Rotary opens two more schools amidst festive atmosphere
Rotary Sri Lanka ceremonially opened two more schools in its “Schools Re-awaken” project on Sunday amidst a carnival atmosphere in the Batticaloa district of the country.
Rotary Sri Lanka together with Standard Chartered Bank is rebuilding 25 schools across the country which were destroyed by the tsunami of December 2004.
The village of Uthayapuram is at the South Eastern corner of Periya Kallar - a town about 33 km south of Batticaloa. Over the last year the village has been the focus of much activity as the rebuilding of the new model school Uthayapuram Tamil Vidyalaya slowly took shape.
On Sunday morning the entire village came together to convey their gratitude to the special people who had made this dream come true. Banners and coloured buntings covered the entire town and the roadway to the school. Parents and well wishers joined the Principal S. Thavarasa, staff and students of the school to greet the Rotarians on their arrival after a nine hour drive from Colombo. Also on hand was the Rotary Community Corps led by V. Kathaharan.
The group of Rotarians who traveled from Colombo to participate in the ceremony were mobbed by the huge throng of grateful people.
Among the group were Chief Guest and Trustee of the Rotary Foundation PDG K. Ravindran and his wife Vanathy, Guest of Honour PDG Ravi Wadalamani from India and wife Raji, District Governor Nihal Bogahalande and wife Savithri, President of Colombo Uptown Manoji Samararatne, Project Chairman Suresh Britto, Architect Yudish Ganesan and PDGs Lucky Pieris and Krish Rajendran.
“Welcome Rotary”, “We thank you for your wonderful gift” were some of the banners that greeted the visitors.
Beginning with a religious ceremony at the Kovil, the visiting dignitaries were conducted in a colourful procession to the school premises. Leading the procession were the school bands, and they were followed by gaily clad kawadi and hewisi dancers.
Firecrackers exploded along the way and the visitors were constantly showered with flowers by the students and staff of the school who lined the roadways.
At the school, the first item on the agenda was the hoisting of the school and Rotary flags, then followed the unveiling of the special monument and dedication and a special commemorative plaque.
The visitors were then taken on a conducted tour of the new school by the Architect Yudish Ganesan before returning to the new Assembly Hall for a meeting.
“Today we have again seen the magnificence of Rotary at work and the wonders we can achieve working together” said Ravindran in his address.
Ravindran was full of praise for the Lead Club – Colombo Uptown for their untiring efforts in supervising the entire project.
The Project team of Colombo Uptown was led by Project Chairman PP Dr Suresh Britto and comprised President Manoji Samararatne, Architect Yudish Ganesan and Director International Service Karsten Larsen.
Ravindran also thanked the sponsors of the construction of the school RI District 9600 and added that he wished some of them had been able to attend the ceremony and experience the warm feeling of satisfaction at the conclusion of a great project.
PDG Ravi Wadalamani speaking to the students said they must used the wonderful facilities that they have been given to study hard and do well in their examinations so that they could also grow up to be leaders in their selected professions.
From Monday 26th June, the students of “UTV” will continue their education is their new school building and will have all the modern facilities to assist them in their studies.
In his address the school Principal S.Thavarasa thanked Rotary for their support. “We were down with no one to help us when Rotary stretched out its hand to us. We are indeed very grateful to Rotary for this wonderful new school” he said.
From Uthayapuram, the group then traveled to Nintavur to open another school – Al Athan School which was also destroyed by the tsunami and rebuilt as a new model school.
Here too, they were greeted warmly by the people of the village and conducted in a procession to the school for the hoisting of flags and the unveiling of a special plaque.
After a tour of the new buildings, the group proceeded to the assembly hall for a ceremonial meeting.
