COLOMBO CITY MISSION
Methodism is the outcome of a mission. Rev John Wesley, its founder, demonstrated the love of God and reached out to those in greatest need. He recognised that only through God's grace and learning could people, particularly the poor, improve their situation, become responsible citizens and contribute to the welfare of the society. The Colombo City Mission is the Social Service Arm of the Methodist Church, Pettah, which is the oldest Methodist Church in Asia. This Church was dedicated on 22 December 1816. The Colombo City Mission continues the Mission to serve the poor, the needy, the hungry and the neglected.
The Colombo City Mission which started in 1913, by Rev A E Restacick and has continued to serve the people of the densely populated slum area for the past 89 years. As we walk round we meet young and old who have studied in the Day Care Centre or the Harvard Vocational Training Centre. Yet we do not have a Christian community from the neighbourhood who would join us actively in supporting the work of the Mission. It may be necessary for us to emphasize the evangelistic thrust if our presence in the Pettah is to be more meaningful. We believe God will bless our little efforts towards this end.
When Pettah became the business centre of Colombo, many poor people came to reside in the slums that are around it. In such surroundings street children and the poverty stricken found solace at the City Mission.
Crime and vice continue to grow around this community and problems are becoming increasingly complex. Drug addiction is growing, families are breaking up, while women and children are facing more than their share of problems. In such situations, Care Ministry has become a primary need, in addition to health, housing, education and human resource development. People here at the City Mission are earnestly trying to meet all these increasing demands made on them.
Activities of the Colombo City Mission
The
Day Care Centre, Pettah Creche and Nursery
78 children attend the Nursery. We have three Nursery teachers taking care of them. The parents show a keen interest in the activities of the Nursery which is encouraging.
There is considerable room for improvement in the Day Care children's attendance. This is especially so in the Phase 2 batch as parents find it difficult to bring the children from school to the Centre and then once again come for them in the evening. We are contemplating moving the Centre to a location closer to the homes of these children to overcome this difficulty.
Regular meetings are held with the parents who send their children to the Nursery and Day Care Centre in order to bring about more participation in the day to day activities of these two institutions. We have found them to be very co-operative. The Pettah Creche has been closed due to the very poor attendance. Since the Day Care Centre provides facilities free of charge, it appears that very few parents want to admit their children to the fee levying Creche.
Harvard Vocational Training Centre
: Here too there is no activity. We have realized that vocational
training in traditional carpentry and wood working etc. are no longer in demand.
The cost of obtaining skilled training personnel is also prohibitive compared to
the number of people who are interested in learning these trades.
Women in Progress
:The Canadian aid that we received
for this project has now ceased. This project provided training to young women
in dressmaking and cookery. We, together with our visiting lecturers, plan to
widen the scope of training and provide training to young women in skills
required abroad such as housekeeping. We hope to canvas for candidates from
outside Colombo to join this programme and intend levying a fee so that the
programme will be self-financing.
Guest Rooms : For use by Christians arriving in the City from the outstations. A fifth room has been added for use by families.
Youth Hostels
: The two hostels for with 30
working women serve the lower income groups. Few Christians and even fewer
Methodists use these facilities.
Boys' Ministry
: This ministry, which commenced in the mid 1980's under Ms Josephine
Brennan, provided shelter for boys who were homeless and on the streets of
Pettah. As reported last year, the SLCCCA/KNH stopped funding this project
from December 2000. We managed to run the Home till May 2001 using part of
the money remaining in our account. Thereafter, we transferred the
children to the Boys' Industrial Home at Wellawatte. We hope to run this project
jointly with BIH as a self-supporting project.
Upgrading Slums : A special project. Colombo City Mission has undertaken to construct 100 houses under the Methodist Church Overseas Division (UK) Second Mile Project.
Evangelism
:We are continuing the work we started hlast year at "Karunagama"
There is an extremely god response to this outreach programme. We now require a
building of our own to conduct our social work such as medical clinics, nursery,
feeding centre and conducting seminars for social uipliftment.
Healing Ministry : This was started in January 1992 and Healing Services are held on Thursdays at 5 p.m. Personal Ministry is by appointment.
Medical Clinic
: We are conducting regular clinics
at City Mission, Prince of Wales flats and Karunagama. We are assisted by
Drs Lilly Ratnasingham, Roshan Karunaratna and Mrs Sue Palmer. These
clinics are very popular. The clinic at City Mission has over 50 patients
each day and is run two days of the week. We are extremely grateful to the two
doctors who provide their services free of charge and also to Mrs Palmer who
assists us at the City Mission. Our thanks go out to the Lions Club of
Capital City who provide free medicine for these clinics. The Lions club
also provided 160 spectacles which we distributed at a normal charge of Rs 50/-
each..
The Staff
: There are 30 staff members at the City Mission.
The City Mission will, in the years ahead, be looking forward to meeting the various needs of its neighbours in fulfilling the mission of Christ in the Pettah.
We thank God for all His blessings and grace we have received. We pray the Lord will guide us in our work to serve our community.
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