Newly recruited 103 Army woman soldiers of Kilinochchi, now on a week-long familiarization tour to the South, had the distinction of meeting Mrs Manjulika Jayasuriya, President, Seva Vanitha Army Branch (SVAB), Tuesday (8) morning during a reception, accorded to them at Manning Town, ‘Viru Kekulu’ pre-school auditorium.
Those Tamil woman soldiers of 6 Sri Lanka Army Women’s Corps (6 SLAWC), many of them who had never visited the South earlier, commenced their tour from Kilinochchi, following arrangements, made by the Security Forces Headquarters - Kilinochchi (SFHQ-KLN) on Monday (7) and arrived in Colombo the same evening to stay overnight with their fellow-woman workmates at the 6 SLAWC rear headquarters at Veyangoda.
As the first itinerary on the first day of the tour, these woman soldiers this morning (8) visited the SVAB-managed ‘Viru Kekulu’ pre-school at Manning Town, to be received cordially by Mrs Manjulika Jayasuriya, President, SVAB, in the company of SVAB members and several other senior Army officers. A wrist-band produced by the SVAB’s “Brave Hearts” project was presented to each of them as a symbol of warmth at the entrance to the venue.
At the outset of the interaction, the SVAB, through a comprehensive multimedia presentation outlined various welfare projects that have been so far launched or are being implemented by the SVAB for the welfare of all ranks and Army families, serving as an additional wing of the Army.
All those woman soldiers during the meeting enjoyed a variety entertainment of dancing performances amidst hospitality, extended by all those who were present at the reception.
One of the visiting woman soldiers on her own made a prompt speech and thanked the Army for hosting them during this historic trip to Colombo for the first time in her life. The SVAB acknowledged their sentiments and thanked them for their presence as the day’s programme ended with the recital of the National Anthem, followed by a special lunch treat.
The well-known broadcaster, Mr J. Yogaraj conducted Tamil-Sinhala bilingual interpretations during the whole of the proceedings.
Sri Lanka Army in November last year enlisted its biggest ever batch of 103 Tamil girls from Kilinochchi to the 6 SLAWC of the Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force during a landmark ceremony at 6 SLAWC Headquarters at Bharathipuram, Kilinochchi. Although the Army has a fair number of Tamils and Muslims serving the organization, it was the first time in its history a mass-scale recruitment of Tamil girls from the North of this magnitude, took place as a gesture of goodwill and reconciliation. More than 200 Kilinochchi-based girls applied for recruitment, but the Army was able to accommodate only 103 applicants after selecting the best in three rounds of interviews.
These new woman soldiers, who are now in the South are scheduled to visit the SLAWC Regimental Headquarters at Colombo 8, National Museum, Planetarium, Nelum Pokuna, Vihara Maha Devi Park, Army Band, University of Colombo, Zoo, Presidential Secretariat, World Trade Centre, Colombo Harbour, Biyagama Free Trade Zone and a few other places of interest.
Ending the tour on Sunday (13), these woman soldiers will have a stopover at Anuradhapura before their return to Kilinochchi.
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