Landmark school opens for tsunami-hit children

A new school developed by Plan has now opened its doors to thousands of children in an area of Sri Lanka which suffered devastation in the 2004 tsunami.

When the Boxing Day tsunami devastated 13 coastal areas in Sri Lanka, those children who survived were left with virtually nothing.

Not only did they lose their homes, friends and family, but their schools and livelihoods had also all but disappeared.

Hambantota was one of the worst affected areas, with many schoolchildren forced to join classes in neighbouring communities, causing problems with overcrowding and putting substantial strain on resources.

But, four years on, the children now have a brand new school of their own in one of the biggest ever projects taken on by Plan Sri Lanka.

The Ruhunu Vijayabha School was officially unveiled on 5 February and can take up to 3,000 pupils, with special preference for tsunami-affected families.

Immediately following the disaster in 2004, many local and international organisations gave help and support to the people left destitute by the tsunami, offering emergency relief, reconstruction of villages, rehabilitation, and forward planning initiatives.

Plan worked closely with the Sri Lankan government, working quickly to implement a tsunami response programme. This looked at health, education, housing, livelihood, psycho-social support, and child protection.

As part of this reconstruction programme, the Sri Lankan Prime Minister asked Plan to develop a new school in the Tangalle-Beliatta area for the children who were in desperate need of decent educational facilities.

In February 2005 the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone before engineers took on the momentous task of creating the 20-acre school complex.

Now it is one of the largest schools in Sri Lanka and accommodates primary and secondary school pupils. The primary section has 30 classrooms, a play area, clay workshop, library, counselling room, sick room, staff room and an administration block.

The secondary school has 56 classrooms, science labs, home economics lab, IT centre, library, assembly hall and an industrial workshop. There are also facilities for disabled children such as ramps and staff quarters.

A playground has been landscaped with a 400 metre track for sports and it has been fully equipped with furniture and resources.

The first batch of primary school pupils were enrolled last year and, now the school is completed, figures are expected to reach their maximum of 3,000 in 2009.