The Provincial Final competition of the Western Province of the Mother ஸ்ரீ ලංකා Schools Program was held on the 18^th January 2010 at the Devi Balika School Auditorium, Colombo and the award ceremony was held on 20^th January 2010 at the D.S. Senanayake College Auditorium in the distinguished presence of Most Rev. Dr. Malcolm Ranjith. The competition was conducted among all Grade 1A, 1B and 1C schools in both Sinhala andTamil mediums in the Western Province as well as among the Private and International Schools in the province. 326 schools which is 85% of the total number of schools in the province participated in the first preliminary round which was held at the education division level. Of these, 16 schools were selected to enter the finals along with the winner among the Private Schools and the winner of the International Schools competition and the following schools emerged winners. These provincial winners will be entitled to enter the All Island final which will be held in Colombo in 2010 after completion of all province finals.

Western Province Winners:

Sinhala Medium:

1st Place: Kalutara National College

2^nd Place: Gampaha Bandaranaike Maha Vidyalaya

3^rd Place: Morapitiya Veediya Bandara Maha Vidyalaya

Tamil Medium:

1st Place: Bambalapitiya Hindu College

International School Winners – Colombo International College

The Mother ஸ்ரீ ලංකා movement aims to act as a catalyst to bring about this change. The Program has leadership and direction from the President’s Office and support from corporate sponsors.

“Palamuwath Rata, Dewanuwath Rata, Thunwenuwath Rata”

“My first priority is my country, my second priority is my country, my third priority is my country”

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- Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka

The Mother ஸ்ரீ ලංකා movement seeks to bring diverse perspectives under one umbrella to:

• To rekindle pride in being Sri Lankan.

• To generate a revolution of faith and optimism in the country.

• To inculcate a confidant and proactively positive attitude.

• And to charge every Sri Lankan with this positive energy.

The Mother ஸ்ரீ ලංකා movement is set up as a private – public partnership and has its own independent foundation. Corporations supporting this initiative so far are: as Platinum sponsors, the AMW Group and The Phoenix Ventures Group; as Gold sponsors, the Fonterra Group, as Silver Sponsors, JKH and Ceylon Biscuits Group; and as Bronze Sponsors, the Hemas Group. Lanka Bell and NSB have also come forward as award sponsors for the schools program.

Mother ஸ்ரீ ලංකා Schools Program

Under the series of programs planned for Mother ஸ்ரீ ලංකා, the first and the most important program is The Mother = ලංකා School Programme, which is aimed at targeting our 4.2 million school children in the country who will be entrusted with the task of taking this country forward.

In order to reach this target group, an approach of engagement, interaction and dialogue has been selected as the most appropriate. Hence, the Mother ஸ்ரீ ලංකා Trust together with the Ministry of Education has embarked on the Mother ஸ்ரீ ලංකා schools program which is probably the first of its’ kind to be implemented among Sri Lankan schools.

The Mother ஸ்ரீ ලංකා School program aims to encourage children to think “Country First” by organising various activities through the Mother ஸ்ரீ ලංකා clubs.

The Mother = ලංකා Schools Programme is implemented on behalf of the Mother = ලංකා Foundation and The Presidential Secretariat by the Ministry of Education.

Objectives of Mother ஸ்ரீ ලංකා Schools Program

§ To evoke a sense of pride about the motherland among children

§ To motivate them to play a proactive role in the next era of development of the country

§ To instill faith in the next generation about their motherland’s resources

§ To continue this program of work through the establishment of Mother ஸ்ரீ ලංකා clubs in the schools.

As a first step, the movement has organised a series of dialog competitions on the lines of: “What can the children of Sri Lanka give back to our country?” – “Apen Ratata, Rata Nagumata”, among all schools that offer upto A’Level classes. The program covers all the public and private schools that offer classes upto A’Levels, numbering over 2500, as well as International schools that have come forward and shown interest.

The presentations were made under the themes:

1. As students how can we are a part of the development of our Nation?

2. I must change for my country to change.

3. How can unity among all ethnic communities contribute to Nation Building?

4. How can we use our indigenous/ traditional technologies/knowledge in today’s world?

5. My attitude will be the spirit of my Nation.

Each participant school is asked to make a presentation of ideas based on the topics given under the above main theme in teams of 6-8 children. The best themes are chosen based on a common marking scheme which rewards innovative and proactive thinking that is creatively presented. The winning schools from the education zonal level will then compete at a provincial level. The winners of the provincial level competition will then compete with other winning schools in a grand all-island competition.

Not stopping at a competition, Mother ஸ்ரீ ලංකා schools program will be continued among the schools through the Mother ஸ்ரீ ලංකා clubs which will be established in each participant school.

During the province level competitions each school that participates in the competition is required to establish the Mother ஸ்ரீ ලංකා Society in their school. The mandate and constitution of these societies are explained at every preliminary meeting to the Educational Directors and school principals by officials of The Mother = ලංකා Foundation.

The primary role of the Mother ஸ்ரீ ලංකා clubs is to continue the work initiated by this program by starting with the implementation of the practical ideas presented by the school team and thereafter by regularly conducting programs to achieve the objectives of Mother ஸ்ரீ ලංකා.

The program was launched first in the Southern Province where the competition began in February 2009. This competition has since then been launched in all 9 provinces and the provincial finals completed in Southern, Eastern, Sabaragamuwa, North – Central and Uva Provinces. The final events for the Central, North West and Northern Provinces are planned to be held in the months of February – March and the all-island finals in March/April.

Mother ஸ்ரீ ලංකා Trust

C/O The President’s Office

2354354 Ext:792/ 795

Email: dinasha@presidentsoffice.lk

Fax: 2384201

Website: www.mothersrilanka.lk