SJ87 Scholarship Initiative St. John's Presentation

Ananda Kumar, Ph.D. US representative SJC 87 Initiative www.sjc87scholarship.org

Who is SJC 87 • Class of 87 from St. John’s College, Jaffna • We are investing and helping people invest in the development of education of children affected by the war in Sri Lanka • Registered charity in Australia, Sri Lanka • In the process: USA, UK and Canada

What We Do • Educational sponsorship of children at schools • School rebuilding and infrastructure development • Art Therapy and development of artistic communication • Sponsor/facilitate Research on Educational development • Vocational Training • Provide Management Expertise to Schools

Education can add to the value of production in the economy and also to the income of the person who has been educated. But even with the same level of income, a person may benefit from education – in reading, communicating, arguing, in being able to choose in a more informed way, in being taken more seriously by others and so on.

Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, Development as Freedom, 1999

Human Capital: Education and Health • Health is an important factor in school attendance • Healthier children learn better • Longer life span increases return on investment in education • Healthier individuals productively use education

• Health programs rely on skills learned in schools • Schools teach basic hygiene and sanitation • Education is needed for the formation and training of health personnel • Improving return on investment in education raise the return on a lifesaving investment in health

Linkage between Investments in Heath and Education from Economic Development

by M.P. Todaro and S.C. Smith

Educational Sponsorship of Children • We sponsor 110 children at 10 schools in Jaffna and Vanni • Full sponsorship – food, lodging and educational expenses • Partial sponsorship – educational expenses • Plan to expand to Vanni and East • Cost per child for full sponsorship ~US$550/year

Schools • St. John’s College • Chundikuli Girls College • Mahajana College • Ramanathan College • Hartley College

• St. Anthony’s College • Little Flower Convent • Dharmapuram Mahavidyalayam • Uduvil Girls College • Saiva Mangayar Kalagam

Holistic Approach to Educational Development

Principal Mr. S. Poologarajah

SJC 87 field workers with a school teacher

Tharmapuram Maha Vidyalayam • Location: Tharmapuram central town, greater Killinochchi • Number of students - 1300 (in the past 2200) • Number of children either lost their father or mother or both – 219 • Number of students in the A/L class – 127 • Number sat for the exam – 20 • Number of building standing - 2

Our Mission for the School and Students • • •

To provide the school with the necessary facilities for the students.

Make these students true contributors for nation building Provide a base for them so that when they leave the school they can obtain Skills for life challenges.

Project Completed by July 2010 • • • •

Honda power generator including electrical fittings (Rs. 225,000).

All necessary items to for the schools maths centre and renovation of the Maths room (Rs. 107,000) Amplifier, speakers and mic, including all necessary fittings (Rs. 51,000).

Water pump, necessary fittings including 50 meters of pipe line (Rs. 25,000)

Supplement World Food Program's Meal A Day The World Food Programme currently provides Rs. 2 and 200g rice per child for a meal.

SJC87 gives the school Rs. 15,000 per month for a year to provide healthy meal for students from nursery to grade nine.

Renovation of Teachers’ Quarters • • • • • •

Female teachers quarters Male teachers quarters Mixed teachers quarters Total cost for the project Rs.1,500,000 Australian donor donated $5,000 and another $5,000 on completion.

NEED Rs.500,000 – looking for a donor

Sponsoring the Single Parent and Orphaned Children • 219 children need sponsorship • Cost for the sponsorship will be determined soon

Development of Children’s Play Area

COST Rs. 110,000

Need For Specialist Teachers • Maths and English weak areas • Need for Math and English teachers • Need to pay extra Rs.7000 per month to attract good teachers from other areas • Cost for meeting this need for minimum a year Rs.84,000

Art of Hope Project • Creative art and Art therapy program • 500 students participated • Calendar 2010, 2011 • Rs.30,000 given to each school for art program development

Paalam – Creative Monologue and Short Playwright Award • In collaboration of Penn State Drama Dept. and Oxfam USA • Playwright competition - Oct 30th 2010 • US$150.00 for first places for 6 categories • US$20.00 for runners up • Penn State Drama students will dramatize • All students would be awarded certificates

Workshops for Playwright Program • SJC 87 Sponsored two workshops on short play, drama and monologue writing • Kulanthai Shanmuhalingam of Jaffna University Drama dept. conducted workshops

SJC87 Main Sponsor of Jaffna National College of Education’s Research Symposium

Participatory Involvement

School Principals with SJC 87 Sri Lankan Representative School Principals, Art teachers with SJC 87 US Representative

Collaborations • Schools • IMHO – SJC87 donated Rs.5 million towards the Cardiac Catheterization Lab at Jaffna Teaching Hospital • Penn State University, Oxfam USA • Jaffna National College of Education (JNCOE)

Thank you for your attention www.sjc87scholarship.org