Feature: An Initiative for Giving: Singapore Student Workshop Participants Join in
Shramadana Camp to Help a Tsunami-Affected School
A group of students from Singapore who came to Sri Lanka to attend a workshop conducted by the United World Colleges Student Exchange Program participated in a shramadana camp to help a Tsunami-affected school in Payagala.
The students from Singapore, who represented ten different nations, came to Sri Lanka to take part in a workshop on the theme of “Initiative for Peace” with a focus on Sri Lanka. The UWCSEA of Singapore has conducted such programs for students from Sri Lanka and Singapore for a number of years. While the previous workshops were held in Singapore, Mr. Anthony SKilicorn, the principal of the college decided that it would be best to hold the most recent workshop in Sri Lanka and held discussions with Sarvodaya’s Shanthi Sena organization to do so. It was decided to hold the workshop at the Sarvodaya Development Education center in Bandaragama from 19th to 24th June 2005. Fifty-four young people participated in the program and a few Shanthi Sena members were also selected as participants and benefited immensely from the program. Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne was the main guest speaker at the event.
The school in Payagala was chosen as the beneficiary of the shramadana part of this program. The school was selected because of the devastation it received at the hands of the Tsunami. The participants cleared the playground and color-washed the walls of the school. Both the participating students and the organizers were pleased with the accomplishment of the group and the hospitality that was extended to them at Bandaragama.