Lad who braves misfortunes

Ruwini Jayawardana

If there is a will there is a way. This age old expression stands true when Supun Rashind Jayawardena is concerned. Though visually handicapped from birth, the 19 year old Kingswoodian from Kandy had passed his G.C.E. (Advanced) Level examination with flying colours in the arts stream with four A’s.

He ranked seventh place in the district and 91 all island with a Z score of 1.975 in the arts stream having studied political science, logic and Sinhala.

“My aim is to become a lawyer. I had been in the school debating team and had done well. That is where my talent lies and I believe I will be able to go far in the profession,” said the soft spoken lad who will be entering the Faculty of Law in the near future.

Supun confesses that he did attend tuition classes for all his subjects but hastens to add that determination and hard work was the key to good grades.

He explains: “There are some who are advanced and specialized on certain subjects. Many students benefit from the teaching skills of such people when they attend their tuition classes. Thus students other than the ones they teach at school are able to benefit from their vast knowledge of the subject.”

Supun had prepared for the examination early. He had completed the work intended for the day without fail and had worked according to a rigorous timetable. He had allocated around 40 minutes for each subject per day. Three months before the exam he had gone through past papers beginning from those which are 12 years back.

“My peers encouraged me. They lent me books and we studied together. They too passed with good grades,” he smiled.

Life had been no bed of roses for this courageous young lad. When other children were enjoying carefree days of work and play, Supun had to take up a special training program to survive and succeed in what nature had so cruelly deprived him of: sight. However that did not deter him, rather he turned his misfortune to his own benefit as it sharpened his will to emerge a victor in the journey of life.

“I began learning Braille under Lalith Dissanayake who was in charge of the Special Education Unit in our school.

“I underwent a special training program for two years before being admitted to year two,” he revealed adding that his parents, Wickramasinghe Jayawardena and Chandi Jayawardena, were with him each step of the way.

“They kept my strength up with encouraging words and advice. They read text aloud for me and I recorded these recitals in cassettes and listened to them often,” he expressed.

One of his greatest achievements came when he emerged with 10 As at his G.C.E. (Ordinary) Level Examination in 2005, a triumph which made him the first visually handicapped student to achieve such heights.

“I was presented with two medals for my performance at the examination and for achieving the highest marks for Sinhala at Kingswood College. Minister of Education, Susil Premajayantha presented one medal while the other was given to me by the school,” he recalled.

Supun had won many prizes for competitions related to the Sinhala language and had passed his scholarship examination with 174 marks while ranking third place at his school. He also got President’s Scouts award in 2007 after taking part in scout camps, hikes and even been in Japan to represent the country at an event conducted by the Scouts Association of Japan.

“My aim is to become a successful lawyer and bring pride to the country. I am engaged in computer literacy program conducted by the National Council of the Blind these days and I also take part in an English course conducted by a private institute. Knowledge on English and technology had become a necessity today. They are vital when you have to practice law,” he said.

He is grateful to the principal of Kingswood College, Ranjith Chandrasekara, his teachers Jayasena Beligala, Amila Wijesinghe and Upali Dissanayake for their support.

“Do today’s work without postponing it to another day. Study methodically and according to a timetable. It is a time consuming act which demands a lot of dedication but in the end your hard work will be rewarded,” he advised.

“I am proud of my achievement as it is hard earned. The Ministry of Education should focus more attention on the visually handicapped as there are many more children striving stand on their feet by themselves despite their physical deformities.”