Katunayake Maha Vidyalaya has won the first place in the year 2022 in the field of school agriculture and cultivation in the Negombo Education Region. Not only through education but also through extracurricular activities, this school is a dedicated school built on the total commitment of its principal. In the latter half of 2022, the college’s principal, Ms M.P. Shyamali De Silva, got to know about the activities of the good hands project and contacted the project officials. About 167 students are currently studying at the school, and most of them are members of families with severe economic difficulties. The good hands project was launched as an investment in the future for the children of a school facing many challenges.

Katunayake Maha Vidyalaya

On January 03, 2023, after finalizing the preliminary preparations, the good hands team entered the Katunayake area. School teachers and parents and all the students participated in our program that morning. At the beginning, the local Samurdhi officer and the pastor of the Katunayake Methodist Church participated as chief guests at the awareness program held us.

GHI team gave the group a detailed series of lectures on “Coconut Cultivation and the Future of the Country”, along with video footage. Information about the damage of the “coconut white fly”, which is spreading rapidly around coconuts, was made aware to all the elders gathered.

Finally, the team gave practical knowledge to the students and entrusted them with the activities of making a coconut plant from a coconut seed and planting it. A seed nursery consisting of about 80 coconut seeds for the school was established. At the end of that session, about 40 coconut saplings were planted in the unused premises of the school.

GHI presented the “Good Hands Coconut Cultivation Manual” to the principal for further information of the students and distributed to all those involved in the program. In the end, the team distributed coconut seeds for nursery and coconut seedlings for planting to the parents and teachers who participated in the program as an appreciation of their interest in the “seed nursing concept”.

Katunayake Methodist Church

The pastor of Katunayake Methodist Church, SK Sunil, who participated in the program held at Katunayake High School, was a person who was extremely interested in cultivation. Hence coconut saplings and seeds for planting within the church premises were donated.

Seeduwa Police Station

After knowing about the good hands project, Mr Dhanushka, OIC of Seeduwa Police Station, extended an invitation to GHI team to visit the police station premises. Accordingly, Mr MK Wijeratne of the Environment Police Unit discussed the project and its progress. Several coconut saplings for planting on the police station premises, and handbooks related to coconuts were given to the police officers.