Sri Lanka, April 21 -- Taslim's story

Mohammed Razzak Taslim, from Danagama, Mawanella is a social activist who had been committed to uplift livelihoods of people in his community. Since 1997 he had been working for various political parties, but when it comes to social service, party politics was no barrier for him. He says that he hadn't worked for personal benefits, but had been loyal to certain politicians who promised to develop his hometown. In 2015, Taslim was the owner of a farm with over 50 animals including goats and cattle. It was during this time that a former Cabinet minister during the Yahapalana regime invited him to be his coordinating secretary.

"I have worked tirelessly to strengthen communal harmony within my communi...