Article written for the 125th Anniversary souvenir of Musaeus College, Colombo 7, Sri Lanka.

1. Once a Girl Guide, Always a Girl Guide
The Girl Guide Movement started at Musaeus College in 1948, just a few months after Sri Lanka (then
known as Ceylon) gained independence, making 23rd
Colombo (as it is known in Guiding parlance) one
of the first companies to be set up in an independent Sri Lanka. The company thrived with many girls
joining in and enjoying the activities, such as camping and projects for community development. The
company entered into a golden era when Ms. Kanthi Fernando took over as Guide Captain in 1966.
The core principles and values of Girl Guiding such as the Promise and the Law, the Good Turn and
Patrol system of working was taken to another level, when in 1996, a group of former Girl Guides
formed the Ex 23rd
Colombo Club. Even though written records are not available, it is widely accepted
that the Club was one of the first Girl Guide alumni clubs to be set up in the country. The main
objectives of the Club was to support Guiding at school, carry out projects for community
development and to keep in touch with friends. The inaugural meeting was held on 12th
October 1996,
with Mrs. Champa Morais as the President, Mrs. Sonali Malalasekera and Priyanki Siriwardena as Joint
Secretaries and Mrs. Nadeera Dayasena as the Treasurer. Ms. Kanthi Fernando has served as Adviser
to the Club since its inception.
One of the first projects done by the Club was to renovate the Kids Section of the Vajira Sri Lama
Nivasaya in Kotte as part of the Companys’ 50th
Anniversary Celebrations in 1998. A fund raiser named
“Surya Swaranjali” was held to collect the necessary resources for the projects. After many successful
projects, the Club went to a hiatus but was resurrected in 2012 with Mrs. Champa Morais serving as
the President. The Ex-23rd
Colombo Club immediately embarked on the “Musaeus to Mirusuvil”
project together with the present Girl Guides of the School, taking the combined concept of ethnic
harmony through education to another level. Mirusuvil Tamil Roman Catholic School is a school in the
Jaffna District that was severely damaged by the long war and a fully equipped library was donated to
the school together with scholarships for Advanced Level students. The project won 23rd
Colombo, the
much coveted Olave Award, at the 35th
World Conference held in Hong Kong in 2014. Discussions are
already underway to build the much needed School Hall.
World Thinking Day is celebrated by Girl Guides all over the world (10 million in 146 countries) on 22nd
of February (joint birthday of Lord and Lady Baden Powell, the Founder and his wife), a day where Girl
Guides think of their “sister” Guides and contribute to or assist in a community development project.
World Thinking Day is usually centred on a theme and keeping with the theme in 2013, “Improve
Maternal Health”, a health clinic was arranged for the minor staff of the school and their children. The
staff was tested for common ailments such as diabetes, cholesterol and blood pressure, given
medicines and dry rations.
A much needed Career Guidance Seminar was done in September 2013 at the Auditorium in HNB
Towers, Colombo 10, with over 100 participants with eminent speakers from the spheres such as
medicine, media, design, hotel and banking sharing their career choices, the pros and cons of their
choices and other questions from the enthusiastic audience.
The Girl Guide Promise is the key to every Girl Guide, past and present, and once made, will live with
them and the words resound and resonate in all that they do, “I promise on my honour to do my best,
to do my duty to my Religion and Country…,” The Girl Guides of Musaeus College, both past and
present, had this in mind, when they decided to answer the call of the nation in eradicating chronic
kidney disease (CKDU) which has plagued most of the North Central Province of the country. A concert
aptly titled “Heal the World” was held in the school auditorium to raise funds for the project and on
15th
November 2015, “Suvodaya” was handed over. This is a “half-way house” for patients who come

2. for dialysis treatment at the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital. As these patients have to travel long
distances and transport being very scarce, have had no place to spend the night, other than the
corridors of the hospital. Suvodaya houses over 20 patients and transport is provided to and fro to the
hospital and provides a safe haven while patients receive treatment and are able to travel back home.
It was built with the assistance of Sarvodaya and is housed in its premises, just a little distance from
the Anuradhapura Hospital. The management of the house has now been taken over by the relevant
authorities of the North Central Province (NCP).
The Club also closely work with the Kidney Patients Society of the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital
which has over 300 registered patients. A donor – patient scheme has been initiated where a monthly
stipend are given to the affected families for day to day living. Families of deceased patients are also
taken care off under this scheme with all donors being Ex 23rd Colombo Club members, their friends
and well-wishers. Well wishers have also helped by donating sewing machines, building toilets, helping
children with their education and providing money for transport to hospital etc. From 1st October
2016 ,10 students from the affected families will be given educational scholarships by Shyamlal
Rajapaksa Foundation for Education.
The second phase of the project is to develop a village in Rambawa AG’s division in Anuradhapura.
Two villages have been identified, namely Ambagawewa and Munamalgahawewa. These two villages
have 224 families with a total population of 894 people. The intention is to develop these two villages
with the help of the Director Health Services NCP and the Chief Secretary NCP. As a pilot project in
eradicating CKDU to a certain level and also to develop the lives of the people socially and
economically.
A medical camp was conducted on 25th March 2016 in the Ambagahawewa village temple. The
programme got off the ground with the support of the Provincial Director of health NCP, with the
blessings of the Chief Secretary NCP, The Army, Civil Defence, Health Sector, Agricultural Sector, Water
Board, Lions club of Anuradhapura, MLT, Nutritionists, Sarvodaya and many others came in to make
this medical camp a success. About 800 people from the villages of Ambagahawewa and
Munamalgahawewa attended the camp.
The most important task was screening the villages on their health status. The quality of water in their
wells were checked. Women were particularly checked for the risk of breast and cervical cancers.
Children were checked for their growth milestones a team of nutritionists. The present Guides and
senior Guides of Musaeus Collage together with Ms Kanthi Fernando did an awareness programme
for the children in the primary school. Awareness programmes were also done on Youth and anti-
narcotics awareness, growing organic and non-poisonous crops, self-employment schemes and
financial management.
Plans have already taken shape to conduct nutritional food and cooking programmes and training of
organic fertiliser methods as a prevention of the dreaded kidney disease which has taken a huge toll
on the villagers emotionally, psychologically and otherwise, with the future looking bleak for the
younger generation.
The next steps in the development of the village is already underway with the reservoir in the village
being cleaned, provision of water tanks for rain water harvesting, construction of toilets for families
without proper sanitation facilities and repairing of the village temple which also serves as the
gathering place for the villagers. Discussions are also underway to repair the road to the village which
will enable the essential bus service to the village and for training youth of the village to be active
participants of the village development.

3. It must be highlighted that the funding for this important project is from the members of Ex 23rd
Colombo Club (now over 100), past pupils of Musaeus College, friends and well-wishers from Sri Lanka
and abroad. The Club will continue this project, which received the blessings from His Excellency, The
President on the National Kidney Day 2016 to aid the national fight against Chronic Kidney Disease
(CKDU).
The Club members’ annual gatherings are the Annual General Meeting, event organized to celebrate
Ms. Kanthi Fernando’s birthday and special events organized by the 23rd
Colombo Girl Guides. The
Club is seeking to expand its membership and anyone hoping to be part of its ongoing projects, are
welcome to contact the committee.
”Suvodaya” half way home for the Kidney patients built by the Ex 23rd
Colombo Club
Committed to make a difference to the CKDU patients and to eradicate the dreaded decease

4. An awareness programme being conducted in Ambagahawewa
Ms Kanthi Fernando presenting a report to President Maithripala Sirisena about our
“Ambagahawewa project” On World Kidney Day 2016
Article is written by one of our members
Ruchira Jayasinghe
On behalf of the Ex23rd Colombo Club