Our hope for the future...

Children from a village close to the Singharaja rain-forest were self-sufficient in the electricity they needed to power their school’s modest computer room. The mini-hydro unit they set up on the stream by their school in Gonagala in the Galle District was the source of that power. They simulated a talk-show format and presented excellent examples of small but productive initiatives carried out by their ‘Mother Sri Lanka Samajaya’. They spoke of how their efforts at the school can be beneficial to the village and to other areas of the district.

Peace and unity

“Divided we fall, united we gain” was the strong thematic message conveyed in a colourful dramatization by children of Mallakam Maha Vidyalam in Jaffna. Students of the Baduriya Muslim Maha Vidyalaya in Mawanella took on the theme of being self-sufficient in food through the Api Wawamu, Rata Nagamu program demonstrating their efforts to make it a reality.

The Delft Maha Vidyalaya joined several of the Northern and Eastern Provincial schools to focus on the evil nature of terror, the suffering it brought and the merits of peace and unity. They sang the national anthem in Sinhala and Tamil versions, bringing home the message that we are all one family of 20 million people.

Reality of claim

Students performing at Mother Sri Lanka program. Picture by Sudath Silva

The message from the children of Gantalawa Maha Vidayalaya in Kantalai served as an eye opener for many. Being a border village; during the war against terrorism, they were direct victims of its unleashing. The skit presented questioned the validity of the claims made in our national anthem. They brought home a powerful message that there is so much more to be achieved by us as a nation, to make the words of our anthem be truly meaningful.

Own solution

“My sister could not pass her scholarship exam and was short of only two marks. Her school did not have an English teacher for six years. I was then too young to understand the implication of that.

I now feel that if she had access to learning English at that time, she could have made those marks to qualify for the scholarship.

That is why we began this program, where we as students of the upper school have volunteered to teach the alphabet and some basic level English on Saturday each week - the way we know how - to our less fortunate brothers and sisters of the junior school”.

At the end of a playlet depicting the desire of rural children to learn English and constrains faced, a student of the Naminioya Maha Vidayala, conveyed her experience while her little sister stood next to her.

The school in the Matale district is an area designated as ‘difficult’. We later learnt that to be the reason why, no English teacher was willing to serve in this junior school.

Range of issues

Students of Teldeniya Jathika Pasala and Puttalum Hindu Maha Vidyalaya, sought to make professional groups among our midst feel guilty for seeking to make money, instead of focusing on the service they provide.

Others brought out issues of environmental conservation and the prudent use of our natural resources. The theatrical influence on the presentations, ranged from Chekov to Sarathchandra, imitations of fusion dance forms to our own traditional forms of Sokari, Nadagam and Thovil.

Mother Sri Lanka

I sat through 33 presentations (there were 41 in all) by children from all provinces of Sri Lanka at the Mother Sri Lanka (MSL) Schools Sanwada (interaction) Program held last week.

I was a member of the panel of judges. They came from all over the county; the Delft Island to the Deep South.

The theme was “I must change, for my country to change”. This was the culmination of over a year’s work by the Mother Sri Lanka Foundation and the Education Ministry at the zonal, district and provincial levels. There were over 2,400 schools nominated to participate.

Their hopes were for a better future. Majority of them were sincere, honest and heart rending presentations as was the winning presentation in the Sinhala Schools category by Madukotan Arava Maha Vidyalaya, in remote Uva.

They sought was purpose, unity, peace, opportunities to lead a successful life and be useful citizens.

Open minds

We witnessed the pain and the joy. With their presentations they once again opened our minds to the sad realities we see around us and the fervent and enthusiastic hopes our young have for their future.

They posed many questions, sought their own little answers, challenged many in the adult world and demonstrated that we as a nation can only change if each of us sought that change ourselves. Not just in words but by simple, sincere and honest deeds.

The teams at Mother Sri Lanka Trust and the Education Ministry, through the conduct of this comprehensive program demonstrated the need for us as a nation to harness the potent power of our children.

The platform created to let them bring their hopes and their own solutions to the fore was indeed commendable.

Call to action

It is now left for us as adults, to give life to their hopes and aspirations. A good beginning perhaps will be to follow the example of our Head of State himself.

He having initiated the idea of involving our children in the MSL program, made time to attend the Award presentation to listen and share his vision with the children.

All of the adult world will do well to ‘listen’ to the yearning voices of our children. Therein are many lessons to learn and many changes to make to our own agenda and our ways of life.