Rehabilitated at Punthottam Child Protection Centre:

Colombo school for child soldiers

Bandara SENEVIRATNE

A batch of 144 LTTE child soldiers rehabilitated at the Punthottam Child Protection and Rehabilitation Centre in Vavuniya were admitted to a leading school in Colombo yesterday to enable them pursue education and start a new life as ordinary children by totally forgetting the gun culture taught by their previous LTTE masters.

Co-ordinating officer attached to the Rehabilitation Centre Col. Manjula Gunasinghe said “we admitted these 144 children to Ratmalana Hindu College to enable them pursue education which was denied to them by the LTTE terrorists.

They included 81 boys and 63 girls, who belong to grades ranging from 7 to 11.

Under the second stage of this rehabilitation program we hope to admit another batch of 114 students to the same school soon.” The first batch of 144 students admitted to Hindu College, Ratmalana left Vavuniya around 6.30 a.m. in four special buses arranged for them.

The Government has arranged all facilities in Colombo for them including board and lodging, clothing and tuition classes under the supervision of Commissioner General of Rehabilitation Maj. Gen. Daya Ratnayake said Col. Gunasinghe. Parents would be allowed to visit them once or twice a month, he added.