Lessons not taught in our school curricula

With no thought for differences in race or religion a group of children from Vakarai spent three happy days as guests of a Colombo school.  How did this all happen?
It was a project of the Familian Outreach - the social service arm of Holy Family Convent Bambalapitiya. The school in Vakarai - Kandalady Arunthathy Vidyalayam is a government school. The link between the two schools was created by the Sri Lanka Army. Initially the students of the Familian Outreach visited the Vakarai school and stayed in the village for 5 days. This was in August when they organised the Kandalady Arunthathy Vidyalayam’s first ever sports meet with relays, a march-past, houses and tents. They even organised some assistance classes for the Grade 5 scholarship students taking tutorials and books from Colombo. Bonds were built, friendships established!   



" The abundance of love and food offered to them made one child burst into tears. Amidst tears little Kadje said that he remembered his father and sister back home who did not have food to eat... "



It was not long after that the Principal of the Vakarai school Mr. Mohanasundaram made a request to the Colombo Principal that he would like to bring his students to see Colombo. The Principal of Holy Family Convent Bambalapitiya Rev. Sr. Chandani Jayasuriya was keen to make their dream come true, giving priority to the programme amidst an otherwise busy school schedule.



" It was also the first time they had been into a fully air
conditioned room, as it was to also go up an escalator and come down a lift! "



Within a few weeks the trip was organised. The transport was sponsored by the Sri Lanka army. A bus-load of children from Vakarai together with their principal and teachers arrived at 5.45 pm at the school gate on Tuesday evening. Rev. Sr. Chandani, Rev. Sr. Merita, the Primary School Principal, teachers, and girls who had waited after school greeted them warmly. The school was buzzing with excitement. The children from Vakarai recognised some of the friendly akkas who had come to their village school and organised the sports meet for them. “They even remembered our names” said one of the Colombo girls with surprise.

Led by the Familian Outreach and the prefects, the host school had everything planned for their little guests.  Food, toiletries, bedding, extra clothes and a Tamil dance and song entertainment was staged in the school auditorium. Some of the teachers of the host school had stayed back to help, with a few past pupils and parents who kept busy washing dishes, plates, cups, and on the whole keeping the premises clean and comfortable. It was also the akkas who washed and kept the toilets clean throughout their stay. They also washed the clothes of the little ones.  The abundance of love and food offered to them made one child burst into tears. Amidst tears little Kadje said that he remembered his father and sister back home who did not have food to eat. Then there was Sinlukshan the youngest at 6 years who cried when his pappadam – the most prized possession, fell off his plate.

The next day the children were taken on a tour around Colombo. They loved the zoo and even climbed up 280 ft to the harbour chaithya. The day ended with a visit to McDonald’s for an ice cream. It was also the first time they had been into a fully air conditioned room, as it was to also go up an escalator and come down a lift!
Back at base obviously tired but happy they did not forget to entertain their hosts with song and dance. The most famous being the Gangnam moves to the thundering applause of their hosts. It was obvious the children were talented and loved to perform. One little girl named Sanuja insisted that they listen to her few lines in English, on her mother.

The next day at school assembly the Vakarai children met the rest of the school. It was also the time for gifts and speeches.

The Principal from the Vakarai school thanked the Principal and staff of the Colombo school for making their dream to see Colombo come true. In an emotional speech he said “We go back full of memories and laden with gifts made possible by your generosity. We will never forget the warmth and hospitality showered on us until we draw our last breath”. He further noted that during the stay he had seen teachers go above and beyond their vocation, exemplifying what a true teacher should be. “This is the sort of interaction that is so important, as we are one people” he said.

When requested to comment on the programme Rev. Sr. Chandani said: “Yes, this is our vision, to teach our children that we are one family beyond all boundaries. I was very happy that the girls themselves had written on the welcome board "we are one family" instead of simply “welcome”.  Even today, if we share what we have, we can have another miracle of the multiplication of loaves. We must teach our children through our example; to open their hearts and minds; to think of the poor and work for them. We hope that these moments shared together will wipe away the bitter feelings of the past and build up trust and relationships among the young generation. It is my hope that one day when these children hold influential positions in society they will become powerful agents of reconciliation. This is only one small effort towards a peaceful future”.

The Primary School Principal Rev. Sr. Merita had this to say. “The project was also part of the First Communion Programme in our school. We invited the parents of the First Holy Communicants to contribute shoes, clothes and underwear to be gifted to the Vakarai children. The parents and children were very generous. And there were children who contributed from their own pocket-money all they had - like Rs. 250 - towards the project.   And with regard to the organizing of the 3 days Rev. Sr. Chandani agreed that it had been a huge task. “At school assembly I invited the children and parents to contribute, we depended on providence and at all times we experienced the hand of God” she said.

The teachers who had helped on the three days observed that it was an eye-opener for the Colombo children to be grateful for what they had received, which is often taken for granted. One teacher recalled how the Vakarai children had woken up as early as 3.30 am and quick to wash, brush, dress and carefully mark their foreheads with pottu and holy ash with the aid of the small mirrors they carried. Another teacher remembers a child pointing at an apartment building adjoining the school premises and asking what it was. This was a hard question to answer. The wonder in the eyes of the little ones never ceased as they were told that the twinkling lights from the sky rises were homes where families lived.

  Many parents were also happy to be a part of the project. As one parent remarked “Experiences of this nature can not be found in curriculums or bought with money”. There was one child who opted to wear her old shoes for the First Communion celebration so she could give an extra pair of new shoes to the Vakarai children. And another parent said “My daughter came home in high spirits literarily dancing and said: “Amma it was like heaven to see the smiling faces of the Vakarai children”.

And most importantly what did the students of the Outreach and the prefects have to say? All of them were of the opinion that language, race and religion were not a barrier for love and understanding. “Even though few among us knew Tamil and they hardly knew Sinhala or English we communicated perfectly” they recalled. “They danced and enjoyed our songs and we danced and enjoyed their songs”. “But now we know how important it is to learn Tamil”.  “They were wearing clothes that were old and faded but they did not mind; they were content and happy”. “The Vakarai children were quick to learn our names and even little phrases like good morning, thank you goodnight etc”. We too will never forget the little ones from Vakarai:  Kajai Praveen, the twins Nilakshana and Nilakshani, Sinlukshan, Sanjay, Dilan, Jeeva Sudan, Midushan, Nidushan, Kidushan, Sriman ……..