Training Tamil students as future leaders

by Shanika SRIYANANDA

After spearheading the military operation to annihilate the LTTE, the Sri Lanka Army launched a campaign to mould the students to become future leaders of Sri Lanka.

The first of its kind - a Workshop on Leadership - was held in Batticoloa for 151 students in the district at the Batticaloa AGs Auditorium last week.

The topics of the workshop and the close rapport with Army personnel have made them understand that the true image of the soldier is different from what the defunct LTTE had painted in their minds.Organised by the 234 Brigade under the guidance of 23 Division commander Brig. Boniface Perera the 151 senior school prefects were given lectures on leadership qualities, type of leaders and team work. The Tamil and Muslim students had the opportunity for a close rapport with soldiers at the workshop.

" We all want to become good youth in future. This workshop helped me and my friends immensely. We did not know much about the world leaders. We were not guided to brush up our leadership talents. We thank the Army for organizing this workshop", student N. Vinitha wrote in her assessment paper.

Brigadier Mahinda Mudalige, 234 Brigade Commander said the workshop helped tap the inborn talents of the young students who had never been exposed to programs on leadership.

"There were very bright students. They had undergone immense hardships in their childhood as they were under the LTTE terror. They were backward and not taught to bring out their hidden talents of leadership", he said.

Brig. Mudalige said the Army needed to build up its image as the LTTE had brain washed children, youth and adults.

The 151 students and the 30 teachers who arrived at the auditorium looked at the soldiers with suspicion as they still had a distant rapport with the soldiers. Since their birth, the children in the East were taught by the LTTE that the soldiers were there to kill Tamils but the wrong impressions about the soldiers gradually disappeared after the East was liberated.

"The students said that the LTTE had taught them that the soldiers were brutal and as such to treat them as enemies of the Tamil people. By this way the LTTE had created animosity among Tamils. It is time to take action to reverse these negative thoughts and that is why we have decided to promote leadership programs among the schoolchildren", he said.

According to Brig. Mudalige, the program was a success and helped erase off the negative image to strengthen the relation with the Army.

The students were given the opportunity to address the gathering and entertain the audience to make them confident.

"At the beginning they were shy as they had not been given an opportunity to address a gathering. But at the end of the workshop they proved themselves that they could be the future leaders to represent their respective schools to carry forward their message. They were also given certificates", he said.

"We did not get a chance to talk to soldiers earlier as we were fear of them. The LTTE had blocked us from having contacts with the soldiers. We should thank the Army for breaking that barrier and making our lives peaceful.

This is an important workshop for us to learn leadership qualities", T. Thayani, said in her speech.