President’s World Children’s and Elders’ Day messages

World Elders’ Day message:

Elders are the most experienced senior community of a country. They are the persons who bestow their years of experience, knowledge and good sense to the contemporary generations, stated President Maithripala Sirisena sending a message to mark World Elders’ Day.

The message stated: “Though modern economic analyses define senior citizens as those who are over 65 years of age, without productivity, the victories achieved by modern medical sciences have endowed a productive elderly age to them. This has created space for the elders to join the process of productivity in the society.

According to the recent statistics on world population, the number of elder persons over 65 is increasing at a rapid pace. Sri Lanka is considered as a country with a higher number of elder persons. But this higher number of elder community has never been a burden to us as we have been in a family unit in which elders are taken care of within a warm relationship.

However, it is a common responsibility to provide services to them and look into their welfare needs, with a special attention paid on their mental and social requirements.

I congratulate on the celebration of International Day for Elder Persons, organized by the Ministry of Social Empowerment, Welfare and Kandyan Heritage, and the National Secretariat for Elders, under the theme ‘Stepping into the Future: Tapping the Talents, Contributions and Participation of Older Persons in Society’.

I wish all endeavors made for creating a productive living space for elders a success!”

World Children’s Day message:

A child is a universal symbol of purity and exquisiteness. All the children, wherever they are born or belong to whatever community, they are the creators of the future of the human beings, stated President Maithripala Sirisena sending a message marking World Children’s Day.

The message added: “As responsible citizens we are bound to take steps in the development of the physical, mental as well as spiritual conditions of the children, following the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child as well as to eliminate all the obstacles which are hindering the advancement of children.

I send my message of greetings to the Universal Children’s Day special programmes organized by the Ministry of Hill Country New Villages Infrastructure and Community Development, with a great pleasure as it works with special commitment to create a new life for the children of the plantation communities, who live under most difficult social and economic conditions.

I commend the initiatives taken by the Ministry to provide solutions for the nutritional problems among the children of the plantation sector, and I wish every success to the endeavours of the Ministry of Hill Country New Villages Infrastructure and Community Development.”

(Government News Portal)