𝗔 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗼𝗽𝗲, 𝗪𝗶𝘀𝗱𝗼𝗺, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗞𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗰𝗵𝗰𝗵𝗶: 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝗵𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲 – 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟲𝘁𝗵, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱

Last Friday, I had the honour of attending the ceremonial opening of the Centre for Disability Rehabilitation – Kilinochchi, a collaborative initiative by the Manitha Neyam Trust and the Mettha Rehabilitation Foundation. This centre, situated in the heart of the Vanni, offers prosthetic limb services and physical rehabilitation for persons with disabilities — a vital service in a region still healing from the deep scars of war.

I attended with my consultant, Dr. S. Kumaran, and our team from the Department of Family Medicine. The morning sun fell warmly over the newly painted green walls of the centre as chairs were arranged, speeches prepared, and guests began to arrive. But among all the meaningful encounters that day, one left a lasting imprint on my heart — my conversation with Professor Sreeharan Nadarajah.

Prof. Sreeharan carried with him a calm dignity and a presence that was quietly commanding. In our brief but deeply enriching interaction, I found not just a senior physician, but a true mentor. He was humble, kind, and full of wisdom — the sort that doesn’t lecture, but gently invites you to think more deeply about your purpose.

As we spoke, he shared something profoundly simple yet powerful:

"𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙚 𝙙𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨."

That sentiment, he explained, is at the heart of the Manitha Neyam Trust — an organisation dedicated to serving war-affected and underserved communities in the North, regardless of race or religion. It resonated with the very meaning of the name Manitha Neyam — "Love for Humanity."

To my surprise, he revealed that he, too, was a Josephian — an alumnus of St. Joseph’s College, Colombo 10, just like me. He had topped his A/L batch and entered the Colombo Medical Faculty, later rising to prominence in his field. Yet despite being a boy from Colombo, he chose to go to Jaffna during the most difficult of times to establish the Department of Medicine at the University of Jaffna — a true act of courage, conviction, and service.

He encouraged me to continue pursuing Family Medicine, reminding me of the value of working in rural areas and underserved communities.

“𝙒𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙨,” 𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙, “𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙨 — 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙥𝙝𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙙𝙤𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙨 — 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨, 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨. 𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙥 𝙖𝙩 𝙖 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚.”

He also spoke about the importance of collaboration — between races, religions, languages, and even across national borders — in building a better world. “We must learn to work with others, not dominate them,” he told me. “That is the path to peace and progress.”

Before we parted, he blessed me and offered one last encouragement — to keep writing, to keep learning, and to keep striving to make a difference.

As I left the ceremony, watching him blend back into the crowd with quiet grace, I knew I had encountered someone whose legacy wasn’t just in medicine, but in mentorship, humanity, and hope.

He left behind no grand gesture — just a few words, a warm smile, and a heart stirred to do more.

📍 Location: Centre for Disability Rehabilitation, 9th Farm, Kanagapuram, Kilinochchi
🤝 Organisers: Manitha Neyam Trust & Mettha Rehabilitation Foundation
🎤 Chief Guest: Hon. Nagalingam Vethanayahan, Governor of the Northern Province

Tags: #FamilyMedicine #Kilinochchi #ManithaNeyam #DisabilityRehabilitation #SriLankaHealth #MedicalMentors #RuralHealth #ProfSreeharan #CommunityCare #VanniHealing

https://www.med.jfn.ac.lk/personnel/prof-nadarajah-sreeharan/