Education can be thought of as the transmission of the values and accumulated knowledge of a society. It is designed to guide one in learning a culture, molding their behaviour in the ways of adulthood and directing them towards their eventual role in society. As once Nelson Mandela said “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” which is the key to eliminating gender inequality, to reducing poverty, to creating a sustainable planet, to preventing needless deaths and illness and to fostering peace. That is why we strongly believe that everyone deserves access to quality education.
Akhankhara is a community service project organized annually by the Rotaract Club of Faculty of Science, University of Colombo as a simple step towards providing quality education to destitute children of the community, with a desire to enlighten their bigger dreams.
Akhankhara 2017-Phase 1 is a series of seminars for students of Ilukkovita Kanishta Vidhyalaya who will be sitting for the upcoming Ordinary Level examination in December 2016.These seminars will cover the fundamentals of Science, Mathematics and English .Most of the important subjects will be revised by doing a series of model papers which will not only ameliorate their knowledge on the subject but also build up their level of confidence to face the exam.
First week of Phase 1 began on the 11th of September 2016.A two hour bus ride took us to Thummodara, a small village in Avissawella away from all the hustle and bustle of the city bringing a divine touch to our minds. We had missed the bus to the school by 10 minutes which arrives at Thummodara junction every one and half hours. So after a 20 minutes tuk ride we reached the Ilukkovita Kanishta Vidyalaya located amidst lush greenery.
We were warmly welcomed by the principal and students who were eagerly waiting for us near the office. It was quite amazing to see the generosity and hospitality they showed even though they face many difficulties in their day-to-day lives. After having tea to quench the tiredness that was prepared by them, we rushed to the classroom where the students were seated in preparation for the session.
The session began with a Mathematics seminar conducted by rotaractors Dhanusha, Dhanuka and Harith. First a questionnaire was given to the students to evaluate their level of knowledge on the subject. While the paper was discussed, Rotaractors Ochintha, Yasas, Ramindu and Maduka helped students individually to clear their doubts and explained the sums by simplifying the theories to help them understand better. The basic mathematical principles needed to solve the questionnaire were also discussed.
After lunch, the seminar for Science was conducted by Rotaractors Sachini, Merrica and Bhagya with a question and answer session covering the first three units of the syllabus. Students were encouraged to give answers prior to the discussion to enhance their skills in developing an answer according to the questions asked. Rotaractors Dhanusha and Isurika helped the students by attending to them individually to make sure everyone was clear with what was discussed.
Then a seminar for English Language was conducted by Rotaractor Jayani. A questionnaire was given to them to assess their language skills such as spelling, grammar, ability to read and understand a question and developing an answer. Later it was discussed while explaining the answers with relevant examples. Rotaractors Sanduni, Yasas and Isurika helped students who found it difficult to answer the questions on their own.
Day one was coming to an end. Finally the students were asked to write their feedback anonymously on a piece of paper. I felt contented seeing the students leaving the classroom with a smile on their faces. They showed their gratitude by worshiping us and with a simple “thank you!” as they left in bunches heading home.
As the last bus had left at around 5pm, the principal arranged a lorry to take us to the Kaluaggala bus station. It was the first ever lorry ride for most of us, hence was indeed an unusual yet an astonishing experience. The excitement couldn’t be held longer as we took the feedback notes out and started reading one by one while waiting for the bus. It brought us much happiness to see the students have felt that it was productive and useful for them in understanding the subject matter effectively and to see how much they have appreciated our efforts. Those simple words were an immense encouragement for our future endeavors.
Week One, successfully completed! There is more to be done… We headed home with the hope of doing better and better each week to achieve our ultimate goal of helping them to do better in the exam in order to achieve their dreams…
“The elevator to success is out of order. You’ll have to use the stairs… one step at a time.” ~Joe Girard
By Isurika Weerasinghe
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