Ex-'Mahaveerar' family school students on goodwill tour to South

http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20100621_08
Ex-'Mahaveerar' family school students on goodwill tour to South
Eighty Tamil school students including those belonging to former so-called LTTE 'Mahaveerar' families in the East had the rare chance of visiting and interacting with the South for the first time in life when they were recently taken on a five-day picnic, organized by the 222 Brigade Headquarters in Jayanthigama, Kantale.
Those eighty students, ten teachers and ten parents from remote Sri Sahanpaha Maha Vidyalaya, Ilangathurai Mohoththuwaram Hindu Vidyalaya and Thiruvalluvar Vidyalaya under Echchalampattu Divisional Secretariat, took part in this tour that took them to places of historical and cultural importance.
Those students visited Parliament, Dehiwala Zoo, Temple Trees, National Museum, Viharamaha Devi Park, Hindu temple at Modera and a number of other places of tourist interest in Colombo and its suburbs.
The special and the memorable feature of the entire mission was the overwhelming reception, extended to them by students at Ananda College, Colombo 10 and Royal College during their sojourn in Colombo. Those visiting brother Tamil students were entertained to a rousing welcome and conducted in a cultural pageant before they were taken round the school premises in order to impart them basic knowledge on Information Technology, Sports, Music and Drama. Teachers and senior students of those schools helped them to learn more of those technological areas. Those guests were also entertained to sweetmeats and lunch.
Parents as well as teachers of those east-based students, some of who were visiting Colombo for the first time in life, were in high spirits after talking and sharing views with Colombo teachers and students. Many of them had undergone traumas of LTTE atrocities, being children of so-called 'Mahaveerar' families. Symbolic gifts were also distributed among visiting students as tokens of goodwill and reconciliation. At the end of the tour, parents, teachers and students thanked the Army for organizing this eventful tour to the South.
The educational tour, organized and coordinated by 222 Brigade to match with Army Commander's instructions on promotion of civil-military relations, was given the fullest support and directions by Brigadier D.D.U.K Hettiarachchi, Commander 222, Brigade.