Doctors are special!

Winner:

Doctors help people who are affected by various illnesses to get better. Many doctors treat all kind of illnesses. Some treat only certain kinds of diseases. There are some doctors who specialise in some diseases and help other doctors in the field. No doctor can be hundred per cent sure of a cure. What they do is administer the best possible treatment to arrest whatever ailment is affecting a person.

In Sri Lanka it takes nearly five years of study to become a doctor. First a student must get through the GCE Advanced Level Examination well and then go to Medical College. After five years of study there, he must go through internship , a period of training in a hospital.

There are some hospitals set up specially for this purpose. They are called Teaching Hospitals. There is such a hospital in Kalubowila.

No matter how many years of academic study a doctor has done he can never say he has completed his education. He has to always keep up with the newest discoveries in medicine. He must read all the newly published medical reports and books. Some doctors have to sit for many examinations in their fields to specialise in their respective areas.

Doctors with higher qualifications are called specialists. A cardiologist is a doctor who has specialised in the treatment of heart diseases. A radiologist is a doctor who has specialised in radio therapy and X'ray photography. There are many other specialists in various other fields.

B.M. Divya Anjalie,
Grade 9G,
Dhammissar National School,
Nattandiya.

Natural resources of Sri Lanka

Winner:

Sri Lanka is the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. It is situated in the Asian continent and is rich in natural resources.

One of the important natural resources is the forest which gives protection even to the very men who destroy it. Ignoring its value, people destroy the forests only to bring untold misery to all mankind.The Sinharaja Raintorest is a World Heritage site we can be proud of .

Gems, pearls and minerals are some of the other important natural resources found in the country. Sri Lanka is famous among the gem producing countries for the value and quality of gems found here. From ancient times to date, gems have attracted many foreigners. Today gems bring in a considerable amount of revenue to the country.

Sri Lanka can boast of many beautiful waterfalls that rush down rocky hills in various shapes and heights, forming many rivers and streams. Bambarakanda is the highest waterfall. It falls like a liquid stream of light.The coral reef is another kind of natural resource. It helps prevent coastal erosion. Hikkaduwa is famous for its corals.Presently we are also exploring the possibility of finding oil, another valuable natural resource, off the coast of Mannar. As Sri Lankans it is our duty to protect the various natural resources our country has without destroying them.

Nabeela Rizan,
Grade 5,
Hejaaz International School.

Grandmother's dream comes true

Winner:

My grandmother and I dreamt of going on a pilgrimage to Dambadiva one day. A week later my father and my two elder uncles decided to send my grandmother on a pilgrimage to India, accompanied by a relative. They went to a reputed travel agent and paid money for the tickets and visa. My grandmother was very happy. She got ready with the things needed for the journey. My family members helped her to pack everything into a suitcase.

The day dawned for her to leave. The flight was in the early hours of the morning, so I couldn't go with her to the airport. However, when she had reached the hotel in Buddhagaya, I gave her a telephone call. She was very happy to receive a call from me. She said that they would be visiting the birth place of the Buddha, the Lumbini Sal Grove in Kusinara and many other sacred places.

On the way home she had bought some souvenirs, books on Buddhagaya and gifts for us. We went to the airport to pick her up. My grandmother bought tasty chocolates from the airport. We were very happy about grandmother's tour because her dream had finally come true.

Chamuditha Dhanesh Uduwella,
Grade 7 B,
Sussex College,
Nugegoda.

Yesterday in tears...

Winner:

The life we lead is a mixture of sorrow, joy, pain, triumph, and glee. Joy, triumph and glee can be grouped as positive. Sorrow and pain as negative. The positive side causes happiness while the negative side makes a person disheartened. However, there are many personalities who have overcome these challenging aspects of the negative side by hard work and determination to achieve success. Among those who have reached great heights in life amidst many obstacles are eminent politicians such as Nelson Mandela and Abraham Lincoln, sports stars such as Michael Jordan and Marion Bartoli, the celebrated author J.K. Rowling and famed scientist Albert Einstein.

It is quite surprising to learn that Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison for his actions against apartheid, yet was elected President the year following his release from prison in the country that had imprisoned him. He also won the Nobel Peace Prize with the white leader F.W. Klerk for their efforts in bringing peace to their country.

Abraham Lincoln was a great and just ruler of the United States of America. However, he reached such a state by failing dozens of times to be a part of the government. Yet today we know he was one of the greatest presidents that the United States of America ever had.

When considering sports stars such as Michael Jordan and Marion Bartoli too we can be amazed. Michael Jordan never managed to make the high school basketball team and Marion Bartoli’s father had to give up his job to coach her.

However, today both of them are basketball and tennis champions respectively.

The author of the Harry Potter series J.K. Rowling is considered one of the most successful women in the world, but her journey to fame was quite difficult. She was rejected by many publishers when she wanted to publish the first Harry Potter book. She was advised to disguise her identity. Albert Einstein, the founder of the theory of gravity, the theory of relativity and also a contributor to the creation of nuclear weapons had a hard time at school. We would think he was a brilliant student at school with the best grades because of what he achieved. No, he always had a bad report at school. However, today he is respected as the greatest scientist of the decade. All these great people have succeeded in life after facing many challenges to reach their goals .They succeeded by hard work and determination.

Sir Winston Churchill has once said, “When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” So, neither our past nor the challenges should matter at all for victory. Because ‘if yesterday was tears, there’s no need for fear, for tomorrow it can be cheers!’

Buhushika Kumarage,
Grade 8,
Musaeus College, Colombo 7.

Gardening - a good exercise

Winner:

Gardening is a good exercise in our day-to-day life. Gardening involves a number of different kinds of exercises including stretching and weight lifting. A study shows that we can have good exercise by raking the lawn, trimming the trees and shrubs.

Various types of plant grow in Sri Lanka. Flowering plants such as roses, shoe flowers and ochids, shrubs and aquatic plants such as water lillies grow in abundance in the country. Plants such as loranthus and cuscuta are called parasites.

They absorb nutrients from the host plant. The pitcher plant, sundrew and venus fly catcher are known as autotrophic plants. They catch insects to gain extra nutrients.

There are at least 250,000 flowering plants in Sri Lanka. All plants fulfil our various needs. They provide us with food, medicine, shade, shelter and also wood. They also enhance the beauty of nature.

Gardening can help to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels. It also reduces health problems connected to heart disease, diabetes and obesity.Many do not realise the value of the plant kingdom.They cut down various plants and destroy the jungle. If we protect plants and trees, we can protect our survival too.

Charuka Lakshan,
Grade 8,
English Medium,
St. Mary’s College,
Kegalle.

[Your Poems]

The night sky

Have you ever noticed the night sky?
It has beautiful little gleaming stars,
And every time I look out of the window
I see a golden saucer peeping out of the night clouds
That’s what I like the most.
In that golden saucer I see a small milk white rabbit.
But some days that saucer turns into a crescent
Then I can’t see that milk white rabbit,
At that time I feel like going into the dark night sky
And finding the lost milk white rabbit.

Fidaylia Fernando,
Grade 4C,
St. Lawrence’s Convent,
Colombo 6.