Interview by Elijah Hoole
I’m Navoda Ediriweera from Sujath Balika Vidyalaya, Matara.
I was participant at FLC 3, that’s how I got involved in Sri Lanka Unites.
I play the piano; music is my thing. I think music is a
powerful tool when used appropriately. I hope to teach music one day. It’s
mainly in this field that I hope to contribute to Sri Lanka Unites.
Being a girl in itself is a barrier. Our school to some
extent is conservative, which restricts our capacity to contribute to
reconciliation. However our teacher-in -charge is very supportive and
encourages us to do our level best for the cause.
FLC was a good experience. It was my first exposure to
tamils. Before the conference I found it difficult to differentiate between
tamils and tigers. But now I understand that tamils are no different from me. I
have lots of tamil friends and I’m proud about it.
As a school club we’ve already done one small project. We spent
a day with kids from the Buddhist Ladies’ Orphanage, Matara. We choreographed a
dance and taught them. We also sang songs and told stories to each other. I
enjoyed every moment of that experience. We are a new chapter and hopefully we
will be able to do more towards hope and reconciliation.
