Motorola helps set up library and a computing centre for Yapahuwa school

Saturday, 23 April 2011 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The library and computing centre funded by Motorola Solutions Foundation and built with the assistance from parents and teachers of a remote rural school, Bamunugama Vidyalaya in the Yapahuwa electorate, was recently declared opened by Cabinet Minister for Cultural and Art Affairs T.B. Ekanayake and Motorola Software R&D Centre Director and Sri Lanka Country Manager Anuradha Tennakoon.

Bamunugama Vidyalaya, situated 125 km off Colombo, has over 100 children where the majority live below the poverty line and had never seen a computer before.

A year ago the school library was limited to one cupboard with hardly 200 old books with torn pages. The cupboard was next to the principal’s table, giving hardly any room for the principal to move around or the children to access it when the principal was in his seat.

Children read books sitting on the ground under the trees in the school garden. The school had no electricity and the poor parents could not contribute anything other than labour for the development of the school.

“Today we have a separate library building with new furniture, volumes of new books and five brand new computers thanks to Motorola’s generosity,” said School Principal Ranbanda. “Motorola also helped us to obtain electricity and the children can now comfortably sit under a fan and read books or work on a computer, which they had never seen in their life. Our school and the entire village are indebted to Motorola for their kindness.”

The library and the computing centre well worth over Rs. 3 million were completed with a Rs. 1.2 million grant from Motorola Solutions Foundation and labour and material contributions from the parents.

“We gave the concept, specifications for the building, money, directions and empowered the School Development Society to complete the project. It was a great challenge for them. But they had the determination and will power and completed the whole project in a matter for six months,” said Tennakoon.

Parents contributed labour and timber while the principal and the teachers worked hard to complete the project with the limited funds. Parents and teachers of Bamunugama Vidyalaya set an excellent example for the entire country, added Tennakoon. Motorola Sri Lanka staff too contributed to the project by way of donating books.

The Motorola Solutions Foundation (formerly the Motorola Foundation) is the charitable and philanthropic arm of Motorola Solutions. With employees located around the globe, Motorola Solutions seeks to benefit the communities where it operates. The company achieves this by making strategic grants, forging strong community partnerships, and fostering innovation.

The Motorola Solutions Foundation focuses its funding on public safety, disaster relief, employee programs and education, especially science, technology, engineering and math programming.