Today, Padma Jayaweera successfully launched GPI's newest office and hosted the first day of training for 7 new reporters. In honor of our 24th News Desk, Padma has shared a blog about the spirit of determination and dedication to education that brought her to where she is today.
At age 11, I won a scholarship and gained admission to the college hostel my father took me to the hostel on his push bicycle and entrusted me to the matron, who reviewed the hostel rules. I was pushed into a different world of discipline and determination in which I learned that sometimes you have to go through setbacks to reach success.
My father helped me to settle into the dormitory with the other girls, who were of all different ages. My father touched my forehead gently before he left the hostel, which made me feel very sad. But there were some girls who were similar to my age, and I slowly became friendly with them.
The hostel rules and the matron were strict. The morning bell woke us up at 5 a.m. every day. We quickly learned to not oversleep after the matron came into the dormitory with a cane one day and started hitting those who were still sleeping. We also learned to dress neatly as she always checked each and every child for cleanliness.
Gradually, I got used to the strict hostel rules. I worked hard in school, and, as a result, I became the first in the class at each term test. My father encouraged me by promising to give a new frock if I became the first in the class, and because of my good results, I became his favorite child.
The matron also rewarded my achievement by appointing me to be the hostel’s minister of education, which meant I monitored the studies of the other students in the hostel. I was very strict with them, even introducing a rule that forbade them from speaking in their native languages during study period to force them to practice their English. Anyone who broke the rule three times had to carry five baskets of soil to the top of the hill near the hostel as punishment, so the girls learned to respect me and obey my orders.
Everything was going perfectly until age 14. Then came the un-luck.
We had not finished the syllabus, but I was required to take the Senior School Certificate Examination because I was on scholarship. When the results came out, I found out that I passed but my grade did not qualify me for the Higher School Certificate class. I couldn't stay in the lower class because I had passed the examination, yet I couldn’t go to the higher class because I didn't have the adequate qualifications. The principal told me that my scholarship was canceled and I had to leave the school.
I was shocked, and the principal told my father that he had to take me home. All my friends at the hostel, the matron and the teachers at the school sympathized with me. I’d been the youngest in the class and placed first in each term test, yet I had to leave the hostel and the school.
What could I do at home? There were no private schools in our rural area, and I had learned too much to join the other children my age at the village school. I was so ashamed that I didn't want to leave the house, and if anyone came to visit, I wouldn’t leave my room.
But my mother prayed every day for the Lord Buddha and God to help me, and my father sought help from a Member of Parliament. After one Parliament wrote a letter on my behalf, I was re-admitted to the school and reinstate my scholarship.
Everyone at the hostel and school gave me a rousing welcome, and I made up my mind to catch up on my work and get the best result at the next examination. To push myself, I displayed encouraging statements of important people around my study table like, “One who has the determination finds the suitable way to go,” by American philosopher Johan Gathe. I studied hard and sat for the next examination of the Senior School Certificate.
When the test results were released, my father rode his bicycle to the school – just like the first day when he dropped me off and my luck first began. He returned home with a full smile – and my luck. I passed with distinction. I was the only one in the school.
I was overjoyed, and my mother hugged me and said: Lord Buddha and God helped this innocent girl. That is why people say, “Every cloud has a silver lining.” Now you need not hide, you have got the luck through un-luck.
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