HISTORY
The Ceylon Fellowship of Service – Sponsoring the Prithipura Home.
The Prithipura Home provides a home environment from childhood to adulthood for about 70 mentally and physically differently abled residents.
We offer a safe place for the well-being and rehabilitation of the residents who need special care and attention due to mental, physical, social or economic reasons. At the Home residents are encouraged to develop their own personalities and identities.
The Ceylon Fellowship of Service Prithipura Home was inaugurated in1962.
Under the guidance and dedication of Bikkhu Sumana, the Home initially began as a boys’ home. There were three huts with cemented floors, wooden walls and thatch roofs. It had four residents with a few house mothers to care for them.
Today there are about 70 residents who are housed in six cottages within the premises, giving the feeling of an extended family unit.
Our mission is to care for our residents in a community environment that enables our residents to live life to the fullest.
In 1962 an Englishman, Peter Davie, an Accountant at the Colombo Gas Company, and other staff members formed an association, Ceylon Fellowship of Service (CFS), for the benefit of mentally and physically differently abled children in the island.
Another retired English naval officer who had been ordained in Sri Lanka as a Buddhist monk, Bhikku Sumana, and an Anglican priest, Dr. Brian de Kretser, were both interested in forming a boys’ home and they joined CFS to fulfill their ambition.
They were fortunate that the National Christian Council offered, without any payment, a four and a half acre plot of land in Hendala, Wattala. With funds collected from association members and well-wishers, the Prithipura Home For Boys was established.
The fellowship comprised of a President, Secretary, Accountant and a few committee members. Bhikku Sumana was appointed Director with Dr. de Kretser as his deputy. Dr. de Kretser gave up the priesthood to devote his energies to the running of the Home. He later broke away and set up the infants’ home next door.
At its inception, three huts were built with cemented floors, wooden walls and thatch roofs made out of woven coconut palm fronds. Initially there were about four boys with a few house mothers to look after them and do other chores.
Under the guidance of its founders, there was a steady intake of children. In order to raise funds for the maintenance of the Home, it was important to give it a name. While Bhikku Sumana and others were pondering over a suitable name, a boy who was mentally challenged, shouted ‘Prithi’ ‘Prithi’, which means happiness. Thus the Prithipura Home – a place of happiness – was born.
Children of all ethnicities and religious denominations, irrespective of their families’ financial position, were admitted to the Home. With the passage of time, the Committee was able to raise adequate funds to construct better cottages to replace the thatch huts and by 1980, the Home had five cottages with 125 children.
The Fellowship faced some conflict when Dr. de Kretser broke away and took the infants’ section to be administered by him, but under the same name. It was a difficult period with the Home trying to reorganize, effect repairs to the buildings and raise funds for maintenance. Bhikku Sumana gave up his work due to his age and ill health. Since the infants’ home and the main home bore the same name the Fellowship, in order to distinguish one from the other, named the main home CFS Prithipura Home (Ceylon Fellowship of Service sponsoring the Prithipura Home).
At this juncture, Dr. Gladys Jayewardene joined the Committee as its Founder President and under her dynamic leadership, much needed support was garnered for the Home by the Committee members from friends and well- wishers. More solid and airy cottages, a well equipped kitchen, a recreational hall, a physiotherapy unit and an activity centre were constructed.
The Home faced a severe setback when Dr. Jayewardene was killed at the height of an insurrection by disgruntled youth.
CFS has been moving forward, guided by successive Presidents and Executive Committee members who serve the association on a voluntary basis.
A Matron and an Assistant Matron were appointed to run the Home with the support of house mothers, who are in charge of the cottages, and also the kitchen staff.
At present CFS Prithipura Home has six cottages with two house mothers in each cottage. There are about 70 residents, their ages ranging from seven years to 60 years. Some children who were admitted at an early age have been at the Home for over 50 years – a testament to the love, care and security provided by the dedicated staff.