A Post-Scriptum by the Editor

A year on, the pandemic has led us to re-think and re-imagine our lifestyle, to raise our own potential as well as the mass consciousness of our communities. It begs that we become sensitive to the ravaging human induced environment threats, declining of our eco-systems, heightening social inequalities, scavenging economic systems, power politics, crumbling faith ideals and under-utilised education systems. While this list goes on and while the unprecedented challenges we face increase, the humanitarian action of Sarvodaya brings at least a glimpse of hope and inspiration to a distressed world.

Sarvodaya's response to the pandemic surely provides at least a drop of hope to those ordinary-unsung communityoriented youth, women, volunteers, leaders, and activists, also surely, inspiring the most seasoned humanitarians and those who are celebrated not only in the island but also abroad, bolstering their charisma. We all have much to do, to increase our quality of life, to help strongly to regenerate our eco-systems, to increase social equality and justice, to find better alternative economics that serve everyone, to embrace people centred governance and politics, to practice our own faiths truthfully and to utilise our knowledge and learnings to discover wisdom and to improve our very own communities.

Let us remember if we get together, the power of community will enable us to overcome our selfish ambitions, in order to improve life for all. Let us stand tall beyond the plethora of challenges, strengthen our alliances to engage and collaborate with effective communal initiatives identifying the urgent needs to address the challenges that may unfold. In so doing, a decentralised, holistic, resilient communal system would lead us to opulence and thriving ecosystems for all people, flora, and fauna, increasing the wellbeing of all life, leading to Sarvodaya: the Awakening of All.

Udesh Fernando

Director - Sarvodaya Institute of Higher Learning