Punithawathy Kanagasingam was one of the 23 children from the Trincomalee district who were the first to arrive to the Gokulam Children's Home inColombo under the care of Nandarani Devi - Principal. She was only eight years old when she arrived.Punithawathy had lost both her parents in the war and had been abandoned by her relatives. With no other home to call her own, she lived in Gokulam where she was provided with food, shelter, education and loving care.
Her Education
When Punithawathy arrived she had to be taught from the very basic. Within two years she was able to read and write in English. She was one of the brightest students and always ranked first in class.
Up until G.C.E O/L, the children are educated in the Gokulam School which is situated with the Gokulam Home premises. In December 2006, she sat for the G.C.E O/L exam along with nine others. She passed with good grades and was qualified to continue to the G.C.E A/L which is a two year course.
With Punithawathy's good grades and her desire to further her studies, she was enrolled in Ceylinco Sussex College (an affiliated school with Gokulam) located in Kiribathgoda (app. 1 hour drive from Gokulam) from the beginning of the year 2007.
Although the expenses are very high for Punithawathy to attend Sussex College, Nandarani devi (Principal) says that "since the children of Gokulam are following the English medium curriculum there are a few government schools that teach the English curriculum. As such we had to look for a private school for her to continue her studies. Even though it is expensive it is our duty to make sure that the children in the Home are given good education for a bright future."
Punithawathy has now been attending Sussex College for over 6 months and is majoring in Maths. Punithawathy plans to continue her studies to become an Engineer.
More about her...
Apart from pursuing her goal to become an Engineer, Punithawathy loves to read and spends most of her time reading or helping the other children to read. Her favorite subjects have always been Maths and Science and her favorite games are Monopoly and Badminton.
Punithawathy is always looked upon by the younger children as a good friend and a sister.
Punithawathy's pictures
from the time she arrived
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