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Pemawathie, 36 was five months pregnant when she stepped on a LTTE landmine, while collecting cowpea in a cultivation in the jungles of Mangalagama, Maha Oya. The mine not only blew off her left leg but also deformed the baby in her womb. When the baby girl was born she had no legs and was completely deaf due to the impact of the mine blast. It was a tragic blow for a family already destitute. The child is now an inmate in a home for the deformed, in Katubedda, Moratuwa. The Police Special Task Force (STF) with the assistance of the People's Bank, has helped build a small house for the poor family. Pemawathie, who is also the mother of a son, now walks about with the help of a Jaipur artificial foot, donated to her. At the height of LTTE terror in Maha Oya, victims included six students of the Mangalagama Vidyalaya who were hacked to death. A medical team from Colombo now visits the area every three months to look into the health conditions of the poor. Several civilians were injured by anti-personnel mines planted by the LTTE in the Jaffna Peninsula, before fleeing the Army onslaught during operation Kinihira IX. The team led by Dr.Anula Wijesundera of the Sri Jayewardenepura Hospital, holds a three-day free medical camp during each visit. Director, Colombo National Hospital, Dr. Hector Weerasinghe and officials of the Health Department also participate in these programmes, STF officials said. The medical camp is organised by the Colombo-based Social Service Organisation, ‘Jayagrahanaya’ (Victory).
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