Academic feat not a cake walk for Supun

By Ruwini JAYAWARDANA

'Keep your dreams alive. To achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. "All things are possible for those who believe", US athletic champ Gail Devers once quoted.

The drive to succeed cannot be subdued if it is backed by strong will. Like the sun which rises each morning, triumph will emerge after a brief period of hardship and darkness.

Supun Rashind Jayawardena had entered the world deprived of his sight but the 19 year old had achieved the heights that many children his age could only dream of. He had recently topped the list with his G.C.E. (Advanced Level) examination ranking seventh in the Kandy district and 91st all island with a z score of 1.975 in arts. He studied Political Science, Logic and Sinhala for his ALs with an ambition to become a lawyer.

"I was a member in the school debating team and became champs on several occasions. We clinched the first place (Central Province) in a debate to mark World AIDS Day in 2006. That was an awareness program for schoolchildren organised by the STD/AIDS Control program of the Central Province," he explained.

"Attending tuition classes does help as there are some teachers who are specialized on the subject.

Many students are able to gather a lot from the knowledge and they are able to write better answers for the examination. Students other than those whom they teach at school will be able to benefit from their knowledge and teaching skills," he added.

According to Supun hard work and determination are essential for success. He says that sticking to a precise timetable is also important as you will be able to complete the work meant for the day without postponing it for a later date. He had allocated around 40 minutes for each subject per day. Three months before the exam he had gone through past papers beginning from those which are 12 years back.

"My school friends encouraged me a lot. They lent me their books and we discuss issues related to the subjects. They too passed the exam with flying colours," he smiled.

This is not the first time this courageous lad had tasted success. He had passed year 5 scholarship examinations with 174 marks, ranking third in his school. Later during his G.C.E. (Ordinary Level) Examination he was able to emerge with 10 As. He was the first visually handicapped student to achieve the title.

"It didn't come as a surprise to me because I was expecting those grades. However, it is always a great pleasure when things work out for the way you want. My parents had faith in me, so they were least surprised. All my friends and teachers were amazed and pleased.

I received two medals and prizes for highest marks for Sinhala in school and for my performance at the Advanced Level Examination: one from my school in 2005 and the other from the Minister of Education, Susil Premajayantha in 2006," he noted. Another milestone in his life was when he received the President's Scouts award in 2007.

While he was in the Year Six he had joined the scouts under the guidance of Kapila Priyantha and taken part in activities like scout camps and hikes.

He had been abroad as well with two other scouts to represent Sri Lanka at a jamboree conducted by the Scouts Association of Japan. In addition he had won prizes in competitions related to Sinhala language for several years in allow. Life had not been a walk in the park for Supun as he had begun schooling three months before children of his age.

He was four years and nine months when he started learning Braille under Lalith Dissanayake from the Special Education Unit at Kindswood College, Kandy.

"The process of learning Braille takes time, effort and hard work as you need to trace the raised dots with your fingers. My parents, Wickramasinghe Jayawardena and Chandi Jayawardena have been especially helpful to me.

They read the texts aloud for me to listen. I taped these recitals in cassettes and listened to them over and over again when my exams come up," he recalled, adding that he wishes to express his gratitude towards the Principal of Kingswood College, Ranjith Chandrasekara, his teachers Jayasena Beligala, Amila Wijesinghe and Upali Dissanayake for their unstinted support.

"I am proud of my achievement as it is hard earned. The Ministry of Education should focus more attention on the visually handicapped as there are many more children striving to stand on their feet despite their physical shortcomings," he concluded.