Godakumbura addresses World Scholars’ Leadership Symposium

Tuesday, 20 September 2011 00:40 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Lankan inventor Dr. Wijaya Godakumbura recently addressed the World Scholars’ Leadership Symposium in Pattaya, Thailand.

It was a week-long symposium for 375 university students from around the world.

The organisers, Humanitarian Affairs, UK, had chosen five guest speakers based on the nature and extent of the services they have rendered to the society.

Dr. Wijaya Godakumbura, who has been doing a successful burn prevention project for the past 19 years was one of them. The other four speakers were from India, Thailand, Singapore and Australia. The students too were selected on the basis of their interest and potential for community service in their own countries.

Dr. Godakumbura was invited to speak on ‘Success: the magic word’, which was for 45 minutes followed by 45 minutes of question time.

He commented on Vision, Mission, Goal, Determination, Commitment, Self assurance, Courage, Ability to overcome obstacles, Funds and Media support as ‘ingredients for success,’ stating that the success he achieved such as winning four international awards (Rolex, Reader’s Digest, Lindbergh and World Challenge) and recognition by WHO, UNICEF, International Society for Burn Injuries, Commonwealth Science Council etc., were due to strict adherence to those 10 points.

His presentation was well received by the youthful audience who asked him many questions and gave him a standing ovation at the end.

Burns are the “most painful and devastating type of injury that a person could sustain and survive”.

Over half a million makeshift unsafe bottle lamps are still used in Sri Lanka causing such injuries.

The Safe Bottle Lamp Foundation is distributing their ‘Sudeepa’ safe lamps free through voluntary organisations as they do not have facilities to sell them even at half the cost. During the last 19 years, they have given away 800,000 of their safe lamps with the donations they garnered and the prize moneys from the awards they won.

They have recently struck a deal with the Samurdhi Authority to distribute their lamps free in different parts of the country.

The latter had provided them with an initial list of households needing 243,844 safe lamps in six districts.

The Safe Bottle Lamp Foundation would welcome donations from well wishers for this purpose; their website www.safebottlelamp.org describes their work of 19 years.

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