For six years, the Jayatunge family of Dundas, Ontario, has sponsored two Sri Lankan children: Nimesh, a Sinhalese boy, and Saroja, a Tamil girl.

"We are Sinhalese Sri Lankan," Shanika Jayatunge says of herself, her husband Oswald, and their children Sheyan, 12, and Sheyera, 10.

When the Jayatunges immigrated to Canada in 1998, the conflict between the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil minority was still raging. They saw child sponsorship as a way to bridge the gap. "We wanted to sponsor a Tamil child. We wanted to show our love." Meeting their sponsored children last July, especially Saroja and her family, was a way to further promote peace, says Shanika.

"My husband declared to Saroja's father, 'Even though you are Tamil and I'm Sinhalese, you are like my brother.'"

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