Appreciation

Mrs. Susila Samaranayaka

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Our beloved mother Mrs. Susila Gunadari Samaranayake was born on 10 June 1925 and passed away on 11 March 1997 after a brief illness at the age of 72. Her death created a tremendous void in our lives especially because both our parents passed away within the short span of one year.

Ammi was indeed the embodiment of love, kindness, simplicity and generosity. She was a true practicing Buddhist whose prime aim was service to the less fortunate and to this service she devoted over forty-five years of her life. Her sphere of involvement spanned a multitude of organizations and activities.

As a young mother she responded to a notice in the “Daily News” and enlisted herself as a volunteer at the Ceylon Red Cross Society. The activities of the society as that time included visiting homes of the needy, providing tea to patients seeking treatment at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital and the Orthopaedic Clinic and providing a library service for patients at the Colombo General Hospital. In all of these activities Ammi was a willing worker. My sister Manthri and I had our introduction to social service then as we would spend Saturday morning with her doing work for the Red Cross Society.

Around this time, the Lanka Mahila Samithi, an association geared to improve the standards of rural women attracted Ammi's attention. Under the guidance of eminent ladies like Mrs. F. B. de Mel and Mrs. Violet Rajapakse, she often travelled to rural areas and taught women the basic of hygiene, cooking and house-keeping. Once again, we joined Ammi at weekends.