Last Sunday I joined my parents who visited the IDP's in Puttalam. They have been living there since 1990 amidst many challenges.

IDP's mean 'Internally Displaced People'. They have been thrown out of their homes and have become refugees because of the war. All these people want to go back to their old homes and live with dignity.

Me at the camp….	Refugee houses

We, the lucky ones start the day playing video and computer games like play station, Xbox, game boy, or watch cable TV etc. But what is their life like in the IDP camps?

They get up at dawn and start doing chores for their parents as well as working in the farms. If they are lucky they manage to spare a little time to play. They live in tiny houses built with coconut leaves. Imagine a heavy rain pouring on their houses. How much will it leak? This made me realize how lucky we are.

My life has changed a lot since I saw these people. I want to do something for them. I now understand the comforts we've been blessed with. We children have a responsibility to help them.

Trains

By Anil Pandithakoralege (8 years), St. Peter's College, Colombo 4

There are different ways of travelling. One of those is by trains. The trains travel on steel rails. The engine pulls the carriages. They carry not only people but also goods like mail, baggage, animals, fuel and building materials.

The very first engine ran with steam power. Today we have very fast trains which run by fuel power. The fastest trains are Bullet trains, Maglev and TGV.

The trains stop at railway stations. We have to buy tickets to get into a train and they are cheap. They cause less pollution to the environment. It is a great pleasure to travel in trains.

Health is wealth

By Salwa Mahamoor (Grade 8), Harrow International College

Health is wealth and is a great gift given to us from God. You should be healthy to enjoy a successful future. As school going children, we must stay healthy. We should avoid eating junk food and eat more nutritious food instead. We should always be very clean. Doing daily exercise is also very important. Jogging early morning helps to keep you healthy.

Your mind also should be healthy. So, you should read good books which teach you good moral values. When you are physically healthy, then your mind too becomes healthy. So we should be healthy in order to lead a successful life in the future.

Combating the Dengue epidemic

By Januka Perera (9 years), S. Thomas' College

We all know that the Dengue epidemic has killed more than two hundred people in Sri Lanka during this year. The Aedes Aegypti or the Dengue mosquito has become a huge threat to all of us. It is humans who are mostly responsible for the spread of Dengue mosquitoes.

The Dengue mosquito lays its eggs in clean, undisturbed water. The most common question is "How can we stop the Dengue mosquito from breeding?"

Well it is easy. You just have to clean the surroundings. You must clean the places where water gets collected.

For example, you can turn coconut husks upside-down, add salt to ant traps, fill sand into tyres on the roof, put ornamental fish into garden ponds or add Carbofuran into ponds. Practices such as these would help to have an environment free of mosquitoes.

Recently two Cuban doctors who arrived in Sri Lanka brought down bacteria which can kill the Dengue mosquito. These bacteria will be available in the market very soon. So, let us get together and control the spread of Dengue.

Our school trip

By Savindu Herat (Grade 3), Royal International School, Kurunegala

It was the second trip with my school friends. We started our trip from school. We went by two buses to Kandy. First of all we went to Dalada Maligawa. Then we went to Degaldoruwa and Ambekke Devalaya. We saw a lot of timber decorations in the Ambekke Devalaya. We went to Peradeniya Botanical Gardens and had our lunch.

We sang a lot of songs during our trip. In the evening we came back to school. I cannot explain in words how we enjoyed the trip. I thank my teachers and Principal for taking us on this
educational trip.

My favourite game

By Anan Manzil (Grade 4), Trinity College, Kandy

Cricket is my favourite game. It is played by two teams. A team has eleven players. To win the match the batsmen have to hit the target. There are ten wickets in the match. It is a gentleman's game. There is a captain and a vice-captain for a team.

There are three kinds of cricket. They are called One Day International, Twenty20 and Test
matches. ODI and Twenty20 means a one day match. For the one day and Twenty20 matches they wear coloured clothes. For test matches they wear white.

The match ball for ODI and Twenty20 is white and for test cricket red. Cricket started in England. It's popular in India, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa. Kumar Sangakkara is my favourite cricket hero.

I love playing cricket very much.

UFOs have landed

By Kumidu Shirantha (Grade 7), Vidyaloka M.V., Veyangoda

There is no doubt about the existence of Unidentified Flying Objects. Pilots, astronauts, astronomers have seen many unidentified aerial objects. But the questions about these objects still remain unsolved.

The name flying saucer was coined from the American press as pilot said to the press he saw some flying objects like saucers. Scientists think that some are optical illusions and hallucinations of people. And some are fabrications about these objects by publicity
seeking cranks.

So the most logical attitude on these aerial objects is that they have come to spy about our world.
And also we can think that our technology is not so improved as these extra terrestrials. Scientists think that these extra terrestrials would come to our world also.

Coconut tree

By Chalami de Silva (14 years), Alma Education Centre, Ragama

Coconut is famous in Sri Lanka. We export coconut to various countries. We make different types of goods like brooms, carpets, toilet brushes, strings and from the shell we make spoons and even for roofs we use the leaves. We make spare-parts and plank beds and many other things too.

This tree is very important to the country. Out of the coconut refuse, we make punack for animals. This is made in the mills; and also coconut oil is made for cooking. Ekel is used to make ekel brooms to sweep the garden.

This is a way for people to earn money and begin factories. Coconut is an important tree around the world.

A computer speaks

By Vibhath Senanayake (Grade 7), Anuradhapura Central College

My name is computer. But I don't know my age. I have many parts such as monitor, UPS, mouse,
keyboard etc. People get many uses from me. I have an artificial and intelligent knowledge. People enter the internet through me. Without me they can't get more knowledge. And I give fun and happiness through computer games.

My enemy is the virus. It disorders my system. But there is a good friend to get rid of viruses. It is a virus guard. There are many software to protect me from dangerous viruses. I think that
people can't go to a new future without my knowledge. I like to say please protect me from viruses but please don't use me for bad things and useless things.

An unforgettable day

By Nirmani Dasanayake (11 years), Mahamaya Girls' College, Kandy

One day, when I came home from school, my mother told me that there was a letter addressed to my name. I rushed and opened the letter. It said the most surprising news. It said that I was the All-Island 2nd place winner of the English Handwriting Competition organized by the Richard Trading Company and Bindu newspaper.

On the day of the prize giving we went to the BMICH. The ceremony was a grand one. The chief guest was the veteran artiste Nanda Malini. She told us about her childhood. Some dances were performed. The prizes were distributed.

I won some wonderful gift packs from Richard Company, a silver medal and a certificate. It was a memorable day in my life.

My little sister

By Samadhi Rajapaksha (8 years), Higgaswatha K.V., Kuruwita

My little sister's name is Thamasha. She is four years old. She is fair and chubby. She has curly hair. She loves to watch cartoons. Her favourite cartoon is Scooby Doo. She is very clever for her age.