Wesley celebrates 139th Founder’s Day

Clifford Rodrigo

Wesley College, Colombo, one of the oldest educational institutions in Sri Lanka continues to maintain tradition as it prepares to celebrate its 139th Founder’s Day on March 2 this year.Wesleyites around the world make it a point of gracing this occasion as they relive the past and enjoy the various activities which culminate in the traditional OBU lunch.

Achievements

The annual OBU celebrations also coincide with Founder’s Day, so much so, that an exciting two-day programme has been drawn up commencing with friendly sports encounters between the past and present students, scheduled for Friday (March 1). This will be followed by the annual ‘Past vs Present’ cricket match on the morning of Saturday (March 2).

The customary OBU lunch will be held on the Principal’s lawn on March 2, followed by the Annual General Meeting in the College Hall at 3 pm. The significant change in the programme is that Water Polo has been included for the first time as part of Founder’s Day celebrations.

Before the term of office of the current Executive Committee ends, it is opportune to reflect in brief on its achievements during the period under review. Having pledged its fullest support to the Principal of Wesley College Dr. Shanthi McLelland in his vision to upgrade the overall quality of Wesley, the OBU focused its attention on two aspects. One was to significantly improve the products of Wesley and the other, to extend the facilities and develop the infrastructure of the school.

Accordingly, the OBU commenced its programme for the year by organising a high quality workshop on ‘Career Development’ for 50 senior students of the school. A workshop on ‘Training and Development in the IT Sector’ was also conducted for the benefit of a select group of teachers, followed by an OBU presentation on ‘Leadership’ on Prefects’ Day.

The OBU assisted in the project initiated by the Principal to restore the old photographs that adorn the pavilion, the condition of which was increasingly deteriorating, while some had gone missing. While the restoration of these photographs was done by a loyal parent, the OBU arranged to provide the framework for the secure re-positioning of these photographs.

These were unveiled by the Principal in the presence of several senior members of the OBU in July 2012.

Remarkable achievements

The OBU headed by its dynamic President Ivor Maharoof together with his team of old Wesleyites during the course of the year notched some remarkable achievements which deserve permanent entry in the annals of Wesley.

A former Wesley cricket captain, L C R Wijesinghe together with a committed team of old Wesleyites, literally made a dream come true by bringing together past cricketers and renowned Wesleyites from all over the world to assemble at College and participate in a series of events. These included a grand assembly in the College Hall, a sit-down banquet at the Galle Face Hotel, a full day’s activity in the College Grounds and the Club House.

A group of Old Wesleyites from the 1968 to 1972 class batches under the dynamic leadership of Wilhem Vandort organised an unforgettable get-together comprising batch members both from Sri Lanka and abroad.

The programme provided for a wonderful time of fellowship and remembrance of good times at College.

This batch also made a significant contribution towards the restoration of the College Hall.

A stalwart from the OBU, Jeremy Brohier created history by producing an invaluable hard cover book on the history of Wesley College Cricket.

Brohier has obvious spent several months of sleepless nights and long hours of research to produce this masterpiece. Wesley owes him a debt of gratitude for his unfailing resolve to produce this magnificent book.

The OBU was actively involved in a series of events, some of which were steered under the leadership of the Principal.

Foremost among these were the construction of the Swimming Pool in record time and the hosting of President Mahinda Rajapaksa who visited Wesley in September last year.

The Principal successfully steered both these events which were well supported by members of the OBU.

The OBU is proud to state that it inked an agreement with Etisalat this week for the sponsorship of the Wesley College rugger team for the school’s rugby season.

After the successful completion of its tenure of office, the OBU is gearing itself to ensure that the forthcoming year will be a memorable one, both for the students as well as other stakeholders of the school.