“Sometimes my husband is too stern with my daughters as he is used to commanding males in his line of duty and at that time I help him see the sensitive side towards them and obtain his approval. No matter what I do, I always get his feed back and that has immensely helped me to grow as a person.”____________
By Shehara Rajapakshe
(November 07, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) A rightful saying at the correct time and that is exactly what brought in victory for our motherland. Anoma Fonseka is the wife of General Sarath Fonseka the mastermind behind the operations to eradicate terrorism from our beautiful mother Lanka. A beautiful, simple, charming, modest and elegant lady who shared with LW the life of a General’s wife. According to her daughters, Anoma is the pillar of strength in their family, which is an example set forth to all the mothers around the world.
Multitasking – a role model
Anoma plays many roles like most women in life, she is not only the supportive wife but also mother, daughter, sister and aunt to all the family members from both sides. When I was seated in front of her at the interview itself, there were a number of calls from the family members asking for her advice and guidance and she readily excused herself and gave them the assistance they required.
School Life
A past pupil of Gothami Balika Vidyalaya, Colombo 10, she was an all rounder during her school days as she had played net ball, a member of the school band, an active member in little friends and guiding and in her singing career at school she had followed almost to the level of Visharadha. In school she has been a very quiet and calm person. A most charming, simple, down to earth and elegant lady with an air of confidence in doing what she does best; supporting anyone as best she could.
Religious Beliefs
A strong believer in Buddhism, not just as a religion but a way of life, said, that she used to observe sil at every full moon. As the President of the Seva Vanitha Army Branch (SVAB), she organizes along with her team a sil programme for the Vesak poya in order to invoke blessings not only for her husband and family but also to those serving in the forces and every citizen of the country. “When my husband met with the bomb blast, I was confident that nothing would happen to him as I had done ‘sathyakriya’ which protects him from all dangers and harm. Also, the whole nation joined together in ‘bodhi pooja’ to invoke blessings for all those fighting to rid our nation of terrorism, I believe that all the citizens’ efforts in invoking blessings was a strength that brought us out as victor of this thirty year old war.”
Love and Marriage
“My husband was my brother’s friend’s friend and he proposed marriage and we were married on 29th April 1979,” stated Mrs.Fonseka reminiscing the past. “Our life was just like that of any soldier, he was a second lieutenant when we got married. There were no problems at that time and as my father too served in the Reserve Police during World War two, he accepted my husband very well. His first appointment was Ampara and we had our first daughter in 1981. A few years later we came to Colombo and our second daughter was born in 1986; those two years were remarkable for both of us. He is in the Singhe Regiment and most of his life he has served in the operation areas.”
Children in their lives
“Apsara and Aparna are now in their twenties, Apsara recently got married to Former Brigadier Tillekeratne’s son Danuna, but still both husband and wife find solace only with me as they rush with all their worries, moments of happiness, advice etc”. The two daughters shared with us about their relationship with their mother, which they both described as mediator and peace maker and keeper. They said, “if there is any advice to be taken for any decision in our lives, we depend on Amma, who would then put to our father and return with a very positive answer. We prefer when she acts as the mediator as Amma is an inspiration to both of us. She is a loving and patient mother, friend and mediator in our life and has been our pillar of strength, especially when thathi was injured it was amma who gave us the courage and strength to hold on.”
Mother, teacher and friend
The very fact that General Fonseka was away strengthened the bond between Anoma and the children and she added that they have become best of friends as they confide in her every single encounter in their lives.
“Sometimes my husband is too stern with my daughters as he is used to commanding males in his line of duty and at that time I help him see the sensitive side towards them and obtain his approval. No matter what I do, I always get his feed back and that has immensely helped me to grow as a person. I was a housewife until we had our second child, Aparna. As I had some free time to spare, I completed the Pre School Course at the Open University of Colombo which is recognized world over. I was teaching for twelve years at the Vishaka Nursery as a Pre School teacher. This was the happiest time of my life. I even had a nick name “kaageth amma” as children who needed more love and affection used to come in search of me. I love children and I’m a very patient person, this I think led me to show more love and affection to all the children. I gave up teaching when my husband was promoted to Major General as I too had duties to perform as I automatically became the President of the SVAB in the Singhe Regiment whilst my daughter went in for higher studies abroad. This led both of us to travel abroad once a year. After a while I applied for a green card visa with my Pre School qualification and experience and to my surprise I was granted and the next two years I worked as a Pre School teacher abroad.
Thereafter, when General Fonseka returned to Colombo he was promoted to the rank of Chief of Staff and at that time he faced many problems and I returned to support him.”
Turning point in life
“Our turning point in life was when H.E. President Mahinda Rajapakse appointed him as the Army Commander, which I was very proud of, as he rightfully deserved it. I was very proud and confident of him. During these last two and half years he had been so busy strategizing and planning their moves that I did not disturb him. As I have been married to him for the past 30 years we have a very good understanding about each other, therefore, I did not have to burden him with my problems or my daughters’ problems but instead gave him the necessary space and support so that he would be able to serve the need of the hour for the people of the nation.”
The end of the war
“It was truly a relief to me as the past two and a half years were very difficult and stressful not only for us but for the whole nation, especially those who had their kith and kin serving the country at the battlefront. During this period I was very positive and gave him unstinted support by taking all necessary effort to provide him an environment where he could concentrate on the strategies to be taken as any wrong action or word would have had the whole country at bay”.
Seva Vanitha at the Army
Anoma is the President of the Seva Vanitha Army Branch (SVAB) in the Sri Lanka Army as the wife of the Commander and apart from that as General Fonseka is the Commanding Officer of the Singhe Regiment Anoma has a dual role as Chairperson of the Singhe Regiment too. The wife of the Commanding Officer in each regiment becomes the President and the overall President will be the wife of the General who has a bigger role to play.
All this involved a lot of hard work as it revolves around so many lives that depend on the welfare of their immediate families. Whilst the husbands were busy fighting to free the country from terrorism the women looked after each other. As the President of the SVAB the tasks she has is endless but as each regiment has a President who looks after their own welfare it is quite manageable for Anoma. When the war was on, Anoma visited every regiment inquiring of the necessary requirements for all the family members of the serving personnel, she supported the soldiers, widows and children who were in need at the time.
Projects in progress
Although there are many projects in progress we thought of sharing a few of them and in later editions, we will share each project so that you could learn more of the work carried out by the Seva Vanitha Branch of the Sri Lanka Army.
Senehasa Special School
The Senehasa Special School is a fully equipped school for children with special needs which will also provide in-house accommodation for children living in rural areas. Constructed for such children in both army and civil families, its construction cost is over US $ one million. Anoma said that this was a project that she would carry forward even if her husband retires from the service, as this was a passion that she had after teaching a few of these students abroad, she decided that this is something that has been neglected due to various other commitments by various organizations. Therefore, she initiated this project with a well reputed board of directors that consist herself and her husband as well as Dr.Kanishka Karunaratne, Mr.Lalith Weeratunga (Secretary to H.E.), Mrs.Champika Wijesinghe (wife of former Chief of Staff).
The Scholarship Project
This is especially implemented for the children of Army Personnel who are killed, missing or disabled due to the war. The majority of students are brought up by their widowed mothers who struggle to support the growing needs of the family. Thus educational support is invaluable in their lives.
Donors have the option of contributing monthly for a period of one year or provide a scholarship throughout a student’s school career.
The Preschool Project
Providing preschool education for children is another function of the Seva Vanitha Army Branch of Sri Lanka. The organization now runs and maintains Ranketi Preschool and Day Care Centre (Panagoda), Viru Daru Preschool and Day Care Centre (Manning Town), Ran Daru Preschool (Udupila), Ran Kekulu Preschool (Anuradhapura), Viru Daru Preschool Centre (Diyathalawa), Viru Kekulu Preschool (Kosgama) and its new addition in Ran Tharu Preschool (Galle). These services are provided at a very nominal cost to the children of army personnel. Workshops and Teacher training sessions are organised often in order to ensure high quality in education and employs teachers qualified at the Open University of Sri Lanka.
The Hospital Project
This project is especially formulated to look into the needs of battle injured war heroes in all military and general hospitals in the country. The Seva Vanitha Army Branch of Sri Lanka provides wheel chairs, crutches, walking aids, emergency packs, clothing and food, through the contributions made by donors.
Mulleriyawa Project
Their scope of service goes beyond the welfare of the soldiers alone and extends to the public as well. The Mental Hospital Project is one such example. The female ward (No. 16) at the Mulleriyawa Mental Hospital is maintained by the generosity of the Seva Vanitha Army Branch of Sri Lanka.
The Welfare Shop Project
The Seva Vanitha Army Branch operates Welfare Shops at Army Headquarters premises, Summit Flats, Kendalanda, Manning Town and Aluth Kade where a wide range of daily provisions can be bought at concessionary prices.
Sewing Centre, Bakery & Pastry Shop Project
The Sewing Centre at the Seva Vanitha Army Branch provides soldiers with tailoring facilities at reasonable rates. The Bakery and its Pastry shop offer snacks at affordable prices.
We wish Anoma, General Fonseka, Apsara and Aparna the best in life in all their endeavours and sincerely hope that they will be able to expand their meritorious work even further. -Sri Lanka Guardian
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