Page 130 - Hemas_Piyawara_Book

Psychological well-being is the right of all
those affected by the bomb blast.
Dr. Ravindra Ranasinha
Consultant Psychotherapist and Drama Therapist
122 Hemas Piyawara - A Journey to the Future
Seeing the dire need themselves, the Hemas team sought the services of Consultant
Psychotherapist and Drama Therapist, Dr. Ravindra Ranasinha who also linked
up with Fr. Nonis and the Ministry of Health’s Mental Health Unit, the Ministry of
Education’s Negombo Educational Zone and the Mental Health Section of the World
Health Organization (WHO).
Dr. Ranasinha designed a psychotherapy programme and began his work from the base
of ‘Emmaus’ – a centre named after a biblical village where 2 disciples met Jesus Christ
after His Resurrection exuding hope – a stone’s throw from the Katuwapitiya church.
Around 450 children, about 45 youth and around 75 adults came to talk about their
pain, their fears and their trauma. Some were in denial, while others were terrified that
the blasts would recur and some were assailed by flashbacks, all common in trauma.
His accommodation was at the Hemas Group’s Club Hotel Dolphin, Waikkal, so that
he had easy access to Katuwapitiya and daily he alleviated their fears and trained 50
youth to help the children play while building up peer relations and confidence.
Dr. Ranasinha also worked closely with schools not only in Katuwapitiya but also in
Katunayake and Negombo, empowering counsellors and primary teachers as well as
people on how to deal with the crisis. “It was a marvellous and fruitful programme,”
he says.
The Hemas team went a step further. As Christmas drew near 8 months after the bomb
blast and children relived their fears of the man-made Easter Sunday tragedy, a fun-
filled carol service and party were organized by the team bringing laughter to their
lives. It was also the culmination of the psychotherapy programme.
Dr. Ranasinha says: “The whole village, around 650, came to the party.”
Thrilled the little ones had been when the Brand Ambassador of the Hemas
Outreach Foundation, chief guest and popular cricketer, Roshan Mahanama, arrived
accompanied by cricketers Chaminda Vaas and Rangana Herath.
This is what a young woman, a final-year medical student studying in China, who lost
both her parents in the blast says: “If not for the COVID-19 pandemic, I would have
graduated and been working as a doctor. My parents passed away during the Easter
attack at the Katuwapitiya Church in 2019 and from then on, the Hemas Outreach
Foundation has been looking after my education.”