Street children need help

Winner:

In almost every town we see street children loitering in public places. They don't have any parents or elders to look after them. Their parents have died or else they have been totally neglected by their parents who cannot provide for them owing to poverty.

So, in many instances parents and elders are totally responsible for the sad plight of these children. They don't have a future because they don't have the opportunity to attend school, to dress properly or to eat nutritious food. These children spend their day doing whatever odd jobs they are offered to earn a few rupees for their living. Some of them sell lottery tickets, polish shoes on the pavement or engage in loading and unloading goods at bus stands and railway stations. At night they sleep on the pavement and some of them are enticed by unscrupulous people to engage in anti-social acts such as drug trafficking and prostitution.

It is a great relief that the government has launched a project to rehabilitate such unfortunate children and engage them in some useful work to the society, after giving them a basic education.

M. H. Kusumalatha,

St. Joseph's College, Colombo.

Protect the environment

Winner:

The environment around us is a national property given to us by Mother Nature. So, it is our duty to protect it and keep it clean. But it is very disturbing to see that wherever man lives, the environment is polluted. In contrast note how clean the environment is in jungles where wild animals live. There is environmental pollution only where man lives, both in villages and cities.

In villages farmers spray their fields with pesticides and weedicides and wash their sprayers in rivers and streams causing water pollution. This in turn affects the fish and other water related life.

There is severe air pollution in main cities where smoke from workshops and factories pollute the air. Apart from this, in many homes the surroundings are not kept clean. Polythene bags, coconut shells and empty tins and bottles are thrown carelessly into their compounds without them being buried in a pit or disposed of properly. Thereby the environment becomes a breeding paradise for mosquitoes, and diseases such as malaria and dengue spreads fast.

By not protecting the environment due to our carelessness, we have to face adverse results from Mother Nature. Therefore, it is our duty to protect our environment and make it a safe place for man and animals to lead healthy lives, peacefully.

Kalani Gayathri,

Little Flower Girls' School,

Bandarawela.

Heritage of my country

Winner:

Sri Lanka is a beautiful country in the Indian Ocean. It is also called the 'Pearl of the Indian Ocean'. It is called so because it's small, beautiful and also very valuable. It is very close to India. Earlier it was known by many different names such as Serendib, Taprobane and Ceylon.

Sri Lanka has a great heritage which goes back many centuries. It was ruled by many kings in different kingdoms. There are many archaeological sites of places which were once glorious kingdoms. These places which are now in ruin are at Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Yapahuwa, Dambadeniya and Kandy. They are also known as religious places.

Sri Lanka is also famous for its spicy foods. In ancient times spices were exported to the West. My country is also famous the world over for its indigenous medicines like aloevera, margosa, turmeric and ginger.

Sri Lanka has classical and folk literature in abundance. The Kandyan, Sabaragamu and Low country dances are admired all over the world. Gems and jewellery, coconut based products, wood carvings and batiks are other products that show our proud heritage. Cane ware, reed ware, wood carvings and semi precious stone jewellery earn foreign exchange for the county.

The Temple of the Tooth Relic, Madhu Church, Munneswaram Kovil and the Matara Mosque are also among our proud heritage.

Wishmin Chamanga,

Grade 9, Sussex College, Kurunegala.

Let’s have a royal breakfast!

Winner:

Breakfast, the meal that we eat in the morning is the main meal of the day. It kick-starts our mind and develops our mental and physical performance.

By having breakfast we can get many advantages. Maintaining body weight and gaining physical fitness, increasing one’s attentiveness and improving one’s performance are some of them.

Unfortunately, most children usually skip breakfast either because they are late to school or due to some other reason. Even adults skip breakfast due to various reasons. Some parents buy short-eats as they fail to eat breakfast at home. This could create various other problems as children may get used to eating the wrong kind of food everyday. Eating fast food only adds carbohydrates and fats to our body and there is no guarantee of quality.

As students we should eat nutritious food; grains like green gram, cowpea or gram. It is still better if we could eat a little rice and curry as almost every household cooks rice and curry in the morning. By eating these foods we can gain energy and the vitamins we need for our growth. An increase in blood cholesterol levels and stomach and other disorders can be seen in students who depend on fast food for breakfast. So, instead of skipping breakfast or eating fast food we must try to bring home-made food to school and have it during recess.

I agree with the saying ‘Eat breakfast as a king does, lunch as a poor man does and dinner as a beggar’. So, let’s all have a king’s breakfast and be active and healthy citizens.

Lahiru Thilakarathne,

Grade 8, Sussex College, Kurunegala.

My favourite hobby

Winner

My favourite hobby is reading books. It is a very popular hobby and joyful activity too. I read story books, adventure books, novels, fairy tales and history books. I always read story books in my leisure and I have read many to date.

My parents help me select good books. I borrow books from my school library too. My favourite story book is Madol Duwa written by Martin Wickramasinghe. Upali Giniwella is the main character in the story. It is a very interesting and beautiful story book which I like to read again and again.

When we read books we can learn many things about people. We can know about their customs and behaviour. It is something like travelling from one country to an other. Reading is a very pleasant way of spending our leisure.

W. K. Nirmalie Melonica Fernando,

Grade 9 - Olu, St. Joseph’s Balika Maha Vidyalaya,

Kegalle.

[Your Poems]

Greatest person in my life

You showed me the correct path
You showed me how to win
You not only taught me lessons
But also became my shadow
I remember one day how afraid I was
To face a competition and cried
All thought I couldn’t win it
But, only you thought I could
Yes true to it, I proved it
But, today you’re gone
I don’t know where you are
But I know one thing for sure
Forever you’ll be in my heart
My dear teacher....

H. Noelsha Shenali Fernando, D.S. Senanayake MMV.

Seasons

There must be a
Reason why the
Seasons change
Every month
But really there’s no
Reason why
So every season I wait until
I know why the
Seasons change
Every month

Mandil Amarasuriya, Grade 3-D, Vidura College.

My parrot

My pet parrot is a nice bird.
Its name is Polly.
Polly has soft green feathers and a red beak. It has two wings.
It is like a mango, because of its colour.
Polly is a tame parrot.
It can talk well.
It also plays with me.
Polly eats fruits and grain.
It lives in a small cage, it lives happily.
Polly is very harmless and I love my pet parrot a lot.

Senindu Samarawickrama, Grade 1A, Oxford College International, Nugegoda.