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| Sunday, 20 February 2005 |
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Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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The value of reading "Reading makes a man perfect" so said the philosopher Francis Bacon. Reading not only improves your knowledge about the outside world, but is also a fun activity, which can take you to a different world. Books bring the whole world to your fingertips, enabling you to travel the world from your armchair.
The general knowledge of most people is quite low as a result of the poor reading habit. We acquire most habits by continuing them over many years. Therefore, to cultivate the habit of reading, the best age to start is the school going age. According to the International Federation of Library Associations, children learn to read by being read to, by being in an environment where plenty of reading material is available, especially those that are of interest to them. While helping man to be perfect, reading also helps to build a nation of civilised and disciplined people. It may also help to calm minds. As a means of building a perfect nation, the reading habit can be promoted from the cradle to the grave. Some children may not be in the habit of reading as books are quite expensive today, but all of you may have a library in your school. How many of you make use of it? The main objectives of the school library are to support the school curriculum by providing additional information to students on various subjects, and cultivating the reading habit among schoolchildren. The library can motivate the students to read for pleasure, not only during their school career but throughout their lives. It is there for your benefit, so make use of it! Exhibition to heal minds An exhibition of paintings by children who experienced and were displaced by the tsunami was held in the Eastern Province recently.
The exhibition was held at St. Cecilia College, Batticaloa, Sinhala Central College, Trincomalee and the Town Hall, Kalmunai. Over 500 paintings were displayed at the exhibition, which saw the participation of ministers, artists and other officials. Sinhala, Tamil as well as Muslim children displayed their tsunami experiences at this event. They all received gifts and certificates from Cultural and National Heritage Minister Vijitha Herath. Another round of the exhibition was to be held in Jaffna last week, while it will be held on a national scale at the BMICH in Colombo on March 2 and 3. Pakistani students help tsunami victims The children of New Day Secondary School in Karachi, Pakistan have collected 58,000 Sri Lankan rupees for the tsunami victims in Sri Lanka. The principal of the school, Mrs. S. Rizvi conveyed their deepest condolences to the people of Sri Lanka, over the loss of thousands of lives, and stated that the students and staff of the school prayed for the departed souls, at the school assembly. The money has been deposited in the High Commissioner's Relief Fund and would be utilized for the welfare of the victims of the tsunami disaster. Lunugamvehera Park now open to the public The Lunugamvehera National Park was declared open recently by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, on the invitation of Environment and Natural Resources Minister A.H.M. Fowzie. The park, located in the Moneragala District of the Uva Province, was established as a means of protection for the elephants and natural resources. It is meant as a corridor for elephants to migrate from the Yala National Park to the Udawalawa National Park's Western region, and to protect the catchment areas of the Lunugamvehera Reservoir. The park, which is 23,498.8 hectares in extent, was established in December 1995, but had not been opened to the public. The Lunugamvehera Reservoir inside this park covers 3,283 hectares. The Lunugamvehera Park extends to Thanamalwila, Wellawaya, Kataragama, Buttala and to the Hambantota District in the South. It provides a habitat for a large number of wild elephants and wild buffaloes. The park is also home to many other species of animals, such as fishing cat, grey mongoose, bear, wild boar, spotted deer and mouse deer. It is also rich in plant and tree life as it is a dry-mixed evergreen forest, thus providing more than enough food for the herbivorous animals. The Yala Rock Entrance, which provides access to Yala blocks III, IV
and V were also declared open by the Prime Minister on this occasion. |
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Education, knowledge and wisdom are gained through more and more
reading. Although Sri Lankans are considered to have a high literacy rate
compared with other Asian countries, our reading habit is very poor. 
The exhibition titled 'Tsunamiyen Mathu vu Kirikavadi' was organised by
the Cultural and National Heritage Ministry to build up the mental
condition of the affected children and heal their minds. 
