A Good Cause- Pitipana Mahavidyalaya

This blog entry is about a good cause.  A school in Pitipana, close to where I’ve stayed in Negombo, Sri Lanka, needs classrooms and supplies.  Maybe folks who read this, will be able to help? 

Pitipana is a community with 175,000 inhabitants on a narrow piece of land between the Indian Ocean and the Negombo Lagoon. Many of the people who live there are fishermen with very low incomes. 

The Pitipana Mahavidyalaya (school) is the largest school in the area. It has over 1,400 students from ages 4 to 20.  At present, there are 9 buildings on the school grounds and a total of 37 classrooms.  This includes several specialty rooms for science, IT, dance, art, cooking, and the library.  Some of these buildings/rooms are fairly new and in nice condition.  Even by Canadian standards.  And meet the needs of the students and teachers well. 

But some of the existing buildings/rooms are in poor condition.  Even by Sri Lankan standards.  Several of the buildings are divided into classrooms only by partial walls or walls made of cardboard. Which are very poor sound barriers.  The noise makes it difficult for the teachers to communicate, and for the students to hear and concentrate. 

There’s a shortage of classrooms.  So, the science lab is being used as a general classroom instead.  Because the cooking classroom has no stoves or cooking utensils, it’s also being used as a general classroom. 

The only classroom with air conditioning is the IT lab.  Some rooms have ceiling fans, but many do not.  The average temperature in Negombo is 30 degrees Celcius. Sri Lankans are well adapted to the heat.  But it would be good to have ceiling fans in all the rooms.

Some of the washrooms at the school have recently been renovated with new floor tile and toilet fixtures. But others are in disrepair. 

A British man, Tom Goffin, has donated his time and 3,000 British Pounds of his personal money to help the school. In the last year, he has installed new floors and walls in one classroom; plumbing, toilets, and ceramic tile in 20 bathrooms; 4 ceiling fans; 4 large whiteboards, and 45 lockers for teachers. He has also bought stationary and a mobile library; and repaired the main water supply for the school.

With money raised by family and friends in the UK, Tom will buy drums, cymbals, trumpets, melodicas, geta beras, and udekkis for the younger and older children school bands.   In May 2020, 4 young adults from the UK, Tom’s friends and family, will live with Tom for a month in Negombo and volunteer at the school to level and tile floors, paint, and clean at the school.  They have raised 6,000 British Pounds to contribute to the school. 

Why is Tom doing this?  He lives in Negombo near the school.  He’s retired.  He can.  It’s a good cause.  All money raised goes directly to the school.  Tom’s accounting is clear and transparent.

Pictures

1- When we visited the school, the kids were so excited to have their pictures taken!

2-Nilmini (means blue gem), the English teacher who gave us a tour of the school.  All the female teachers wear saris to work.  They look beautiful and professional. 

3-The school yard is pretty.  Especially where there are trees for shade. The government provides paint for the exterior of the school buildings. But no money for labour and no paint for the inside walls and desks. Teachers and parents provide the paint for the inside walls, and all the labour to paint inside and out.  Because the climate in Negombo is harsh, and the windows to the classrooms are almost always open, painting is done every year.

4-6 Some of the newer classrooms are well built and equipped.  You can see the teacher and student pride and hard work.

7- This is the media studies classroom.  It is has no outside wall, no fan, and the ceiling/roof looks like it might leak during the monsoon season.

8- This building has 5 classrooms with half wall and 3/4 height dividers.  The noise makes it difficult for the teachers and students to work and concentrate

9-.10 There are toilets dedicated to the various grades at the school.  Twenty of them were recently renovated by Tom Goffin. They are now clean and functional.  But others are still in need of repair. 

11- The girls in the traditional Sri Lankan dance class were proud to strike a pose for the camera. They were beautiful!

12- These little girls were adorable!

13- The playground was nicely decorated with murals.