co-founder of the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN ) S...

Yesterday, Ragi Kadirgamar ‘did a session’ at our work place, which unfortunately I was too late to attend.  What he  offers is Satsang, or spiritual talks based on Advaita teachings.  See below an excerpt from his flyer Talks & Meetings. “What are you seeking?”  If you don’t clearly know what you are seeking, HOW can you find it , or know it ? And what specifically are the causes of suffering that ‘ apparently ’ prevent people from getting what they want in life ? “How can you live your daily life, in peace and harmony?” Like his Guru, Ragi guides spiritual seekers away from simply accepting the profound conceptual truth, ‘ Consciousness is I  -  I am Consciousness’,                                        ...