COLOMBO – The Ceylon Moor Ladies Union (CMLU), one of the pioneer Muslim women’s organizations in Sri Lanka, had the groundbreaking ceremony for its ‘New Home For Girls’, at Pangiriwatte Road, Nugegoda, on February 20, 2024.
The ceremony was conducted by His Holiness Ash Shaikh Al Allaamah Afzalul Ulama (Madras Univ) Thaiqa Nasar Shuaib Alim (Rali) BA – Al Aroosi Fazil Jamali- M.F.A. Jalali, with the participation of committee members, advisors and well-wishers.
The property was purchased with the help of generous donors for the specific purpose of constructing a new premise incorporating a range of facilities, including bigger dormitories to accommodate more needy children, library/computer and counselling rooms as well as garden space necessary for play.
Ceylon Moor Ladies Union, one of the oldest voluntary women’s organizations in Sri Lanka, was founded in 1936 by 11 Women who had the foresight to recognize the ‘girl’ child, especially those who are orphaned or come from difficult and straightened circumstances, as a vulnerable segment of society, with their education, care and general improvement mostly overlooked and underfunded. It was incorporated by Act 27 of Parliament in June 1968, as a government-approved charity.
CMLU was instrumental in the founding of Muslim Ladies College in 1941 and moved ahead with an ambitious program to start a Home for Girls, where the sidelined, underprivileged, vulnerable and orphaned could have a secure environment and an education on par with those who have access and privilege could attain.
A state-registered ‘Home For Girls’, headquartered at 08, Balapokuna Road, Kirulapone, Colombo 6, was opened on May 8, 1978, with just seven children. For the past 45+ years, the Home has been serving underprivileged and vulnerable girls at the Balapokuna Road premises, accommodating, educating and seeing to the needs of the hundreds of orphans, destitute and marginalized children who have come through its doors.
Though the Home has grown since its inception and accommodates 30 girls at present, the CMLU finds more space and vital infrastructure is needed to accommodate facilities vital for the growth of well-rounded healthy individuals. A better-equipped Home with more space and facilities would enable CMLU to give more children a better chance at life, equip them with education, ground them in religion and inculcate the value of handwork, consistency and giving back to society. In the words of Kofi Annan (former head of the United Nations) “To educate girls is to reduce poverty”.
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