Pivithuru Pasal:

School programme to preserve the environment

The students of the Katunayake Roman Catholic Vidyalaya are hard at work, undeterred by the blazing sun, painting words and motifs on their school walls to take the message of environmental stewardship to the student populace of the school for many years to come.

Yet, this is not just another wall painting programme, but part of a more ambitious five-year action plan known as the Pivithuru Pasal Programme. It is spearheaded by the Waste Management Authority (WMA) of the Western Province, to bring the message of responsibility towards the environment to all the schools in the district and provide students with the tools to make a difference.

The aim of the programme is to promote and maintain responsible waste management at the school level, imparting the new generation with an awareness on the environment and environmental issues and how they can mitigate the adverse impacts on the environment through the 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) method and simple actions like waste separation and wiser buying choices.

The Pivithuru Pasal Wall Painting Programme is the outcome of the work the WMA has done with 32 schools in 2009, out of which ten have been chosen to take part in a competition as they were the best performing schools of the year.

The WMA has teamed up with the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies (CHA) Environment Programme and the Lankem Group with the aim of making this wall painting programme a resounding success and further the important work of the Pivithuru Pasal Programme.

The CHA Environment Programme has lent its assistance towards the implementing of the wall painting programme and assisting in spreading the Pivithuru Pasal model to other schools while the Lankem Group has donated 280 litres of paint for the programme through its arm, Lankem Robbialac.

The competition was launched off with an opening ceremony on April 30 with the teachers-in-charge and students in attendance together with Director WMA Piyantha Samarakkody, Deputy Director WMA Nalin Mannapperuma, Director Lankem Ceylon PLC Ruwan T. Weerasinghe and Sumedha Amarasena from the CHA Environment Programme.

While handing over the paints for the programme, Weerasinghe of Lankem Ceylon said, "We are trying to serve our country and society. One of our responsibilities is to grant students a better environment for their education while appreciating their talents.

"Today we are initiating this programme to fulfill this responsibility as a part of our community and social responsibility work. It will be a pleasure to see the pictures drawn by the students with Lankem Robbialac paints."

The WMA and the CHA Environment Programme together with the Lankem Group will be working towards making the Pivithiru Pasal programme a success in building a new generation of responsible Sri Lankans who understand the fragility of our natural surroundings and do all they can to protect it.