Rural Schoolgirl’s hard-won Gold medal stolen
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The Schools Gold Medal for Sinhala Language & Literature, won by G.S. Kasuni Deshani of Vidyasagara MV Kalladiya, was stolen last week, according to a complaint lodged at the Puttalam Police. Vidyasagara MV Kalladiya is located in a difficult area in the Puttalam district, and the School won the Gold medal in a 2017 School competition.
The Gold medal, along with a Bronze medal, was kept in a cupboard for safety. The thief had entered the room where the cupboard was, through the roof, forced opened the cupboard. He had also removed some cash from the room. It is very distressing as Kasuni Deshani’s father makes a living out of de husking coconuts.
Although students of this school have excelled in sports, this is first time a student was awarded for academic excellence in the Sinhala stream.
Kasuni Deshani lamented, “My father toiled to help me complete this challenge. The medal is not made out of real gold, so please return the symbol to the school.”
Her Sinhala instructor B.M.Chadrawathi said this is a singular honour for the school. We are addressing the trauma the child is undergoing with this loss, and counselling her. Puttalam Police are conducting investigations.
- Puttalam Correspondent Hiran Priyankara Jayasinghe