EDEX Nenapahana Books reaches remote Diggalpura Kanishta Vidyalaya by rail
Having travelled far and wide across Sri Lanka over the past few years to make a tangible difference in the lives of rural youth, this time EDEX Nenapahana Team of the Royal College Union made use of the rail to dispatch books to their destination.
Mr. N. I. Elpitiya, the Principal of Diggalpura Kanishta Vidyalaya, hailing from the remote Kavuduluwewa, Medirigiriya in Polonnaruwa District, wrote to Royal College Union in March 2018, seeking assistance to get a photo copy machine for their school.
The school conducts classes up to grade 5 and has a student population of around 250. It had shown progress with 8 students gaining pass marks, with one topping the list, with 180 marks in Grade 5 Scholarships Exam in 2017.
After ascertaining the status of the school library, Nenapahana Team decided to assist the school with a good stock of books until a donor is found to finance the much needed photocopy machine.
The pictures shows principal of the School, Mr. Elpitiya and another teacher receiving books at Hingurakgoda Railway Station and children enthusiastically reading books donated by EDEX.
Mrs. Malkanthi, a long-standing teacher of the school, who initiated the request, was determined that she should facilitate a photo copy machine for the benefit of the children prior to her retirement in July 2019, as a photo copy machine is an essential office equipment in a school environment today which could also be used to prepare question and answer papers.
The parents of students live with basic facilities in this locality, and belong mostly to the farmer community who depend on irrigation facilities to cultivate their lands. It is a commonly known fact how they fail to cultivate their lands due to lack of rain fall and how crops get destroyed due to drought spells close to harvesting.
EDEX Nenapahana Committee is known to a fair segment of rural school communities due to continued assistance rendered to upgrade school libraries since year 2013 covering 110 schools in 20 districts to date. Its resources are however limited, being a social responsibility initiative of an alumni of a school.
We welcome any assistance in this regard either individually, or as a group, to improve educational facilities in rural schools and such donations will be duly recognized by EDEX. If you wish to join a future programmes of this nature, please contact EDEX Secretariat on 5521497/3091086. Email:ops@edex.lk web: edex.lk