Dr Vinya Ariyaratne is the President of the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement, Sri Lanka’s largest non-governmental grassroots development organisation. Following a unique model based on Buddhist and Gandhian philosophies, the Sarvodaya Movement serves communities across ethnic and religious divides in Sri Lanka through an integrated approach to development, peace and reconciliation. In the early 1990s, at the height of the separatist war in Sri Lanka, he initiated a novel programme to address the psycho-social effects among children affected by the war. This work adopts a community based, non-medicalised approach to healing, and has helped thousands of children belonging to all ethnic groups to recover from the trauma of war. In recognition of his dedication to humanitarian causes and peace initiatives, in 2007 he was awarded the Degree of Civil Law (DCL) honoris causa by the University of Durham, UK.
Vinya writes: ‘I support the Mandala Trust because I share the same vision and philosophy and was inspired by the passion and commitment of its founder Matt York. This is a critical time for humanity. We need global solidarity and collective action to alleviate suffering. The Mandala Trust embodies the best of humanity and I am proud and honoured to be a part of it.’