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| Sunday, 5 October 2003 |
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Features |  |
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On a happy note A thoughtful philanthropist comes up with a creative solution to the plight of flood affected O-level students by Sumana Saparamadu The May 2003 floods, said to be the worst in 60 years, had barely subsided when there came another flood - a flood of aid from here and abroad in the form of dry rations, bedding and clothing, household utensils, desks and chairs for schools and exercise books and pens and uniforms for schoolchildren, roofing and other building materials and also cash donations for re-building houses and schools etc. Five months after the floods, aid is still coming.
Among the numerous donors - individuals, societies, schools, companies, international organizations and ex-pats, there was one man who saw something that students needed urgently, and set about to meet that need. He is Prof. Wimal Gunawardena Chairman of TEAMS consultants, a Sri Lanka based International Firm of Development Consultants, and a Trustee of the Kalutara Bodhi Maga Padanama an affiliate of the Kalutara Bodhi Trust. Prof. Gunawardena visited many remote areas in the Kalutara district, affected by the floods, assisting in the distribution of dry rations and other immediate needs, organized by the Kalutara Bodhi Trust, the Kalutara Bodhi Maga padanama and the district Sasanaarakshaka Mandala. During these visits one thing that struck him forcibly was the sad plight of students who had lost both their text-books and lesson notes. Losing their notes was like losing their moorings. Those especially affected and in a quandary were students due to sit the O-level exam in December. The Professor was aware of the importance of the O-L exam for these students. It was a milestone in their lives. For them, more important than school uniforms and stationery were the text-books and lesson notes, the latter even more than text-books. The Government was issuing text-books to those whose books were washed away in the floods or damaged beyond use. How could they get the notes dictated by teachers or prepared by them with hard work at school? The more the professor thought about this the greater was the urge to fill this vacuum, and dispel the anxiety of these students. As a student he had known the value of lesson-notes when preparing for a public examination, the most important base of information for day-to-day studies and for pre-examination revision. To meet this vital requirement, professor Gunawardena set about preparing notes for all 6 major subjects of the O-level examination, viz Science and Technology, Maths, English, Sinhala, Buddhism and Social Studies. He commissioned a panel of well-qualified teachers with extensive experience in teaching O/L students and in marking O-L exam answer papers, to prepare notes for each unit in each subject, with explanatory notes and model questions and answers. These would help students in their revision and also be a guide to answer questions correctly, clearly and precisely. The panel of teachers was paid for its work and the copyright for the notes is Professor Gunawardena's. He is grateful to them for preparing such comprehensive notes within a limited time-frame and they, the teachers, have given Prof. Gunawardena the assurance that they will not use these notes for their private gain. These lesson notes are presented as a set of 7 books - mathematics has two books. To students who will have the privilege of using these notes, the flood has been a blessing in disguise, for where and at what price could these rural students without the means to attend tuition classes, have obtained such well-tailored notes? The cost of printing these sets of lesson notes has been borne by Prof. Gunawardena, augmented with some contributions by consultancy firms Prof. Gunawardena is connected with viz Louis Burget UK, WSP, America and KEI Japan. These sets of notes are not for distribution among students. They will be kept in the temples conducting Dhamma Schools, for reference. With permission from the bhikkhu-in-charge they can read through the notes and make their own notes, without mutilating or damaging the printed texts. On no condition are the books to be lent or taken out of the room or photo-copied. The bhikkhu-in-charge is entrusted with the care and maintenance of the books. It is hoped that he will honour the trust placed in him. There is this inherent danger, that these comprehensive and well-prepared notes will be spirited away and photo-copied by tuition masters for use in their own classes. In fact someone who had had prior intimation had turned up at the temple in Milleniya, Horana, the venue of the first distribution of Books of Lesson Notes and asked for a set of books for a disabled student or some are in such straits. Despite his pleadings he was not given a set of books. It was discovered later that he was a 'tuition master' from Gampaha. The onus is on the Viharadhipathi and the bhikkhu-in-charge of the Dhamma School to safeguard the books and ensure that private tutors don't get them. Already sets of notes have been distributed to 240 Dhamma Schools in all 14 'Sasana Arakshaka Mandala', corresponding to the 14 AGA divisions in the Kalutara district. "The feed-back is very satisfactory and heartening" said Prof. Gunawardana when I rang him up last week to ascertain the progress of his project. He had been told that children spend a great deal of time at the temple, reading the notes and copying or making their own notes, which they find more useful than going to tuition classes". This may not be welcome news to tuition masters. Horana, I was told is surpassed only by Gampaha in the number of tuition classes. The Kalutara Bodhi Maga Padanama has begun distributing the books in the flood affected towns and villages in the Ratnapura district. As Prof. Gunawardena's home-town Horana is in the Kalutara district every Dhamma school in the district, whether affected by floods or not, received a set of books - a special gift from Prof. Gunawardena to the district of his birth and where he had his education. (Panadura Sri Sumangala College). In other districts only the schools in the flood affected areas will be the beneficiaries. Later Prof. Gunawardena hopes to extend this service to the poorer schools within Sasana Arakshaka Bala Mandala in the Moneragala district as well. All this has made Prof. Gunawardana very happy, "My successful life began with my education", says Prof. Gunawardana. "And I want to give less privileged children the same chance. He says to develop a human being spiritually and materially he needs to develop good values, knowledge, wisdom, skills and capabilities. Prof. Gunawardana holds a BSc from the University of Ceylon (1969) and worked as an Instructor in the Dept. of Physics until 1971. He then proceeded to the UK and obtained his PhD in Planning and Implementation of Development from the Management School of the University of Lancaster UK in 1978. Since then he has been working abroad as a Management Consultant and University Professor in the University of Los Andes, Venezuela and has been an Honorary Professor/Research Fellow at the Universities of Lancaster and Stirling in the UK. As a Consultant/Adviser to Government institutes, industrial firms and NGOs in Laos, Bangladesh, Maldives, Vietnam, Cambodia, Venezuela and UK he travels often to these countries but his base is Sri Lanka. |
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