The Alpha Project
The world looks different at night
After the war ended in 2009, The Peace Gang, together with faculty members of the La Petite Fleur Schools got engaged in the rehabilitation process of the child combatants based in Hindu College Ratmalana, which is in a suburb of Colombo. This project encompassed education based on English, Arts, Drama, Social Etiquette, Field Trips and Leadership Skills Building. 279 young men and women, plagued and imprisoned by all the physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual and social consequences of long-drawn-out guerrilla war-fare, received some of the general education they had missed out on, ranging from academics and co-curricular activity to social and personal skills, self-care to community service, from experiencing eating out to reaching out, and they re-connected with their fellow-citizens.
The Directress and Faculty of the LPF Schools, with numerous friends and civilian volunteers, joined the military personnel running the programme at Hindu College, Ratmalana, and in the next 8 months or so, helped make some young women and men feel they were accepted and respected, simply Sri Lankans among other Sri Lankans who cared about them.
WATCH: BBC Correspondent, Stephen Sackur interviews Mrs. Bernadine Anderson for a segment of Hard Talk.
The Establishment of an Early Years Classroom
In 2020 with a special fundraising drive, the creation of a Early Years classroom within the premises, completely equipped with materials and furniture changed the life of the school-going students there, helping them to gain not only the 3 R’s but more purpose, focus and social skills.
The adults who take charge of the early education of the 25-30 children are trained and employed by the LPF Schools Further, a group of 6-8 students are welcomed to the La Petite Fleur House of Children in Ratmalana, as the larger school community is acknowledged to be greatly beneficial to the children. Their entire experience, from shoes to caps, bags & bottles to snacks and transport, is sponsored.
