Today all of you know that I am a girl living in the rural village of Mahavilachchiya. But if I was not living in this village would anyone know about me? Now, I think I’m quite a lucky girl. I am proud to say that I am a member of the first batch of students at the Horizon Lanka Foundation. This is my story about how I came into contact with Horizon Lanka. When I was in grade 4 we met the founder of HLF, Mr. Wanni. At that time he was our English teacher. His method of teaching was so interesting that we engaged in extra activities in English, making it our favorite subject. Most of the students in the rural villages were not happy to see an English teacher in their class room. It was not the students’ fault. The teachers should have created an interest in the students for English and Mr. Wanninayaka is a brilliant example of knowing how to attract the interest of the students. He made English our favorite subject at school. I am sure all of you have read about the history of our HLF and I won’t waste too much time repeating all that! But I’m sure you will like to know how my life changed with the help of the Horizon Lanka Foundation. For a start I must confirm that with HLF my education was a great success. I was given an inestimable education in English for which I had an “A” pass in the Ordinary Level examination. This gift was given to me by HLF.
Horizon Lanka also provides students with scholarships. It helped me to improve my education and with the help of my scholarship I was able to attend extra classes in preparation for our A/Ls.
If I did not have the chance of joining HLF I would, perhaps, have never seen a computer. But now we are fortunate that computers are part of our day to day life. Thanks to HLF I can operate a computer like others operate a TV. Of course the credit goes to HLF. I was given the chance of becoming the first Digital Butterfly and became the first Digital Ambassador. With the help of the Horizon projects, Digital Butterflies and Digital Ambassadors, I was given a desktop computer and a laptop computer. This means that I can further my IT training and hope to be a success in the future. With the help of MESH technology at Horizon my home got free internet access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I can now check my mails, communicate with friends and donors and develop my IT knowledge.
I want to thank Mr. Wanni and all others who helped to create Horizon and who provided us with all the educational opportunities.
Posted by ireshadilhani
