Empowering Youth in Passekudah

Maalu Maalu Resort and Spa has taken steps to provide aspiring students in the Passekudah area with the materials and other resources needed in order to further their education in the English language collaborating with Reconstruire et Vivre (Rebuild & Live - R.e.V), a non-profit organization, on this project.

The inauguration of the English Language Learning Empowerment Program was held last month amidst a small gathering of people associated with the venture as well as some well wishers. The event was hosted by Maalu Maalu Resort and Spa Chairman Chandra Wickramasinghe and Reconstruire et Vivre President Patricia Villette-Wickramasinghe.

Speaking at the event Chandra disclosed that Maalu Maalu Resort & Spa was committed to empowering children of the area with an international language skill. "We are happy to announce that the Resort will contribute $1 from each room occupied towards the maintenance and development of the centre on an ongoing basis", he added.

Formulated with the aim to improve the knowledge of English among school children and youth in the region, the programme is aimed at pre-school children, students from Grades Four to Grade Ten, as well as Ordinary Level students. Resource people include K Balachandran, a present Officer attached to the Education Office in Valaichchenai, will coordinate these students through a series of lessons designed from the series of books provided to the children free of charge. Students interested in being a part of the programme will first have to sit for a placement exam in order to identify their grasp of the language after which they will be categorized into different levels. Currently, nearly 120 students have registered for the programme and classes conducted at the Reconstruire et Vivre Computer and Language Learning Centre have already commenced.

This programme is the latest in a series of community service initiatives that Maalu Maalu Resort and Spa have undertaken in Passekudah and surrounding areas since the Resort was established in Passekudah in 2011. Other projects include the construction of the Computer and Language Learning Centre which has an average of 98 students graduating annually.