Rotary aids tsunami hit schools in South and East

by L. S. A. Wedaarachchi

Colombo regency Rotary Club in association with the Iwamizawa East Rotary Club of Japan has launched a project to supply educational aid to tsunami affected schools in the Southern and Eastern provinces.

The first consignment of specially made metal chalk boards were handed over to the reconstructed Randombe school at Ambalangoda and Ariyawansa school at Beruwala.

Explaining the objectives of the project past governor of Rotary International District 2510 Japan and member of Sapporo North Rotary Club Prof. Hiroshi Kobayashi said that he has been visiting Sri Lanka from 1990 and has travelled extensively in the rural areas of this country. The bright healthy Sri Lankan children need more and more of the latest educational aid such as metal chalk boards to attract them to their day to day education, he said.

"Education is the foundation for development. We should develop the schools to attract the children towards the school where they spend many hours with teachers. The objective of our Rotary project is to improve the school introducing the latest educational equipment and transform it into an attractive place for small children, he said.Rotary Club of Iwamizawa East Club Secretary Toshiyuki Tamaki and its club president (2002-2003) Tomoki Sakata also arrived in Sri Lanka to participate in educational aid donation projects.

Shanta Warnakulasuriya, past president of Colombo Regency Rotary and Rotary Past Governor Lucky Peiris also participated.

The Rotary club has undertaken to rebuild twenty-two tsunami affected schools in the South and Eastern provinces. Three of these schools are being reconstructed in Ambalangoda, Galle and Potuvil. The Rotarians of Japan are assisting with supplying educational aid to Sri Lankan Rotarians on this project.