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Bodhi Education Programme

B) Jinaraja Junior School – Renovierung und Erweiterung

1. Background

The Jinaraja Junior School is located in Weligama, in the Matara District, in Sri Lanka and has 292 students. It conducts classes for girls and boys from grade one to grade 11. 22 new students and a number of teachers from a school that was destroyed by the Tsunami have joined the school. A number of schools in Weligama are being used as camps for displaced people and there is thus a shortage of schools for the children in the area. This is adversely affecting children who come from Tsunami affected areas who have been transferred to other schools. More Tsunami affected students could be schooled in the Jinaraja Junior School in Weligama if there is more space in the school.

During the time of the Tsunami, resident guests at Barberyn Beach Ayurveda Resort expressed interest in improving and developing a school(s) in order to provide an environment that would enable and encourage learning. They felt that education is the key to advancement and the betterment of life and it is necessary to approach poverty and its causes at the base and that a good education would give the children the promise of a future.

The first school that the guests had visited during their stay (Mahanama Kanishta Vidyalaya in Gurubabila) has been taken for a camp for displaced people, so the Barberyn Management consulted the Education Department and the Provincial Government authorities and they recommended Dinaraja Vidyalaya as one of the schools needing assistance. Discussions were undertaken between the Barberyn Management and the Principal and teachers of the school and the requirements for enrolling more students and improving the school facilities have been identified and agreed. The government authorities have given the go ahead to proceed with the project.

 

Jinaraja School New Building Construction Commences (20 June 2005)

 

JThe completed class rooms

2. Objective

(i) Expand the capacity of the Weligama Jinaraja School to be able to absorb more children and in particular children affected by the Tsunami.

(ii) Provide a better learning environment for the students through the improvement of school facilities.

(iii) Encourage the children to go to school happily

 


Classrooms



 		 
Classrooms

Toilet		  
Students

Action Plan

Phase 1

  1. Building movable partitions for the main hall. Currently there are two classrooms in the main hall and the noise and disturbance levels are high.
  2. Repair the windows and doors in the main hall.
  3. Build a dividing wall between Grade 6 and 7 classes to help concentration
  4. Re-plaster the walls of the current building where necessary and paint the school.
  5. Improve the library with more Sinhala and English books.
  6. Improve the toilets in the school by building a roof over the current toilets, providing commodes and placing wash basins
  7. Repair the water supply to the school by either replacing or repairing the water tank. At present staff and students have to go to the neighbouring temple for water.
  8. Improve the condition of the laboratory by plastering and painting, making a window and providing the necessary equipment to make it a good laboratory.
  9. Providing a telephone for the office of the school. The monthly telephone bills will be paid by the Department of Education.

Phase 2

  1. Build additional school room(s) to house one or two classrooms, a computer room and/or a library. The current library is being used as a staff room.
  2. Add all the necessary furniture for these rooms like desks, chairs, cupboards, computers, dividing partitions, windows, doors, drains and pavements.

Phase 3

  1. Improve the playground in the school
  2. Build a boundary wall for the whole school which could be 5 feet brick and 5 feet fence to protect the school children and facilities

Resources for all phases

Civil engineers from Barberyn Management, and the Department of Education will be involved in the renovations, design and construction of the buildings. Barberyn Management will bear the cost of staff allocated to the project, transportation, administration and miscellaneous costs.

Several "friends of Barberyn" have contributed funds, specifically for school related projects. The work on phase one of the project could commence with this contributions. It is envisaged that the funding for the main work will come from friends of Barberyn who have collected funds specifically for the Bodhi Programme – directed at improving education opportunities in the rural schools in Sri Lanka.

Timeframe

The project is to commence in April 2005.

Phase 1: 2 months from time of commencement

Phase 2: 5 months from time of commencement

Phase 3: 6 months from time of commencement









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