It’s time once again for ‘Samanalayaya’ – the annual drama festival presented by the Sunera Foundation in order to showcase the creative talents of its differently-abled workshop participants. The drama festival will kick start in June this year with the regional performances leading up to the finals which  is scheduled to take place on August 24^th at  S. D. S. Jayasinghe Hall in Dehiwala.

 The regional performances will be as follows:

June  1 ^-   Vijaya Kumarathunge Memorial Hall,  Wadduwa at 3.p.m

June 15- Cooperative Hall, Matara at 3.p.m

June 22 - Sudasuna Hall , Chilaw at 3.00pm

June 30 - Lumbini Hall, Colombo 05 at 3.00pm

July 6 – Hall de Galle, in Galle at 3p.m

July 10 -  Senkadagala Buddhist Cultural Center Hall , Kandy  at 3.p.m

Taking part in these performances will be differently-abled participants attached to Sunera Foundation workshops in Horana, Dharga Town, Panadura, Matara, Akuressa, Weligama, Puttalam, Anamaduwa, Chilaw, Dehiwela, Maharagama, Galle, Imaduwa, Mawanella, Birngiriya etc.,

 Each workshop performs a play, conceptualized, scripted and directed by the Sunera Trainer, which was rehearsed by the participants, with great enthusiasm for a period of one year.   As the assistance received by the parents and the community during rehearsals have been overwhelming,  a large audience is anticipated for regional performances and finals.

Samanalayaya 2012 is made possible by Stefan Deane, a 19- year old, differently-abled young man who lives in Melbourne, Australia who generously came forward ,along with his parents, to sponsor this year’s event and thereby raise awareness in society that ‘Disability is Possibility.

Whilst saying a big ‘thank you’ to Stefan and his parents for their kind gesture, we welcome the general public to attend this year’s Samanalayaya to witness our young butterflies in action.  

Given the need to reach out to the traumatized parents who are with differently-abled children,  a counseling programme was organized by the Sunera Foundation, for the parents of our workshop participants.

The programme took place at the Dehiwela and Maharagama workshops on February 11  and March 1.

Christmas is a time to show your family and friends that you care. To celebrate this occasion of togetherness, the members of the Dehiwela workshop engaged in a  greeting card making activity during Christmas. Having learnt the art of card making during the Vesak season, the participants showed a great enthusiasm and talent in making delicate X’mas greetings this time, says trainer Beshmika Krishani who oversee the activities of the workshop.

“What is important was, this time they managed to make the cards without our help. We showed them once how to do it, and provided them with a few coloured A4 sheets and gold dust. They followed the activity by cutting and pasting blocks of various objects such as candles and bells on the card. This time they did it much faster,” says Beshmika.

At the end of the session, participants were able to make 100 greetings which they sold at a price or Rs. 30 each with the help of parents.

A professional yoga instructress  from Singapore, Anne Chiang conducted a session on Inner Dance Training for the Sunera trainers and workshop participants on February 23, 24 and 25. This was a follow up session to a  similar inner dance training programme conducted by Anne Chiang in  November last year. 

The programme was conducted in two segments - to train the trainers and to work with the workshop participants and trainers together.   Participating at the training programme, about 30 Sunera trainers received training on dancing to themes, dancing in pairs and trios, inner songs, simple sound drills, warm-ups for the voice etc.

Commenting on the programme Sunera Provincial Development Officer  Prabath Attanayake said, “We conduct similar activities for our workshop participants using the medium of drama. However, during this training programme, we gathered how the medium of dance and music can be utilized to conduct inner dance therapy for the differently- abled.”

The trainer Beshmika Krishani who took part in the workshop had this to say, “During the TOT, we noticed how well these differently-abled participants followed the activities without needing much assistance from the trainers, specially when they were dancing in pairs maintaining eye contact, etc. It was like a meditation to them when slow music was used to conduct the activities; they were able to release the inner stress and negative energies in them and follow the steps quite independently.”

We were privileged to have FSF Patron and a Trustee at one of  our workshops recently, when FSF Patron Jonathan Steele and FSF Trustee Alison Skilbeck visited our Maharagama workshop on January 12, 2012. The high point of the occasion was when both Jonathan and Alison joined the activities along with the participants. The workshop participants enjoyed the presence of the visitors. They engaged in a fun filled interactive session together.

These photographs were taken during the visit of FSF Trustee Alison Skilbeck. During her stay, she visited many of the workshops.  She met with the parents of the workshop participants, trainers and staff of the Sunera Head Office.

One of the highlights of Alison’s visit was the staging of her one woman show “Are There More Of You?” from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2011. The show, which was a fundraiser for the Sunera Foundation, was performed at British Council, Colombo, on January  13& 14. The event turned out to be a huge success.  Alison played to a full house on both nights and the audience greatly enjoyed it. Proceeds from the sale of tickets were directed to Sunera Foundation.

A review that appeared in the Sunday Times newspaper following the show stated thus, “Each woman’s story, is served up with a twist, and the audience is given the chance to be there, in the very moment they make their leap into a new life or resign themselves to the ones they already have. Each story is laced with panic and despair, humour and resilience……As an actress, Alison has a wonderfully expressive face, and she is beautiful to watch as she makes the transition from one character to another, adopting a new accent, attitude and appearance for each.”

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Their disability did not prevent them from getting on a public stage to  compete at an art festival, with the non disabled.   

They emerged victorious, bringing a rare honour to themselves and to Sunera Foundation. Their families were very proud, indeed.  Above all, they proved, beyond doubt,  that ‘DISABILITY IS POSSIBILITY’ and, as such, they need to be accepted as human beings who can make their share of contribution to society.

It was a rare honour for the members of the Sunera Foundation Thalawa workshop, who took part in the recent  North Central Provincial Art Festival when the short drama presented by the Sunera members ‘Awasara Nehe’ bagged the highest number of awards out of the nine shortlisted for the final competition.

Having taken part in the first competition held at Vivekananda School in Anuradhapura, the drama was also selected to be featured at the final ceremony held at the Anuradhapura Central College on 23^rd December.

Sandun Bandara Dissanayake won the Awards for the Best Script , Best Choreography and second place for the Best Producer. Niluka Seneviratne won the award for best costumes while K. D. Jayakody received an award for best stage management. Thanuja Lasanthi Wijeywickreme was selected the best make up artiste.

In addition, Gayathri Ranbgebandara, Thanuja Lasanthi Wijeywickreme and Chandani Ranasinghe became the recipients of merit awards.

The drama ‘Awasara Nehe’ was featured at the annual Samanalayaya concert in 2010.

The art festival was organized by the North Central Provincial Council and the Cultural Department. The North Central Province Governor Karunaratne Divulgane and Chief Minister Berty Premalal Dissanayake were among the distinguished guests who graced the occasion as chief guests.

Thalawa Sunera workshop is conducted every Friday at the main hall of ‘AKASA’ – an association for the differently-abled females. The Sunera’s initiative receives the fullest support of the Chairperson of the ‘AKASA’ organization Mrs. N.G. Kamalawathie.