Love bridge from Museaus to Jinarathana Vidyalaya

BY CHANDANI Jayatilleke

THEY eagerly awaited the arrival of their counterparts from Colombo. As the bus which was taking the 'Colombo crowd' came to a halt at the school compound of Sri Jinarathana Maha Vidyalaya, Peraliya, the students were visibly excited.

They were clad in white uniforms and rubber slippers, with a few in shoes. They waved to the crowd from their classrooms.

The presence of 'akkas' (elder sisters) from Museaus College brought some comfort to the few students who were present in the school on that rainy day.

A group of Museaus College girls had been visiting this school for a couple of months now, to support the education and extra curricular activities of the less privileged sisters and brothers of this school.

This project is being conducted by the students of Horizon and Aura companies at Museaus College, which were set up under the patronage of the Young Entrepreneur of Sri Lanka (YESL) program.

The YESL program is aimed at training school children to run corporate institutions and business ventures, moulding them to become the future leaders of the business community in Sri Lanka.

It provides many an opportunity for the young to acquire skills and leadership qualities while they are still students. Apart from entrepreneur skills, social responsibility projects are a major aspect of this program.

Hence the rehabilitation program at Peraliya. According to this program, the Museans and their teachers would visit the school once or twice a month and conduct various study programs for the students, including rehabilitation activities.

As we went to Jinarathana Vidyalaya, we noticed that the turnout of students on that day was very poor due to heavy rains.

All that remains of this 100-year-old school today is just a two-storeyed building, a couple of tents and some makeshift wooden classrooms. The tsunami washed away four of its main buildings.

From the moment of arrival the Museans began carrying out the rehabilitation activities in this school, the children freely mingled with them.

In one of the sessions, the children were taught English - to write and read certain words. In another session, the Peraliya students' talents were brought out in front of a small audience.

They sang many songs and took part in a drama which helped create a sense of togetherness and bring out their creative talents. The Colombo and Peraliya students thoroughly enjoyed the moment.

Although the Peraliya students had gone through much mental trauma and physical difficulties due to the tsunami and the unfortunate situation following the tragedy, on that rainy day which brought them visitors, they looked bright and happy.

They are a mischievous lot, active and fun loving. They also display an intelligence that should ensure a bright future for them.

Many children in this school have lost their loved ones and homes and are still undergoing much difficulty with lack of facilities.

Their sad experiences can still be seen in their eyes even when they smile and joke.

Education is something very precious to them. They all want to study well and look to the future with confidence.

We spoke to some of the students in the middle of the program. At the beginning they were shy and reluctant to express their views. But they became friendly soon enough. Despite all the misery, these children are looking forward to continuing their studies and become professionals such as doctors, teachers and engineers.

Although the tsunami destroyed all the wealth they had, their dreams remain the same - just like the children in unaffected areas.

Year-5 students Malki and Kalpani want to be doctors, Tashini and Achini like the teaching profession. Chamil who is in Year-6 wants to be an electrician.

"I want to be an electrician like my father," says Chamil while Supun dreams of becoming a dancer. "I'm learning Kandyan dancing at present. And I really like to be a dancer someday," he says enthusiastically.

The young entrepreneurs of Museaus College have already come forward to support the education of these children. They consider it their responsibility to do so.

"We like to share our strengths and resources with these less privileged children. We know that they have lost everything they had including their books and clothes. We wish to continue this program for the next couple of years so that they would not feel that they have been left out in this world," President of the Aura Company, Iranthi Kuruppu said.

The Museans are also planning to raise funds in support of these children by organising a 'pola', a walk and a ribbon band selling campaign.

"Some of our foreign counterparts have pledged support too. We hope to build a library for this school with the funds," Sivanthi of the Horizon Company said.

President YESL, Patrick Amarasinghe, Premasiri Weliwita from YESL and former Government official Susil V. Siriwardena and two teachers of Museaus College accompanied the group of Museans.