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“Mayura” the brand new school building at Meepagama Jayanthi Maha Vidyalaya in Kalawana, Ratnapura district, was ceremonially opened on May 19th by the SriLankan Airlines management.
After the devastating floods of 2003, the Airline adopted the school, which currently has 911 students, and undertook a complete make over of the school and its facilities to empower its students with a better education through enhanced infrastructure and facilities.
This building was completed in the very short time span of six months, and fulfils an urgent need for classroom space at the highly overcrowded school at Kalawana in the Ratnapura district.
The building was declared open by Peter Hill, CEO of SriLankan Airlines, at a ceremony attended by members of the management and staff of the Airline, and the principal, staff and students of the school.
“SriLankan Airlines has made a commitment to the uplifting of society through a large number of social responsibility projects. The advancement of Meepagama Jayanthi Maha Vidyalaya to the highest possible standards, is the largest such project undertaken under our official charitable arm ‘ SriLankan Cares '. Our aim is to create the brightest future for the thousands of students who will pass through this school over the years. This is a project that every member of SriLankan Airlines' staff can be proud of.” said CEO Hill.
The building, designed by the Properties and Facilities Department of SriLankan Airlines, consists of seven classrooms for students in Years 11, 12 and 13. The building is also the largest hall in the Kalawana educational region, since classrooms are separated by partitions that can be moved aside to turn the building into a hall. One classroom is on an elevated floor, to serve as the stage. This hall would be used for other activities such as regional teachers' seminars.
The building's other facilities include a sound system with amplifier and microphones, furniture for the classrooms, green boards (more user-friendly than blackboards), a washbasin and lockable cupboards in each classroom, toilets, landscaping of the area outside the building, and tarring of the approach road.
Prior to the day of the opening, 120 members of the staff of SriLankan Airlines carried out a full day's Shramadhana (volunteer programme) on the 15th of May, to colourwash and carry out minor renovations to existing buildings of the school. Paint and other materials were provided by SriLankan Airlines.
A new air-conditioned computer room was also commissioned at the same time. This is equipped with 24 PCs and additional equipment such as UPSs and printers, all gifted by the Airline. These PCs are networked, and the room includes multi-media. The room will be used for IT and computer-based education for other subjects. The teacher's PC in the room has Internet access. A further six PCs and printer have been provided by the Airline to the adjacent Computer Laboratory, bringing the number of PCs gifted to the school to 31.
On the same day, a former member of SriLankan Airlines' staff donated a large number of spectacles to students who had been identified by SriLankan Airlines' medical staff as having weak vision. Each pair was made to prescription after examinations of the students by optometrists.
Yet another aspect of the day's activities included the gifting of 268 pairs of shoes to students who arrive barefooted to school, as their families cannot afford footwear.
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