Lord Ganesh or Pulayar

At the request of Col. Bandara, we were very happy to donate a hand carved black stone statue of Lord Ganesh, or Pulayar, to the Displaced Children’s Home in Zone Four of Manik Farm on October 23, 2009.

More than two hundred war-displaced children, mostly Hindu, are sheltered in this particular government-run orphanage.

Hindu temples generally display statues of many Gods. Lord Ganesh, however, is one of their most renown Gods. Currently the staff at the Children’s Home is building a shrine to house the statue, which will soon assume its new place of honor.

Helping restore and support spiritual worship is not a new undertaking in our humanitarian efforts. In July of 2009 at the request of the Hindu priests in the Manik Farm Zone Four IDP Camp, we donated a similar hand carved stone statue of Lord Ganesh. In the past we have helped to build Hindu temples, Buddhist temples and a Muslim mosque.

When disaster strikes unexpectedly, turning to one’s own religion can bring much needed comfort and peace. I have noticed this in many different situations. Faith can help greatly in the process of healing and recovery.

My special thanks to the Officer in Charge (OIC) of the Special Task Force in Vavnia, for arranging the statues and organizing the delivery. Each time I requested his help by phone, he immediately went into action to attend to whatever was needed to help us.