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Those at the head table at the media briefing to announce the setting up of the Hemas Tsunami Foundation in 2005 (from left): Ms. Shiromi Masakorala, Mr. Husein Esufally, Dr. Pramilla Senanayake, Mr. Murtaza
Esufally, Ms. Sumedha G. Jayasena and Mr. Sunil Samaraweera.
The other matters that had to be sorted out were identifying state land to establish
new and permanent model preschools in the affected areas. The Hemas team saw for
themselves as they visited these areas that many small preschools which had fostered
around 15-20 children were only heaps of debris, having been swept away by the waves.
When the land for these preschools was identified by the ministry, the Hemas
Group would sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the relevant local
government authority – Municipal Council (MC), Urban Council (UC) or Pradeshiya
Sabha (PS) – as the ECCD programme was devolved to them.

Under each MOU, the Hemas Group made a commitment to design the preschool
along with the ministry, build it and hand it over to the local government
authority which would employ the teachers and maintain the preschool. The
Hemas Group, like under the Piyawara project elsewhere in the country, would
conduct the annual teacher training programme, monitor the preschools with
the ministry, set up Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) and conduct parental
The late Mr. Anura Bandaranaike who was then Minister of Tourism, Mr. Murtaza Esufally and Mr. Abbas awareness programmes. The plan was to build 20 preschools.
Esufally at the function held after the launch of the Hemas Tsunami Foundation in 2005.

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