Services
The Young Men’s Buddhist Association, Kolonnawa has launched a wider array of
projects
under four main sub committees, in order to enhance and promote Education, Art,
Literature,
Sports and other life skills for the youth living in Kolonnawa. There are 4 ongoing
long term
projects under the Association: the Suwasetha Medical Center, Sambudhdhaloka
Preschool,
Thisarana Dhamma School and Sucharitha Newspaper. In addition to these projects the
executive committee will organize short term projects to achieve the above mentioned
objectives. Those projects will focus on membership development, enhance skills and
knowledge
of members, religious celebrations and social services.
Suwasetha Medical Centre
Suwasetha Medical Center was established on 09th of August, 2004 by Mr. Saliya
Wickramasinghe, president of YMBA. This was the result of a successful project set
up in
August 2001, with shared capital on a 50:50 basis by the YMBA (K) and the individual
members
of the association.
This is the main medical center that functions in the Kolonnawa area, offering OPD
Services,
Specialist Channel Services, Pathological Laboratory Services, Dental Clinic, Eye
Care Unit and
a Pharmacy Services at a concessionary rate.
The Medical Center provides free services to Buddhist Priests, children with Special
Needs and
senior citizens.
Sambuddhaloka Pre-School
Early childhood is the most critical time for positive intervention. Children’s
development during
this stage is strongly affected by their environment, and that effect continues to
exert a strong
influence on the rest of their lives. Thus, as a responsible association in the
society, YMBA,
Kolonnawa operates a preschool for children in need at Orugodawatta, where a
community of
low income families resides. Presently about 100 children have been enrolled each
year and they
are taught and taken care by well trained qualified teaching staff from the three
main
communities: sinhala, tamil & muslim.
YMBA (K), with a vision to enlighten the next generation as a future investment for
the well-
being of society, has generously spent around Rs. 30,000.00 per month to operate and
maintain
this facility. Your generous support and donations are most welcome.
Thisarana English Dhamma School
The YMBA Kolonnawa commenced the English Medium Dhamma School on 10th of
September, 2005, fulfilling one of the main requirements of the students in
Kolonnawa who do
their studies in the English medium. Currently the school provides this service to
nearly 100
students, with members of the YMBA volunteering to teach in the school.
Susiritha Newspaper
The monthly newspaper of the YMBA Kolonnawa was first published in October 2003 and
the
circulation of the paper continued with contributions from the members. The main
focus of this
paper is to provide opportunities for the youth of the community who are interested
in improving
literacy skills and make the Kolonnawa community aware of the services and projects
carried out
by the YMBA. This paper is distributed among families in Kolonnawa free of charge.
In 2021
YMBA Kolonnawa will launch an online newspaper, the first of its kind in Sri Lanka,
that
belongs to a charity organization. This will focus on improving literacy skills of
students and
also including notes, past papers and answers of Buddhism paper for Ordinary Level
Examination and Daham Pasal Awasana Examination.
