Page 16 - Hemas_Piyawara_Book

With 62 preschools throughout the
length and breadth of the country,
Piyawara is now recognized as a
national initiative which has positively
impacted the lives of more than
100,000 children to date. It is a shining
example of a successful Public-Private
Partnership for the betterment of
society.
Abbas Esufally
Group Director of Hemas Holdings PLC &
Chairperson of Hemas Outreach Foundation
8 Hemas Piyawara - A Journey to the Future
It was 2003 and Nallur was the first, with Husein flying to Jaffna to witness the opening,
an emotional moment for all at the Hemas Group. However, the challenges on-site
were not over. The Koti Handa (‘Voice of Tigers’) radio had been insistent that Husein
should go with them to Kilinochchi, a ride of over 50km, for an interview, when Shiromi
fearful of what might lie in store, volunteered to give the interview not in Kilinochchi
but right there in Nallur. So Shiromi went on Koti Handa, being asked questions in
Tamil and giving her answers in English, while the preschool opening got underway
smoothly with around 75 children in attendance.
The other dire need too was being addressed – initially 20 teachers needing training
not only in handling tiny tots but also equipping them with skills, participating in the
residential programme at the Malabe Training Centre. Some of them from distant
places such as Jaffna and Batticaloa were seeing Colombo for the first time in their
lives.
It was not just intensive training for the teachers but also fun times with a tour of the
city followed by a grand meal at a 5-star hotel hosted by the Hemas Group.
Going beyond training, it was also bonding for the teachers from different
cultures and backgrounds, such diversity being the very essence that makes Sri
Lanka extraordinary. Bonds which remain strong across time and geographical
regions even now.
There was also much love from the teachers and the little ones of Jaffna for the Hemas
team, with 3-year-olds flocking around Shiromi and tentatively touching her to see
whether she was really there, having only seen soldiers from the south. One day, Shiromi
had been enthralled by a talent show put up by these children at the community centre
on Navalar Road when she was shaken out of her skin by what sounded like a clap
of thunder. Frozen to her seat, she had only come out of the shock when a child had
whispered to her mother to “tell Aunty that it was only a fire-cracker and not a bomb!”
The regions where the Hemas Group has gently touched numerous lives through
ECCD are diverse. Working through thick and thin has come fulfilment.
Many are the stakeholders that the Hemas team worked with and continue to work
with. Even though ECCD is a devolved subject under the provincial administration
which allocates the budgets, policy directions are by the central government.