LAC awareness programme

Sarath Malalasekera

The Legal Aid Commission (LAC) has launched a fifteen month programme country-wide assisted by the People’s Bank, to develop legal aid thrift awareness among school children and senior citizens.

LAC Chairman S.S. Wijeratne and People’s Bank Chairman W. Karunajeewa exchanged the memorandum of understanding at a ceremony held in Colombo.

The Ministry of Education has now included Human Rights and basic civic legal principles in the curriculum of the higher classes.’Our new programmes would support the efforts of the Ministry of Education, said the LAC Chairman.

He emphasised that senior citizens which number 2.5 million who are now organized in 9000 village based elders societies would receive Elders Rights awareness training and enhanced benefits under the Parinatha Elders Savings Programme of the People’s Bank.

Discussions are on to ascertain how best to improve the Parinatha Programme to ensure the economic security of senior citizens. Intergenerational co-operation is an essential pre-requisite for development and is one of the objectives of this novel programme, the LAC Chairman added.

A survey conducted by the National Council of Elders have disclosed that inter generational programmes could benefit both the young and an old. The young could more effectively learn from the value based experience of the seniors while the seniors could learn new skills like the computer and accessing the internet.Program Coordinators for the Elders are Piumi Kumari and for Children- Mahesha de Silva both of the LAC.