SRCS tsunami housing project now in progress

by P. Krishnaswamy

The Saudi Red Crescent Society (SRCS) which pledged 1000 houses for the December 26, 2004 tsunami victims is now in the process of finalising agreements with the State Engineering Corporation (SEC) to commence construction of the houses in the Eastern and Southern provinces, Jamal M. H. Al Madani, Second Secretary of the S. Arabia Embassy in Colombo told the 'Daily News'. Work on renovation and rebuilding of 250 tsunami-devastated mosques will also start and will be completed once the initial assessment reports and estimates were finalised, he said.

Lands for the construction of houses under this programme have been identified in three places in the Eastern province and these lands will be procured soon, a local politician who is coordinating SRCS' post-tsunami humanitarian works told the 'Daily News'.

Fathima Razeema, the nine-month-old Sri Lankan baby with a rare congenital defect who received unlimited support from the Saudi government in February this year to correct her defect is now undergoing advanced medical treatment in Saudi Arabia and the Saudi government will bear all her medical expenses for one more year, the diplomat said.

The defect called 'Exomphalog' affects only 21 in a million. The initial medical expense of Rs. 3 lakhs at the Apollo Hospital, Colombo was also borne by his government, Madani said.

The office of the Saudi Red Crescent Society (SRCS) that was established in Colombo following the visit of SRCS President Dr. Abdul Rahman Al Sweilem in the immediate aftermath of the natural calamity is coordinating the relief and rehabilitation activities, Madani said.

Over the past 27 years, a total of 36 scholars from nine different countries have been awarded the King Faisal Internatinal Price for their outstanding accomplishments in the fields of Medicine, Science, Islamic Studies, Arabic Language and Literature and Service to Islam. The prizes are being awarded by the King Faisal Foundation (KFF), the Middle East's largest philanthropic organisation, with presentations received from a large number of nominees all over the world, he said, adding that the number of participants in this annual international event is growing.

There have been no presentations from Sri Lankan nominees so far and the KFF would welcome Sri Lankan participation, he said. The topics for the 2006 King Faisal International Prize are: Science - Mathematics, Medicine - Biology of Vascular Inflammation, Arabic Language and Literature - the Arabic Language in Modern Linguistics, Islamic Studies - The Origins of Islamic Jurisprudence.