| We have sponsored the construction of the
road to and the inner pathways at Dunhinna Rural Hospital.
Traveling approximately 10KM on winding mountain roads from
Kandy, the main city in the hill country of Sri Lanka, you
can reach the village of Dunhinna in 30 minutes. The village
is safely hidden among the beautiful green mountains. The
people of this peaceful village make a living mainly by selling
spices and coffee and black pepper that they grow. The majority
of the people are poor in Dunhinna.
At the request of one of my sisters, I visited the hospital
and met the only medical doctor, Dr. Nilanthi Herath. Young
and enthusiastic, the doctor took me around and explained
to me the hardships she faces due to a lack of equipment
and the condition of the old buildings. One of the major
problems was not having paved paths to move the patients
from building to building and the bad condition of the road.
She explained, “ Whenever it rains the ground gets
muddy and slippery. I have fallen several times trying to
take the patients from the clinic to the wards. We always
have problems carrying seriously ill patients because we
can’t push them in a wheelchair or stretcher”.
After listening to the doctor and seeing the condition
of the road and internal pathways, it was obvious what the
most urgent need of this hospital was. This old, small hospital
serves the people of ten surrounding villages. Even the
government seems to neglect such a rural hospital and it
is clear that this hospital is not on their priority list.
At the end of the visit, Dr. Nilanthi asked me to help to
repair the road and put new pavements and inner pathways
in the hospital. It was so easy to say, “yes, I will
do it” to her request.
I appointed one of my assistant monks to take up the responsibility
of construction and advised my sister to supervise the work.
We also decided to help to complete the shrine room of the
hospital they had started but could not complete due to
lack of funds. With the participation of the community and
full co-operation of the doctor, we were able to finish
the work in one month.
I arrived in Sri Lanka on the 22nd of February 06. They
had scheduled a dedication ceremony on the 23rd. When I
arrived at the Dunhinna rural hospital, to my surprise they
had turned the event into a big celebration. There were
drummers and dancers and young school children lined up
on both sides of the road dressed in white holding trays
of flowers. The representatives from the ministry of health
and hundreds of people from surrounding villages and about
twenty-five Buddhist monks had arrived.
After the ribbon cutting and dedication of the shrine room
and the road, there were several speeches of gratitude from
the villages and the doctor. They had prepared a big feast
for everybody. When I asked why they made it such an important
event they said, “ What you have done might look like
a small thing to you. But to us it is worth celebrating
and it is a great thing and we are very grateful to you”.
At the end of the ceremony we also donated mosquito nets
for all the beds in the hospital
Health is the greatest wealth we have in life. A hospital
is a place where we regain our health when we get sick.
Improving or building health facilities is indeed a noble
and wholesome Karma. Taking care of the sick is a noble
thing because when we get sick we suffer a lot and we also
often become helpless. Good-hearted people naturally feel
the pain of others and feel compassion for them. Let us
continue to understand the suffering of others and express
our compassion for those who are sick and suffering through
generous and kindhearted deeds. |
