Katuwapitiya, Kochchikade children benefit ‘Shilpa Diriya’ scholarships
For the benefit of the children affected by the Easter Sunday events in Katuwapitiya and Kochchikade, the long-term scholarship programme – ‘Shilpa Diriya’ by Archdiocese of Colombo in partnership with the ‘Rally to Care’ initiative by the Dialog Foundation, was launched recently, at Shangri La Hotel, Colombo.
Children that were awarded scholarships together with their families attended the ‘Shilpa Diriya’ launch event, which was inaugurated by His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo.
In addressing the scholarship recipients, Archbishop of Colombo His Eminence Malcom Cardinal Ranjith stated, “God created you as a special person. You will never find another child in the world who has your exact personality, qualities and talents. This means that you have been uniquely created and called for a special vocation by God. All that is left now is for you to discover your mission in life, through a strong faith in God.
This can be achieved only by yourself, using your innate talents to become a blessing to yourself as well as to humanity in the future. Although tragedy has hindered your journey momentarily, every effort counts when you turn your situation in life into a blessing through the help you receive from friends and benefactors, transforming your future into a prosperous and blessed one. Make good use of this gift that has been given to you, by diligently applying yourself to your studies and striving to be a child who will grow into the right person to be a blessing to the society. My heartfelt thanks goes to all those who donated towards the Archbishop’s relief fund.”
Expressing his views on the power of education, Seth Sarana - Caritas, Colombo Director Rev. Fr. Lawrence Ramanayake said, “It is our dream to help children to become good citizens. You are indeed devastated. But remember that you have experienced God’s preservation. Therefore, I hope that this will enable education to more meaningfully manifest in your life the new hope that is being generated within you.”
In his message to the children on behalf of the Dialog Foundation, Dialog Axiata PLC Group Chief Executive Supun Weerasinghe said, “Children are the world’s hope for a better future and at the heart of our goal of transforming their lives is education. Through this initiative we aspire to champion the children who have endured more than most and we remain committed to ensuring that they have a bright future ahead of them – one of hope and opportunity. This scholarship programme is integral in fulfilling our mission of enabling long-term education for the affected children through the Rally to Care initiative by Dialog Foundation - which was established with the generous support of Dialog customers, individual donors (overseas and local), business partners and enterprises, who all came together for this cause.”
With the ‘Shilpla Diriya’ long-term scholarship programme, 185 affected children in Katuwapitiya and 102 children affected in Kochchikade were awarded long-term scholarships, totalling 287 children. The scholarships provided through the ‘Shilpa Diriya’ programme will continue to be available to these students until they reach the age of 19 and the funds will be credited monthly to an account opened in the name of the students, on the 15th of every month.