Batticaloa to hold festival for tsunami affected children

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 May 2005, 17:42 GMT]
A children's festival involving about three thousand tsunami affected children and youths from the four divisions of the Batticaloa district will be held Sunday May 8. The fun-filled day will start with a parade of children living in tsunami relief camps beginning around 9 a.m. at Gandhi Square in Batticaloa town and will conclude at Hindu College, NGO officials organizing the event said.

The Festival is being organized by a group of local and international NGOs with the long felt need to create a space for children to express themselves in a fun, positive and creative environment. "A happy environment, even for a day, generates a positive attitude to life and expectation of a healthy future in the minds of children," an NGO official said.

Main events will take place at Batticaloa Hindu College. Children will participate in story telling, plays, musical concerts, a cultural show, and other activities.

Several games and competitions are also being planned to be included as part of the festival.