Indian businessmen donate water purification plant, books to rural Lankan schools

Students of Nagalawewa Primary School in Kimbissa with the members of the Lions Clubs of Bangalore Metro and Biyagama North after receiving free school books

A group of Indian businessmen arrived in Sri Lanka recently and ceremonially handed over a water purification plant donated by them to Sri Rahula Maha Vidyalaya, Maradankadawala. The occasion was also attended by Lions District 306B2 Governor Lion S.K. Ravindran and First Lady Lion Mangaleshwari. The group also donated school books and stationery items to students at Nagalawewa Primary School, Kimbissa.
The 14 Indian businessmen who arrived in Sri Lanka were all members of the Lions Club of Bangalore Metro. The project was a result of the twinning programme of the Lions Club of Bangalore Metro with the Biyagama North Lions Club.

The students of Sri Rahula Maha Vidyalaya in Maradankadawala, in the North Central Province were greatly inconvenienced by the lack of potable water. Daily they had to carry water from their homes in addition to their school books. The Biyagama North Lions Club contacted the Lions Club of Bangalore Metro in India which agreed to finance a new water purification plant for the school. 
“It was a great gesture on the part of the Lions Club of Bangalore Metro,” said Lions Club of Biyagama North President Lion Shiranee Rajapaksa.
“In Maradankadawala, the students were experiencing great difficulties due to the lack of clean drinking water. When we approached the Lions Club of Bangalore Metro, they readily agreed to help. Special mention must be made of Lion K.P. Nagaraj, who coordinated the projects and the visit on behalf of the Lions Club of Bangalore Metro.”

Lions Club of Bangalore Metro President Lion B. Rama Murthy was pleased with the group’s visit to Sri Lanka. “All of us are either business people or industrialists and for us to come to Sri Lanka and help students in rural schools has been a very satisfying experience. Education is not just an important aspect of a person’s life; it is also the major building block for a stable society,” he said.
“Several of the group also made useful business contacts that would in the future benefit both India and Sri Lanka,” said Lions Club of Bangalore Metro Secretary Lion Nagaraja Kini. 

Sixty seven students of Nagalawewa Primary School in Kimbissa received free school books from the Indian team at a ceremony attended by Principal Cabinet Officer Lion Chrishanthi Perera, Global Membership Team Coordinator Lion E.A.G. Edirisinghe and other members of the Lions Club of Biyagama North.
Seven hundred and fifty students of Sri Rahula Maha Vidyalaya, Maradankadawala will have access to safe drinking water from the Rs.2 lakh water treatment plant. 
The entire project was coordinated on behalf of the Biyagama North Lions Club and Sri Lanka by Lion Indhra Kaushal Rajapaksa.