The Awards Ceremony of the Mother Sri Lanka Schools Programme was held in the presence of His Excellency President Mahinda Rajapaksa on June 19, 2010 at Temple Trees. The programme, conducted under the theme, ‘Apen Ratata – Rata Nagumata’, involved over 3 million school children, over a short period of one year.

Students from 2,600 national and international schools from all nine provinces participated in the Schools Programme, of which, 43 schools were selected as finalists. Following the finals, held on June 17 and 18, 2010 at the Visakha Vidyalaya Auditorium, winners from the Sinhala, Tamil and English medium categories received their awards from President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The Awards Ceremony also featured a play performed by one of the participant schools.

The programme was organised and implemented by the Mother Sri Lanka Trust together with the Ministry of Education with the aim of building positive thinking about the country especially among the children, and instilling a sense of pride and patriotism among all Sri Lankans.

Each school was required to submit a team of eight students. The teams were tasked with making presentations on how they could be a part of the country’s development by thinking ‘country first’ and work towards lasting change, by making an effort to change their actions. Presentations were done in the form of dramas, songs and series of speeches. Each team was evaluated by a panel of judges comprising of independent personnel representing various fields.

Some of the presentations done by the students include those under the themes of ethnic harmony, environmental protection and working with each other to address communal issues, while several presentations helped raise awareness of the rich resources of the country.

Speaking on the competition and its objectives, Janaki Kuruppu, Director – Strategy and Perceptions Management Unit of the Presidential Secretariat and the founder of Mother Sri Lanka said, “Sri Lanka is stepping into a new era with the end of the conflict, and at this moment, we need to build patriotism and encourage people to think positively about Sri Lanka, especially the children, because they are the future of our country. This is our main objective, but we aim to go beyond this, and encourage people to act upon that patriotic feeling.”

She went on to say, “Change starts with you, and that is one of the messages that we want to bring out through this programme. Hopefully, the children who participated will share their learning with their parents and adults, thereby spreading this message and encouraging them to change as well.”
Since February 2009, the team from Mother Sri Lanka travelled across the Island, starting off from the Southern province introducing the programme among 347 schools in the South. Funds for the programme were provided by several private sector organisations including AMW Group, Phoenix Group, Ceylon Biscuit Group, Fonterra, Hemas Group, John Keells Holdings, NSB, Lanka Bell, Rupavahini, Swarnavahini and Commercial Bank. With just six members and a few volunteers from the private sector, the Mother Sri Lanka team worked tirelessly to open the hearts and minds of people and encourage discussion, thereby motivating children to take pride in their motherland and work together to drive the country forward.

The Mother Sri Lanka team consists of Janaki Kuruppu, Mr. Renton De Alwis, Mr. Ravi Fernando, Dr. Uditha Liyanaga, Mr. Rohantha Athukorale, , Mr. Thushnatha Karunanayake, Mr. Shiromi Masakorale, Mr. Stanley Carvalho Mr. Piyadasa Marambe, Mr. W. A. Wijetunga, Mr. Ganesh Dharmawardhana, Deepal Sooriyarachchi, Mr. Lalith de Silva and Charitri Ambagawitaore. The Core team includes Mr. Vajira Wickramarathne, Mr. Himanthu Ranasinghe, Ms. Harsha Gunawardena, Ms. DinashaWeerasinghe, Ms. Sujeewani Rajapaksha, and Mr. Roshantha Jurie.

In order to continue this effort, steps have been taken to establish Mother Sri Lanka School Clubs at the participatory schools, as the second stage of Schools Programme. Each school is required to start a project that will contribute towards the betterment of their school, immediate community and eventually the country. Projects picked by schools so far include constructing or improving computer labs, science labs, libraries, sports and art facilities, looking after the environment and raising awareness of road rules.

Established in January 2009, at a crucial juncture, Mother Sri Lanka has worked towards providing an opportunity for all the people of this country to come together and contribute towards their motherland. This effort was also recognised by the International Association of Lions Clubs where Mother Sri Lanka was awarded the prestigious Most Outstanding Sri Lankan Award for 2010 under the category of ‘Community Service’.

All Island Winners:

Sinhala Medium:

• 1st Place: Madukotanarawa Maha Vidyalaya
• 2nd Place: Theldeniya National School
• 3rd Place: Ganthalawa Maha Vidyalaya

Tamil Medium:

• 1st Place: Mallakam Central College
• 2nd Place: Rajawella Hindu Tamil Vidyalaya
• 3rd Place: Komari Methodist Missionary Tamil Vidyalaya

English Medium:

• 1st Place: Alethea International School