CHILDREN

Togo

Lome-Tokoin Airport. Lome is the country’s administrative and industrial centre and its chief port. Picture courtesy: Google

Togo is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the West, Benin to the East and Burkina Faso to the North. It extends South to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lome is located. Togo covers an area of approximately 57,000 square kilometres with a population of approximately 6.7 million.

Togo is a tropical, sub-Saharan nation, highly dependent on agriculture, with a climate that provides good growing seasons.

While the official language is French, there are many other languages spoken in Togo, particularly those of the Gbe family. The largest religious group in Togo are those with indigenous beliefs, but there are significant Christian and Muslim minorities.

Togo is a member of the United Nations, African Union, Organisation of the Islamic Conference, South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone, La Francophonie and Economic Community of West African States.

From the 11th to the 16th Century, various tribes entered the region from all directions. From the 16th Century to the 18th Century, the coastal region was a major trading centre for Europeans in search of slaves, earning Togo and the surrounding region the name 'The Slave Coast'.

In 1884, Germany declared Togoland a protectorate. After World War I, rule over Togo was transferred to France. Togo gained its independence from France in 1960. In 1967, Gnassingbe Eyadema led a successful military coup, after which he became president. At the time of his death in 2005, Eyadema was the longest-serving leader in modern African history, after having been president for 38 years. In 2005, his son Faure Gnassingb‚ was elected president.

Courtesy: Wikipedia

Have a super 2011!

Hi Children,

Welcome to a New Year. Hope you have a great 2011.

Are you back at school in your new class with a new teacher?

You are in a higher grade which means you will have more responsibilities and homework. How were your holidays?

Hope you had a funfilled year in 2010 and learnt a lot of valuable things in life.

I am sure you would want to do better in your school work this year and improve on last year's performances.

Keep trying and you shall succeed.

Remember perseverance and hard work is the key to success. Children, please don't forget nothing is impossible if you put your heart and soul in to whatever you do.

All the best in all your future activities.

May you have a funnfilled, educative and unforgettable year.

Bye for now.

Aunt Anji

READ A BOOK WITH ME ... :

Cats have nine lives, Kirihamy has seven!

Hello dear reader,

If reading is in your list of 2011 New Year resolutions, here's a good book for you this season!

This is not a new story. I'm sure many of you have heard of Cumaratunga Munidasa's Hathpana, the story of Kirihamy and his seven lives! This Christmas I happened to read the English translation of this beautiful story. The translation is named The Seven Lives. It's a Gunasena publication, translated by Prof Kusuma Karunaratne and Edmund Jayasuriya and the lovely illustrations are by Sybil Wettasinghe. I have read the Sinhala version a long time ago as a child. If you can read both the Sinhala and the English books, you can decide for yourself which one you like better and why.

You can also try to see whether you think the English translation is a success. I can guarantee that you are going to love this story and if I'm wrong feel free to write back to me and tell me what you honestly think of Hathpana or The Seven Lives.

Don't you feel reading a good book is a great way to begin your new year? If you do, read The Seven Lives and let me know who your favourite character is or which one of Kirihamy's seven 'great adventures' you enjoyed the most. Yes, you may have more than one favourite character or/and adventure as well.

You might even like all the characters and all the seven adventures of Kirihamy and by the end of the story, or even before that you will realize that Kirihamy, the main role/character in the story is one of the most wonderful people you would ever come across in literature. So my dear friends don't miss the fun!!

Happy Reading!! I'll be back next time with another amazing book. Until then, enjoy your new year!

This is your friend, Gayathri

Seeking answers

By Uncle Sachi and Aunt Ruwi

In 'Kid's Den'...

Four children, Pramodaka, Nalaka, Champika and Chinthaka, go on a trip to the woods with their parents for their school holidays. In the middle of the night the children are awakened by a strange noise. On following their dog, Scooby, Chinthaka is snared by the spell of the 'luring stones'.

Pramodaka departs with Ruwi, a pixie, to recall a book of spell to cast off the spell while the others remain behind with Sachi, a gnome. A storm breaks and the kids are scattered. A sleeping spell is unleashed and all the unmythical creatures including the children fall asleep. Strangely Pramodaka is the only one awake.

Meanwhile Sulo, the goblin who is always trying to make trouble for the mythical creatures, comes up with a nasty plan. She rushes off gang up the rest of her pack and reveals an age old secret. However the group discovers that it is not only Sulo's secret that is uncovered by the storm. Something dark and deadly had been hidden in the depths of the earth waiting to release itself and return for revenge... ('Return of the Kids' is the sequel to 'Kid's Den')

"But- but he did! He was right here..." squeaked the gnome as she pointed a shaking finger at a place near her desk. They all followed her graze and their eyes fell on something lying in a heap on the ground.

Brave Heart took several steps towards it. The Healer too wanted to have a closer look. It was a cloak with colourful decorations everywhere. The edges were decorated with shinning sequins and there was gold thread running along the cuffs. Brave Heart looked puzzled.

"What a fancy garment...", he heard the Healer muttering at his shoulder. "He was wearing it when he returned but he took it off... It's outrageous that he should be enchanted with such ridiculous human attire..." Mallie was going on. Their graze shifted to her. She seemed to be recovering because now her face seemed to be flushed with anger.

Brave Heart laughed.

"Sachi... That old scamp! So he is the one who brought it here? Interesting...", he said picking up the cloak. It was certainly a rich looking piece of cloth but then the elves spun finer clothing out of the threads of the mulberry leaves unlike the humans who killed worms for the thread. The finest creations always came out of nature itself rather than destroying what is natural.

"... must have been some human trick he had learnt back there. And to disappear like that right in front of my eyes! That fellow thinks of no one but himself...", Malli raged on.

The Healer lifted his hand, cutting her short. "Hold that thought. We still don't know how he disappeared from a place which holds the power to fend off even the darkest magic spells... How do you explain that?", he asked Brave Heart.

"I have an idea..."

They turned to look at the Graceful One. She looked slightly troubled. "Jay said that it can only be done if someone in the highest spiritual state evokes a spell... I am not certain if this is what happened. Perhaps it is better to meet Jay and ask him...", she said.

The Healer and Brave Heart glanced at each other. "Then we shall go to him and seek the answer to this mystery. It is dangerous to let things be... at such a time...", Brave Heart whispered.

To be continued

Twilight

Ever so far in life,
Finding a story,
To which life belongs.
So dark so cold;
Very hard to believe.
One word and there,
A destiny opened,
Definitely at the wrong time.
And a life sealed, from light to twilight.
Beginning of the happenings,
Which ever lasted, like a nightmare.
Really, a cold nightmare.
Buy life has changed now,
Changed as never expected it to be.
For the start of a race to win or die.
It was hard to decide.
But it was written and couldn’t be changed.
So then, it was called, twilight

- D W Lilani Anuruddhika 9 G Sanghamiththa College Galle

Ambuluwawa rock	Fishing	Flower garden
Induwara Alakeshwara Grade 1 SWRD Bandaranaike National School Kundasale	Aysha Musafer 9B Sailan International School Negambo	Thamasha 3A Learnium International School Ethul Kotte
Village boutique	Snowy evening	Bright day
Sulakshana Alakeshwara Grade 1 SWRD Bandaranaike National School Kundasale	Seine Nisayuru Ramanayake St Joseph’s Montessori House Kegalle	Udeepa Wijemanne 2E Royal College Colombo 7

The annual concert of Alwiswatta Sundara pre-school Kalutara was held at the school recently. The arrival of Santa Claus was the happiest moment for the children. Picture by Divakara Mohotti, Kalutara Group corr