A young university student Vidanagamage Shyamali last week received a monthly scholarship from the Daru Diriya fund trustee, BMICH Director General Bandula Ekanayake and the official Bankers, Sampath Bank at the Colombo International Book Fair,
Shyamali receiving her scholarship
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According to a press release issued by the Sri Lanka Book Publishers Association, Ms Shyamali lives in a village which has no name board even today. The only major board one finds in her village on the Morawaka-Deniyaya road in the southern province is that of M. D. Yapa Vidyalaya, Waralla. This school, which commenced operations in the ‘30s through the initiative of a planter, was elevated to a college in 2008 and grateful villagers requested unanimously at the parents-teachers meeting to urge the Education Dinistry to name it after the philanthropist.
The school was gifted a fully-equipped computer centre by Mrs. M. D. Yapa and the family. The centre was declared open and the name change effected by the Deputy Minister of Education in 2008. Now, two years after the Advanced Level classes commenced, Ms Shyamali has succeeded in gaining admission to a university. She is from a very poor family, who lived in a mud hut. Her mother earns a living by plucking tea on a nearby estate.
Her father died in 1995. After her success at the exam, a proud village contributed to help build a house for her. It still needs doors and windows but at least she now has a roof over her head. The Association said it then came to her aid by granting a monthly scholarship to meet part of her expenses at University, which comes from the Daru Diriya fund, established from the proceeds of ticket sales at the Colombo International Book Fair |
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