Home \ Initiatives \ Helping Children
ONE HEART EDUCATIONAL CENTER

Construction of the "MINHATH" Pre-school in Dickwella

School enrollment forms - 1
School enrollment forms - 2
School enrollment forms - 3
School enrollment forms - 4


Update May 15, 2008
By Michael Lear

The Minhath Montessori Pre-school, located in Dickwella is the only Tamil/Muslim school of its kind in the Tangallle Region where pre-school children can study in their native language and receive instruction in Arabic so they can read the Koran. Recently the Tangalle Muslim School was closed and children in this community now have nowhere to study in their native language and must attend the public Singhalese schools.

minmath photo   minmath photo

In light of this, perhaps the most important aspect of this school is that it goes beyond a mere offering of education by providing a venue for the Tamil Community to keep its culture in tact. This is no small contribution to this community that oftentimes is affected by the stigma of the conflict in Northern and Eastern of Sri Lanka.

Keeping with his original vision, Mr. Imthiyas is on his way to having a model Montessori school for others in the area to follow. He's re-doing the playgrounds, continues to enhance the curriculum per the Montessori guidelines and has hopes to start a garden for the children to learn about growing food. But Mr. Imthiyas, not unlike Mr. Mahendra, has expanded on his original vision for the Minhath Montessori School. He recognized that he needed to make better use of the facility in which the pre-school was located after the pre-school children had gone home.

minmath photo   minmath photo

Since my last visit in 2007, he has set up a computer lab with two PC's, and now runs weekly study classes in Language, Science and Health in the afternoons for children ages 9-13, 13-14, 14-16. With a teacher from neighboring town Weligama, paid for out of his own pocket, he's created some of the most heavily attended after school classes by teens in this area wishing to perform well on their government exams.

minmath photo   minmath photo

His vision however, hasn't stopped there. While he recognizes the importance of having an exclusively Muslim/Tamil school for the community, he ventured further to establish the only Sinhalese/Tamil Montessori School in the district and of the 64 Montessori schools in the area, it is at the top of the list for performance and academia. Led by both Sinhalese and Tamil teachers, two of each he shows how it is possible to honor and respect the two cultures under one roof, not to mention create a superior learning environment in the process.

Unfortunately, the building in which the school is operated is in poor shape and overrun by monkeys in the evening when the school is not active. He is prospecting for financial support to rebuild this structure and improve the grounds that surround it.

minmath photo   minmath photo

Mr. Imthiyas, like Mr. Mahendra, with the support of Real Medicine, has become a strong community leader who actualizes every opportunity available to him to serve his community. Productive partnerships such as these have come to characterize Real Medicine's participation in Sri Lanka and we look forward to supporting these and forging others to further our vision in Sri Lanka.


Update February 10, 2007
By Minerva Fernando

The MINHATH Pre-school is the first ever pre-school for the children of the Muslim minority community in Dickwella, Sri Lanka. The new building was officially opened on November 25, 2006. School activities started on January 8, 2007.

Four Teachers were hired:
1. Miss M.R.B.Rizka Latheef
2. Miss M.F.Nazaha
3. Miss M.H.N.S.Nasahiya
4. Miss M.N.F.Rumaiz

26 children are attending the pre-school right now, ages 3 to 5 years.



Previous Next

 The names of the children and a parent are:

 

Parent Name

Child Name

 1

Mr. Abdulla

Mohamed  Rizvan

 2

Mrs. Nusri  Ahamed

Mohamed  Naleef

 3

Mrs. Fathima

Mohamd  Walth

 4

Mr. Zaharath

Fouzal Jowhar

 5

Mrs. Fathima Shahana

Mohamed Sadook

 6

Mrs. Fathima Shamla

Mohamed Sabran

 7

Mr. Anas Ahamed

Mohamed Rizan

 8

Mrs. Razni Ahamed

Samath  Rijan

 9

Mr. Ahamed Infas

Ahamed Irhan

10

Mrs. Fathima Hafsa

Ahamed Rizvan

11

Mr. Shihak Ahamed

M.N.M. Nazeem

12

Mrs. Ayasha Fahma

M.N.M.Fasy

13

Mr. Mohamed Amhor

Mohamed Aflal

14

Mrs. Fathima Mozha

Ahamed Mushfik

15

Mr. M.F.Hafsa

M.J.MMalhar

16

Mrs. M.Y.S.Nahla

M.M.Yakeen

17

Mr. Abdul Razak

Rizwan

18

Mrs. Fathima Seema

M.S.Muhammed

19

Mr. Muhameed

M.M.J.Kareeb

20

Mr. J.N.Nazeem

M.S.J.Najimudeen

21

Mr. Mohamed Umar

Fouzal Ilham

22

Mr. M.H.F.Hafsa

P.M.M.Hussain

23

Mr. Shameel Ahamed

M.S.A.Azmy

24

Mrs. M.M.M.Ruzmy

M.A.M.Mazmy

25

Mr. Abdullah

M.N.M.Azjemudeen

26

Mrs. Aysha Raiha

A.N.Rizkan Ahamed

         

The construction of the pre-school was overseen by the principal, Mr. Imthiyas. And he got all the support and the blessings from the Muslim Religious Leaders of Dickwella Jumma Mosque. The Board of Directors are the Religious Leaders of the Muslim Community, it is headed by Mr. Imthiyas. The management is in his hands, supervision and advocacy is in the hands of Real Medicine Foundation.

Under Mr. Imthiyas’ guidance, the pre-school is a beautiful and educational place for the children who are attending. He turned an old well into a fish tank so the children can learn about fish without any danger. The tank is surrounded by a fence and it is covered with a net.

  

The playhouse for the children is next to the tank, a beautiful little hut. And there is a special place for the children to play with sand. The swings are in a corner of the garden. There are also several benches in the garden, and a playground, which has a rope ladder, allowing the children to safely climb up. It is interesting to watch the children doing that.

The class rooms are neat and tidy. The handicrafts the children are doing are hung around the class room. It is very pretty.

When I was visiting and entering the class room, the children were singing. And they all wished me Good Morning politely. I was touched with their decent behavior. The teachers with much care and love do their duty very actively.

I had a chance to sing and play with the children for a while. I was so happy and enjoyed so much to be with them. When I was ready to leave them all thanked me and bid Good Bye to me. I felt little bit sad in my heart to leave them.

I am very proud that Real Medicine Foundation has made a secure and a pleasant place for these little children.

Previous Updates



Foundation stone laying ceremony March 27, 2006


Previous Next

On December 26, 2004, a major earthquake off the west coast of Northern Sumatra measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale triggered a massive flood wave (tsunami). According to official estimates, Sri Lanka suffered more than 30,000 confirmed fatalities. Sri Lanka is one of the countries in Southeast Asia worst affected by the tsunami. The catastrophe left a swath of destruction and hit the extremely poor areas along the Southern coast. Even before this catastrophe the basic facilities as well as public and private infrastructures in the rural areas of the south region were very underdeveloped.

In addition, as a result of two decades of ongoing civil war, rural areas in particular have completely insufficient basic services and inadequate public and private structures. The population cannot secure vital supplies and services on its own strength, and people are unable to take initial steps to stabilize their daily lives and prepare for rebuilding their environment. Hospitals, schools and other public facilities were either destroyed or damaged. Some of the telephone and electricity lines, roads, and train routes in the coastal areas were interrupted. The currently most important economic activities in the region - agriculture, cattle breeding and fishing - are at very low level. In most cases, the population in the affected regions have lost their entire possessions, including houses, farmland, food stocks and production equipment. Production and trade in the disaster regions have declined greatly. Small businesses are only recovering very slowly.
The population, heavily traumatized by the civil war and the tsunami, is currently not in a position to achieve sustainable reconstruction on its own strength and using own financial resources. Under the current adverse circumstances, managing their day-to-day lives is already an enormous challenge for most people. Existing administrative structures are clearly overburdened with the situation in the disaster area and the resulting tasks. The risk of poverty is considerable.

Dickwella is a small town in the south of Sri Lanka. The majority of the families living in this area have been affected by the tsunami. The situation is especially difficult for the Tamil speaking families in the area, since they are a small minority: 95% of the population is Singhalese, only 5% Tamil speaking Muslims. There are 63 pre-schools in the Dickwella area, only one of them equipped for Tamil speaking children: The Minhath pre-school will be the first permanent pre-school for Tamil speaking children in Dickwella, who before had been forced into a gypsy-like life without the possibility or space for education.

Right now, the 50 children, ages 4 and 5 years, who will be visiting this new pre-school, are taught in one small room provided to them by a nearby government school - without a teaching schedule, learning materials, playground, etc., basically just locked up in this room for the morning - and even here, they will be forced out soon. An application for a pre-school for Tamil speaking children had been on the table since 1998 and was approved by the government, but never funded or supported, so that these children never had a chance for an advanced or even proper education. In addition, there are no Tamil speaking teachers provided in the area since they get appointed to jobs in the north and east of the country.

The Real Medicine Foundation decided to take on the construction of this pre-school in the frame work of our tsunami relief work in Sri Lanka. The implementation of the project will be supervised by the GTZ office in Southern Sri Lanka.

Our main teacher/principal for the school and coordinator for the project is M.M. Imthiyas, the secretary of the "One Heart Educational Center". He had the courage to apply again for a pre-school for the Tamil speaking children, and this time it was successful. He is a teacher who is successfully teaching 450 children in a nearby school for advanced education, where Singhalese and Tamil children are studying together. He speaks English, Tamil and Singhalese, and will be in charge of the school. He already was able to get two female teachers for the school, one more will be hired.

Because of his previous teaching experience, he can provide and implement an advanced activity plan and teaching schedule for the children that allows them to be prepared for advanced education and to support their peaceful integration into the community they are living in.