Health is wealth

Winner

We must breathe in fresh air, eat nutritious food and drink clean water to stay healthy. We must also cultivate good health habits and brush our teeth everyday, comb our hair, wash ourselves and wear clean clothes.

We also have to trim our nails and keep our hair clean. It is important to wash our hands thoroughly, especially after using the toilet.

Drinking boiled, cooled water is a good habit. We must also eat food that contains carbohydrates, protein, fats and vitamins. Too much of sugar is bad for our health. In fact, eating too much of anything is not good at all.

Smoking, drinking and chewing betel are some of the bad habits that can ruin our health. We must safeguard ourselves against these bad habits and try to stay healthy because ‘health is wealth’.

Malaka Dilshan Ernest,

Grade 7, Negombo South International, Nittambuwa..

Let’s eradicate dengue

Winner:

Some of the major life threatening diseases in our country are dengue, swine flu, local HIV, Japanese encephalitis, filaria and chikungunnya.

All of these are vector-born diseases. Among them dengue is the most deadly and harmful.

Last year alone more than 26,000 dengue cases, which ultimately led to a death toll of 200 people were reported.This year too dengue cases have been reported.

So far no one has been able to find proper medicine or a vaccine to control or cure this disease completely.

That’s the main reason why it is called a fatal disease.

No country has been able to completely eradicate dengue. Cuba and Malaysia have been successful in combating this disease to a great extent through scientific methods. However, the effectiveness of such measures are yet to be proven.

In Sri Lanka many campaigns have been launched islandwide to eradicate the dengue menace. Sri Lankan Rotarians, Interactors, Retractors, the Police and Public Health Inspectors, together with many other organisations conduct dengue eradication programmes at grass root level.

A ‘Presidential Task Force’ headed by the President himself has been set up to wipe out mosquitoes and their breeding grounds in the Colombo Municipal areas and many other parts of the country.

The general public too carry out house-to-house visits and ‘Shramadana Campaigns’ to educate the public on keeping their premises clean to minimise the dengue threat.

Even though dengue cannot be wiped out totally, measures should be taken to inspect premises and clean these places on a regular basis to monitor the dengue mosquito population.All media institutions can play a major role in this process; they can warn people and advise them by showing dangerous and harmful effects of dengue over the electronic media and publishing articles in the print media.It is our responsibility to cooperate in these programmes and campaigns to make them successful.

Dileepa Sandaruwan Tissera,

Grade 8M (Science),

Ecole International, Digana.

I am different

Every child in this world is not the same as another child. All are different. These differences can change his or her life.

I like to tell you about my natural differences.

My name is David and I’m twelve years old. I have a few natural differences which may or may not be good. One is inherited from my father’s side. It is my speaking speed. I think it’s very fast. I checked the speed and it was over hundred words per minute. It proves that I am a chatterbox or a very talkative person.

I am very imaginative too. When someone explains something to me, at once I can imagine everything. This happens at school too. When my literature teacher recites a poem or when she reads out a part of a story, I start to imagine it and I forget where I am.

While I am reading a book I cannot hear anything or feel the environment. I can only see the book. It’s just like floating in the sky. I can get back to the real world, only if someone calls me.

I always like to make friends. I like to stay with them and make them laugh. I like to be happy always. These differences changed my life. I really like my differences when compared to others. I believe that I am a different child and a gift of nature.

David Abeywickrama,

Grade 6A, Negombo South International School, Nittambuwa.

Follow road rules, always!

Winner:

The number of accidents on our roads is increasing day-by-day. Many of the victims are children.As schoolchildren we should know road rules well and always observe them. We should not walk on the road and use the sidewalk or pavement, always .In the event there are no such places, we should walk on the side of the road facing on coming traffic; it means on the left side of the road. We should also avoid walking in groups and walk single file. Not more than two people should walk abreast, even if you decide to walk with others.

We should always cross the road only at a pedestrian crossing. Before crossing we should look to the right, then left and right again. We should never play on the road. If we travel by bus, we should not travel on the footboard. It is very dangerous. If we use bicycles we should always keep them in good condition and check the brakes constantly.

Some people drive their vehicles exceeding the speed limits and are very careless. Therefore, we should always be alert and careful when travelling on the road on foot or by vehicle.

Yashodya S. Gamage,

Grade 8A,

St. Thomas’ Girls’ High School, Matara.

The computer controls the world

Winner:

Do you know who invented the computer? The British mathematician, Charles Babbage is the person who first invented the concept for the modern computer.

The computer is very important today for many us. It is a good mode of communication too. There are various types of computers such as laptops and flat screen computers. Because of the Internet facility we can talk to a person in another country and also see images via skype.

For what do we use a computer? We use a computer because it is an excellent tool which can instantly perform a wide variety of functions. with great reliability and accuracy.

There are many parts in a computer such as the mouse, keyboard and printer. A computer is very expensive and valuable.

It is very important for the future development of man because it can do many things we humans want. For example, humans cannot perform functions such as processing and analysing of data in an instant or store large amounts of data and do calculations. The computer can do all these and more.

It is a non-living thing but, it can do lots of work humans can do. All the people do not have a computer.

Those of us who have a computer at home are fortunate. Children can play various games too using the computer. We can write endlessly about the benefits of computers. Those who use computers will understand the value of a computer.

We should be thankful to Charles Babbage for inventing this great and valuable concept which paved the way for the modern computer. He is a great person who conquered the world because computers play a very important role in the world today.

Shehani Shakya Wijesinghe,

Grade 8,

B/Visakha Balika Madya Maha Vidyalaya, Bandarawela.

Hobbies add spice to our lives

Winner:

The majority of us like to do something in our leisure or free time. Our lives will be interesting when there are hobbies. Just sitting on a chair during our leisure not only makes us lazy but also unhealthy.

So, every person should have a hobby to pursue during their leisure.

There are many hobbies we could pursue such as drawing, painting, reading, writing, sewing, collecting stamps, collecting coins and gardening. From among them my favourite hobbies are reading and writing. I also enjoy drawing.

In my leisure what I do mostly is reading books. My parents have bought many interesting and informative books which I like to read.

As a hobby, I also write essays and poems to newspapers and also to put up them up on the school noticeboard. I sometimes indulge in art. In my leisure time I do one of these; whatever comes to my mind. Hobbies play an important role in bringing spice to our lives.

When we don’t put salt to food, there is no taste, even if we put all the other spices into it. Likewise, if we don’t have something useful to do during leisure, we will not be able to know the real taste of life.

Amodha Shachiko,

Grade 7,

Negombo South International School,

Nittambuwa.