'A toy in place of a weapon'

The three decade old civil war has come to an end. War had destroyed the purity of the childhood.

The need today is to get rid of the hopelessness, anxiety and fear sowed in young minds, polluting their clean world.

Whatever and wherever the cause for destruction, Institute for Research for Development believes that children are the key for reconstruction and rebuilding.

After the 2004 tsunami, we went South with the slogan 'Children First', as we know that whatever the disaster, children are children.

They do not think less than us adults but they simply think different. What we did during the aftermath of tsunami was to give the children a chance to draw what they think and let them play, as they wished, in the face of what they went through.

We at IRD, decided to join hands with the initiative of the Independent Television Network (ITN) to provide children affected by the war with toys, clothes and other material with the experience gained in helping children during the tsunami disaster. We know and understand the value of taking care of these children who are the future of our country.

We would like to invite all citizens of Sri Lanka to contribute in whatever way you can and support this initiative by ITN or any TV channel or organization.

Dr. Athula Sumathipala MBBS, DFM, MD (SL), RCPsych, CCST (UK), PhD (Lond) Director, Institute for Research and Development.