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| Thursday, 30 December 2004 |
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An endowment has been established in the University of Colombo to make an annual award of the Mr. and Mrs. D. P. Epasinghe Memorial Gold Medal for Mathematics. Among other conditions stipulated by the donors, the awardee should be the best student to graduate with First Class Honours at the Special Degree Examination in Mathematics. Late Mr. D. P. Epasinghe was a vernacular school teacher who began his career at the age of 18 years as a Monitor and was appointed as an assistant teacher in 1929 to Dodangoda Buddhist Mixed School in the Kalutara District. In 1942, he was appointed the Head Teacher of Urugala Buddhist Mixed School in the same District and was later transferred to Mahagama also in the same district in the same capacity. The managers of these schools were the Buddhist Theosophical Society who did not have adequate funds to develop the infrastructure of their schools. A building constructed at the school in Mahagama is living testimony to his devotion to his profession where he was able to mobilise the support of the ordinary villagers to contribute in cash, kind and labour to put up the building. He himself set an example by contributing with his labour. He retired as the Head Teacher from Vidyawardhana Maha Vidyalaya in Narahenpita in 1962. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1970 and served in this capacity until his demise in 1995 at the ripe old age of 92 years. He was a well known social worker and among his great achievements was the service he rendered to the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress as the Treasurer of the Hospital Welfare Service of the Congress culminating in the establishment of the Neuro-Surgical Unit of the General Hospital, Colombo. Late Mrs. Epasinghe (nee Wijegunasekera) was a housewife who brought up her children with devotion and also contributed her bit as a social worker firstly in Dodangoda, her village of birth. She played an active role in the Kulangana Samithy of Dodangoda as its treasurer for some time. She was also a leading Dayika of Sri Sudarshanaramaya, the village temple. A public well in Dodangoda constructed partly at her expense is living testimony to her modest philanthropy. After the family moved to Kandewatta, Nugegoda in 1954, she got actively involved in the activities of Sri Wijayawardhanaramaya in Kandewatta until her demise in 1992. Mr and Mrs. Epasinghe were always treated by the neighbours as local leaders and were highly respected and loved by them. Far from being affluent, they were always there to give a helping hand to the neighbours whenever the necessity arose. |
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