He is Withanage Jayawardana Perera; we call him ‘Jaya’.
I have travelled many times in the office vehicle driven by him. On one such tour, we visited Rambukkana to write a media report on a medical clinic that had been set up following the 2016 landslide. The clinic was conducted by the Ministry of Health of Sabaragamuwa Province with the assistance of Family Planning Association and Sri Lanka Red Cross under the patronage of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
The landslide of Samasarakanda took more than 100 lives in May 2016, and I wanted to visit the refugee camp to investigate further and speak with the survivors of the area. However, it was quite a distance from the medical clinic.
“Shall we go there, Jaya?”, I asked.
Without hesitation, he agreed.
Jaya is always ready to go anywhere at any time. I still remember how he almost broke down when he saw the terrible landslide site and the depressing state of camps following the disaster.
On our way, he recalls many stories from his past.
He describes one incident with a former Assistant Representative of UNFPA, where they narrowly escaped an exchange of gunfire between the state military and rebels at Muttur, as they were returning from a camp visit. It was the year 2007, immediately after the war broke out and 17 aid workers of an international organization had already disappeared.
Jaya was born on 4th July 1955 in Piliyandala, and he will retire on 31 July 2017 - because he has reached the maximum working age of 62. His career deserves special attention not only for his experiences but because he has worked for forty years in United Nations office in Sri Lanka. He might even be one of few who have been working at the UN for such a long time.
“After grade 8, I went to Colombo with my father. I first joined the personal staff of World Bank’s first Sri Lanka Country Director, David Thomas. After that, I worked at the UN Information Centre and the United Nations Development Programme, as a minor employee.”
Jaya first joined UNFPA in 1978 as member of the personal staff of UNFPA's first Representative of Sri Lanka Dr. Majeed Khan.
“I first worked as a minor employee but my ambition was to become a driver. After a brief assignment at the UN, as a messenger driver, I was able to get close to my ambition.”
Jaya obtained his driving license in a time when the country was in chaos. He now shows his driving license, with a lot of pride – the address reads: No. 203, Bullers Road, Colombo, the previous UN headquarters of Sri Lanka.
During his 19-year tenure as a driver at the UN, Jaya has driven vehicles to every part of the island.
“I enjoyed my work life. Although I had certain weaknesses, the chiefs considered them amicably,” Jaya says with gratitude.
This is not the end of the road for Jaya. He retires with a few plans up his sleeve.
“I have been invited to work as a personal driver after retiring. I am also thinking of helping my only daughter start a business in handicrafts”.
I saved the best part for last.
Not only did Jaya spend most of his life with the UN, he also met the love of his love here. His wife K.A. Sumanawathi was employed at the UN Information Centre when they first met. She is now looking after Jaya’s beautiful house in Bokundara, in the outskirts of Colombo city maintaining a beautiful garden.
It is a well-known fact that the other drivers wait eagerly every afternoon until Jaya opens his packed lunch, so that they may have a taste of his delicious food, lovingly cooked by his wife.
iVoice Idea Competition
iVoice is an online platform that encourages youth to discuss social issues and to drive innovative solutions. The platform features stories relating to social issues in Sri Lanka, which are submitted by iVoice contributors and the general public.
The objective of the iVoice Idea Competition is to encourage youth to play a participatory role in solving social issues. After reading a story featured on iVoice, youth can submit their ‘idea’ to help to address the social issue that is highlighted in the story. The ten best ideas will receive seed capital of Rs. 100,000/- each, and mentoring, to support in implementing their ideas.
The majority of articles featured on iVoice relate to a social issue. These stories have a ‘Submit Your Idea’ button at the end of the article, inviting youth to share their innovative ideas on how to address these social issues.
Submitted ideas must be innovative and unique. The ideas must also be practical and implementable by 31 December 2017.
The deadline for submitting an idea is 3 September 2017.
To submit an idea, the following details must be provided through the online form:
Note: Participants can submit any number of ideas; however, only one idea per article is permitted.
Ideas will be evaluated through a competitive process.
03 Sept 2017: Closing of submissions at 23:59 on 3 September 2017
06 Sept 2017: Shortlisting of 20 ideas
13 Sept 2017: Shortlisted applicants to present their ideas in further detail to the judging panel
21 Sept 2017: The ten winning ideas will be announced at the Award Ceremony at which Rs. 100,000/- seed capital will be granted to each of the winning applicants
Evaluation criteria includes creativity of the proposed idea to address the given social issue, and feasibility of implementation within the stipulated budget and timeframe.
The number of votes received per idea will not be a deciding factor.
The judging panel’s decision will be final.
iVoice Idea Competition
iVoice is an online platform that encourages youth to discuss social issues and to drive innovative solutions. The platform features stories relating to social issues in Sri Lanka, which are submitted by iVoice contributors and the general public.
The objective of the iVoice Idea Competition is to encourage youth to play a participatory role in solving social issues. After reading a story featured on iVoice, youth can submit their ‘idea’ to help to address the social issue that is highlighted in the story. The ten best ideas will receive seed capital of Rs. 100,000/- each, and mentoring, to support in implementing their ideas.
The majority of articles featured on iVoice relate to a social issue. These stories have a ‘Submit Your Idea’ button at the end of the article, inviting youth to share their innovative ideas on how to address these social issues.
Submitted ideas must be innovative and unique. The ideas must also be practical and implementable by 31 December 2017.
The deadline for submitting an idea is 3 September 2017.
To submit an idea, the following details must be provided through the online form:
Note: Participants can submit any number of ideas; however, only one idea per article is permitted.
Ideas will be evaluated through a competitive process.
03 Sept 2017: Closing of submissions at 23:59 on 3 September 2017
06 Sept 2017: Shortlisting of 20 ideas
13 Sept 2017: Shortlisted applicants to present their ideas in further detail to the judging panel
21 Sept 2017: The ten winning ideas will be announced at the Award Ceremony at which Rs. 100,000/- seed capital will be granted to each of the winning applicants
Evaluation criteria includes creativity of the proposed idea to address the given social issue, and feasibility of implementation within the stipulated budget and timeframe.
The number of votes received per idea will not be a deciding factor.
The judging panel’s decision will be final.
I agree to the following:
- My story is my own work and does not contain plagiarized material or violate any copyright infringements
- My work is subjected to an editorial committee review that may add, remove, or amend my story, if necessary, to enhance its value
- The editorial committee has the right to decide whether or not my story is published
- My story can be shared or reposted on any other platform that iVoice has partnered or affiliated with at any given instance. However, my identity will be protected
- By agreeing to ‘Allow Ideas submission from iVoice community’, I allow anyone to submit an Idea or solution to my story
- Ideas submitted under my story belong solely to the individual submitting the idea and I will not be held accountable to its content.
- I have carefully read and understood the iVoice Guidelines