‘Don’t forget these children’
This is a plea from entrepreneur turned social worker Janaki Gunawardena who requests you to join in her mission to help underprivileged children with their education
Twenty little voices rise in cheery crescendo welcoming us with their ‘anthem’. Kithul and banana trees and vegetable plots of the compound proudly proclaim the ‘green fingers’ responsible for them. Janaki Gunawardena’s Montessori School, in Hewainna, a scenic hamlet off Avissawella, exemplifies its founder’s watchwords in life: ‘where there is a will, there is a way’.
“Health, education and archaeology should be our prime concerns towards humanity,” reflects the entrepreneur turned social worker who has capitalised on her background to help people. The founder of the Business and Professional Women (BPW) in Sri Lanka and the past Chairperson of the Women’s Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Mrs. Gunawardena steered the country’s pioneering boat-building industry together with husband, Ranjit Gunawardena. She is also credited with initiating the first Global Peace Village- the first of its kind to shelter the internally displaced in the country.
With scores of social projects completed, her latest labour of love- Janaki Gunawardena Montessori School in Hewainna lays a firm foundation for youngsters from several villages beyond Hewainna. “The money spent on one lavish meal at a five-star hotel is more than what a needy student requires to make ends meet,” says Mrs. Gunawardena. “What moulds a child is the foundation. The strength of it will determine the future of a child.” The first batch of 30 children, fully sponsored by Mrs. Gunawardena with her personal funds, (facilitated by the Janaki Gunawardena Foundation) have already gained admission to the adjacent Hewainna Kanda Vidyalaya. Their education is sponsored by the Foundation until they complete their higher studies. The pre-school which was set up in the compound of the Hewainna Kanda Vidyalaya, collaborating with the relevant school authorities has 20 children in its care this year.
A spiritual undertaking brought Mrs. Gunawardena to the village of Hewainna bearing testimony to her firm belief ‘education and religion go hand-in-hand.’ As her long-standing chauffeur Upul explains, his ‘madam’ was at the correct place at the correct time to bring good luck to his village. “Our village temple Sri Abinawaramaya was badly in need of a facelift and Janaki madam not only generously restored the temple but also offered the sacred relics of Seewali Maha Rahathan Vahanse to our temple.” The relics, sacred family heirlooms until then, were enshrined in the dagoba of Sri Abinawaramaya, thus enabling devotees from all corners of the island to pay homage to them.
W. Sandya Kumudu Kumari, the teacher-incharge of the pre-school who mobilised crowds to make an appeal to the messenger of goodwill is at a loss for words. “Mata wachanen kiyanna madi,” says the emotion-
ally-charged Sandya. The school which is now a Government-registered pre-school, delivers the syllabus designed by the education authorities, she says.
Sandya’s own child is a beneficiary of the school’s improvement. Sandya who had to teach the little ones in make-shift pre-schools at the village temple or the community hall is now a happy second mother to children from Hewainna and adjoining villages of Hingurahena, Baduwatta, Bolok kele and Kalatuwawa. Sporting new shoes, bags and with other school supplies, all provided by Mrs. Gunawardena, children spend many a happy hour in their now second home. The parents, as Sandya tells us, provide the children their mid-day meal according to a weekly meal plan.
The Sponsor-A-Child project which was launched parallel to the pre-school by Mrs. Gunawardena, calls for ‘privileged mentors’ to lend a hand to ‘underprivileged school children.’ “I’m committed to 30 children who passed though the Montessori last year until they complete their higher education, so that financial constraints of families will not hinder their education,” points out the lady who has walked the talk. She urges other likeminded public spirited mentors to come forward to sponsor the pre-school students as well as other needy students of Hewainna Kanda Vidyalaya to sustain this ambitious project. This pilot project, she says, should ideally be replicated islandwide. “It takes only a very affordable amount per year to sponsor a student,” points out this community leader. “Why wait for the Government or anyone else? Don’t we have a responsibility towards the children of this country?”
Lauding Mrs. Gunawardena for initiating a model which offers inspiration to policy makers, educationists and the general public, Principal, Hewainna Kanda Vidyalaya, R.R.N.B. Wijesundara says that ideally it should be promoted in all underprivileged schools in the country. “Our children come from a very poor background. Most of their parents are daily wage-earners and a project of this nature ensures that despite odds, their education will be sustained.”
Ayesha Lakmali whose husband is battling cancer is ever grateful to the pre-school and Mrs. Gunawardena’s sponsorship. “This is the only pre-school several villages in the area have access to,” says Ayesha. Dinusha Lakmali, a daily wage-earner working on tea and rubber plantations in the area, voices her thanks for her daughter’s education is now guaranteed. “Api hari duppath minissu,” (we are very poor people) says Dinusha. Erandika Sarangi whose husband is a bus conductor and S. Sriyani whose husband is a mason had similar sentiments to share.
Amidst the laughter of little ones who are proud to own a pair of new shoes and a school bag which many take for granted, Mrs. Gunawardena adds with a smile: “it will do a world of good for the privileged to have a few underprivileged friends as well.”