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| Sunday, 3 October 2004 |
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Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Hi Peace. By now all of you must be so familiar with the word, with virtually everyone, not only in our Motherland, but also the world over talking so much about it. In fact it was just the other day, on September 21 that International Day of Peace was observed. But did any one of the nations or ethnic groups at war with each other, stop their killings and destructions on this day, even for a moment? Definitely not. The guns continued to spit out deadly bullets and blood kept flowing ... It seems as if no one really cares about Peace. Even the voices of those shouting themselves hoarse, calling for peace are lost in the wilderness. May be you could step in and do something about it. But then again you may wonder how, especially when most others have failed. Well, the secret is that it is YOU who will be the future generation of the world. Your beliefs, your attitudes, your principles and moral values are what will shape the future of your motherland in the years to come, when you become decision-makers. Therefore you must learn from now onwards to look at this major issue with an open mind. What really led to the breakdown of Peace in our Motherland is the ethnic conflict. So, if as children you learn to live in peace and harmony with people of different ethnicities and religions, respecting their cultures and practices, there will hardly be any conflict, isn't it? Now do you understand how YOU could foster peace in the future? By the way, if any one of you is curious as to what the name Miru means, it is Peace and Harmony in Slavic. Bye, Miru
Start recycling and save the environment The European Recycling Week was observed by many countries on the European continent from September 18 to 24. Among the many activities that were organised to create awareness among people about the benefits of recycling was a giant 12-metre recycling bin, the biggest in the world, in Berlin, Germany. Don't you think that it's time for us too to have a Recycling Week in Sri Lanka? Think of all the things we throw out, but which we could recycle and use. Paper, cloth, glass and plastic are among such items. Do you know that the paper that we use everyday is made from trees? If you collected used paper without throwing them all away and handed them over for reuse, think of all the trees that you would be able to save. Besides, you would receive some money too when you sell back this paper. Glass bottles too can be recycled in this manner. When you throw out glass with your garbage, they could break and cause injuries to people who may be sifting through the garbage or animals who are feeding on it.When you buy jams, cordials, sauces or chutney, if you return your old bottle to the grocer without throwing it away, a small amount of money will be deducted from the price you pay for the new bottle. This would reduce the amount of garbage being piled up on the roads which has become an eyesore as well as a health hazard. It would reduce environmental pollution, save trees as well as money and bring you some money in return. So think about it now. - Indunil
Painting her way to success
Thirteen-year-old Inoka Umali Gallage from Sujatha Balika Vidyalaya, Matara bagged a merit award for painting at the recent State Cultural Festival. This is one of the many awards including two international awards she had won within two years of taking up painting. Inoka took to painting as a subject in school just two years ago. She knew nothing about this mode of art, but her love for painting made her experiment and set up her own style. In an interview with the Junior Observer, Inoka shared hints from her recipe for success. "I love painting but I never thought I could achieve this success", says little Inoka. "My art teacher Branda Liyanarachchi helped me from the beginning to improve my style. She instructed me to use different modes like stencils, collage and water colours on canvas. "Last year I took part in an all island art competition organised by the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute. And my painting titled 'Peace' bagged the second place. Being placed second in an all island competition in my first attempt encouraged me to learn more about painting". Another notable achievement for Inoka was winning an award at an Art Competition in Iran last year. "All these awards are very important to me, but what I value most is the Grand Prize I won at the Seventh Niigata Biennial International Children's Art Exhibition in Japan in July", she says. Little Inoka has done her country proud by winning a prestigious award, competing with thousands of children from all around the world. "There were three more winners from China, France and Japan; I felt proud to represent my country", says Inoka. "Japan is a wonderful country with a rich culture in paintings. I would love to learn more about Japanese paintings", she says. Inoka thanked her School Principal, her parents and art teacher Branda Liyanarachchi for the support given to her. "I want to learn more about paintings and be a good painter while doing well in my education," smiles little Inoka. (CNK)
American Indian Museum The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian was opened on the National Mall in Washington DC, USA recently. The 250,000-square foot museum is the new home of the largest and most diverse collection of Indian (native American) art and artifacts in the world.
Education For All The Education Ministry recently launched Education For All (EFA), a program to ensure that every child has access to education and to improve the quality of education in the country. The program will be carried out in keeping with the agreements reached at the World Education Conference in Thailand to which Sri Lanka reaffirmed its commitment in 2000. The program will focus on the six main EFA goals - improving access to education, universal primary enrolment, early childhood care and development, improving the quality of education and eliminating gender disparities in education. Among the projects launched by the Education Ministry to achieve the EFA goals are improving access and quality in primary education, improving secondary education curriculum, school-based management and student assessment and incentives for principals and teachers working in remote areas. Attention will also be paid to providing education facilities and support for street children, community learning centres for youth and adults, improving education coverage and quality in war-affected areas and developing schools selected at divisional level. UNICEF has also launched a program to provide catch-up education for around 41,000 children in the war-affected areas in the North and East. |
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