AidToSchools

Above are the two mission statements of two separate schools in the world; one situates thousands of miles apart from the other. Interestingly, one might find it hard to distinguish the difference between the two statement, because it means the same.

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One of them is a world class secondary school, and you can consider yourself ‘special’ if you’d ever be privileged to step through the gates of this world-class educational institution; the best teachers in the world cultivating the wisdom in 1300 pupils from all over the world, with the help of state of the art facilities. A typical day of a student in this college starts with bit of sports activities, followed by putting on their school outfits after a hot shower, then uninterrupted studies which only gets interrupted by the college bell, evening drama or more sport practices and finally the modern boarding facilities to indulge the schoolchild after an eventful day before go to bed.

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The next one, which is also a secondary school, is well known to the locals where it’s situated in, but surely has not been highlighted enough to become a popular school in its own country. It educates over 50 students from local villages every year, and its ‘facilities’ lacks the definition of the word. A typical day of a student in this college starts with activities like milking the cows, watering the plants, helping their mother in the kitchen, taking homemade breakfast items to the nearby shop for money. It is essential these little heroes practice this ritual daily to keep the hunger away from their families just for another day. Putting on their school uniforms that has gone from white to bluish (only a Sri Lankan know what this means), one might also find themselves very fortunate and privileged to have shoes to wear to school. It is quite remarkable to appreciate how one’s essential is another’s luxury. All these are ‘just small fry’ compared to the deprivation the villagers in Dehiaththakanndiaya have to go through characteristically in their day-to-day lives.

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Sooriyapokuna Maha Vidyalaya in Dehiattakandiya is clearly a place bursting with enthusiasm, energy and willingness. Despite all these difficulties, the sheer effort and determination that has sunk into these student’s and teacher’s souls is what drives the very aspiring future of this school, students and teachers. The school may have only handful of teachers, but the teaches and principal of the school are the world bests; they teach their students how to dream big. “We only had determination, and courage and hope of our students in possess at the beginning. We have manged to secure university entrance; 2 students in year 2014 and another student in year 2015; what more one could ask for?” said Mr M. M. Mithreepala, the principal of Sooriyapokuna Maha Vidyalaya. This may be a rural school with facilities that are farthest from adequate, but their mission is world class, with teachers and students not ready to give up their hopes for any hurdle that may befall on them.

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“what more one could ask for?” we at AidToSchools felt the enormous energy rooted in the souls of these wonderful people, filled with hope. They dare to dream big, do something out of nothing, stand against all the odds, having best intentions for the dearest students at their hearts; it’d just feel right to lend a heart and a hand for them, wouldn’t it?

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Lend a Heart and Hand is the project proposed by AidToSchool for the year 2016, and following have been identified as the key outputs, outcomes and benefits of the project.

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