Proposed New Building Project
Sri Sumedha Dhamma School Sri Ariyakulathilakaramaya Heenatiya Balapitiya 80550
Give a little donation and lite hundreds of lives Dear Sir, Madam, Heenatiya Sri Sumeda Dhamma School, in its 60 years’ long history, has rendered a great service to the southern province of Sri Lanka. About two decades ago, its administration was handed over to us at the ardent request of the parents of this area at a time when it was not functioning well. The people living along the coastal belt of the island are generally considered rough, harsh and much more aggressive in terms of their actions and thoughts. A few decades ago, this area was a paradise however for various unscrupulous malpractices such as killings, rapes and child abuse, particularly because the people, most of whom were engaged in fishing, are not educated with a low literacy level. Our Dhamma School has successfully faced this challenge and has found solutions to this problem. Over the last twenty years, we have directed the children community to formal education, while inculcating good qualities among them, and found them opportunities to showcase their talents, through which they have developed their abilities that lead them into being socialized as good and productive citizens. It is education that the people are now concerned about, which is not only an achievement of individuals; it is also the success of a nation. , unemployment is low in this area and almost everyone does something for a living and remarkably, our area has produced lots of graduates, professionals and government officials. Today we are carrying out this national responsibility more successfully than before, yet we do not have a permanent building for the Dhamma School. We have so far used the Dharmashala (hall in which Dhamma is preached) for the Dhamma School, which is inadequate to accommodate the 600 hundred students currently studying and the new comers entering the school every year. In order to fulfill the need of the school, the foundation stone was laid to a new building in November 2012. Though the foundation is now finished, the rest of the building is no longer under construction due to lack of funding. it is with donations from the people of the area, who are low and middle income families, that we were able to complete the foundation. The estimated amount for this building is Rs 1, 51, 51705.00 which is 84,177.00 Euros. We will not be able to complete this meritorious task unless we receive funding from generous people and organizations. Your support will help us give the children the light of wisdom. We would be grateful to you, your organization or any charity if you could kindly help us to build our School, and future generations of students will benefit from it. May your good affairs come true...!
……………………….. Ven D.kusalagnana thero Director of organization
1. Programmes on leadership and positive thinking Good leadership is needed to create a healthy society. Taking this into consideration, we conduct leadership and positive thinking programmes for the students every year. In these programmes, they are properly guided to achieve their goals through positive thinking and reach success through a change in attitudes. We usually invite experts in the field to conduct these programmes in order to maintain quality.
2 Community counselling
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vocational
development
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family
Parents’ dedication is essential to illuminate the students’ lives.ost parents are not much educated, and as a result they do not know much about the importance of modern technology and paths to their children. They are mainly given the guidance o main a good family and economy, which helps them create a family full of happiness. It is usually through locally and internationally accredited organizations that we hire counselors for these programmes.
3 Entertaining and cultural events at the new year Sinhala and Tamil New Year is an annual event that stimulates society, enlivens the nation and fosters national consciousness in Sri Lanka. It is a national festival celebrated on April 12, 13 and 14 and people carry out certain customs and rituals associated with it. We usually organize an event to enlighten our children on the importance of these traditional customs and rituals and they have the opportunity to play and enjoy lots of traditional Sri Lankan folk games throughout the event.
4 Conducting concerts to showcase students’ talents Poor children, though they have talents, may find it difficult to perform on a stage on stage due to not having enough money. Therefore our school holds concerts with a view to developing and improving the aesthetic talents and skills of the students. Consequently, they have the opportunity to stage their talents in such as singing, acting, delivering speeches and debating etc.
5 Religious and spiritual programmes and mental health programmes Since Sri Lanka is predominantly a Buddhist country, and nourished by Buddhism. Spiritual development is thus considered very important. In order to stay mentally healthy,Our Buddhist children with their parents come to the temple for religious observances on full moon days every month . In fact, full moon day of every month is regarded as a religious observance for the Buddhists; it is called Poya Day. And also, the main full moon days fall in May, June and July, on which meditation programmes for spiritual development and mental health are given priority to.
6 Educational trips The annual trip of the school is so appreciated by the students and parents alike that it gives the children and the parents and also the teachers an opportunity to enjoy their visits to the places of historical and archeological importance and pristine natural beauty. We organize the trip three times a year at the end of each term. The First trip is for all including that of children and their parents and the teachers, for which we hire 5 to 7 buses. Second and the third trips are only for the prefects and teachers, respectively.
7 Programmes to develop social values and ethics Despite the fact that the world is developed in terms of technological advancements, It is accepted that social values and ethics are deteriorating day by day. In this context, it is our responsibility to inculcate those values among our children. To celebrate the world children’s and elders’ day, we organize a special event on October 1, which our children and their parents get involved in. as experienced, it is a time when all of us become emotional when our children salute their parents and feeding them some food.
8 Term tests Every year three tests conducted by us are held at our Dhamma School, and in addition, the government of Sri Lanka conducts an exam for the children to test their knowledge of Dhamma. Based n the performances at these exams, our children are awarded certificates and prizes.
9 Prize giving ceremony Annual prize giving ceremony is usually held in December every year in appreciation of our children’s talents and skills, which really encourages them.
10 Interschool programmes Our children face the competitions at divisional, district and national level conducted by the department of religious affairs and all island Buddhist dispensation protection authority and have achieved various awards including the first and second places as a leading Dhamma school in the area.
All these activities are carried out because of our tremendous dedication and efforts and thanks to our teachers who do not get any wages for their work, yet dedicated to producing good citizens to the nation.