04.06.2009

Yogaraja Krishanthini is 14 years old and attends the Don Bosco School in Hendala, a small city set on the western coast of Sri Lanka. Krishanthini is a beneficiary of the MJF Kids programme conducted by the MJF Charitable Foundation. Her recital of ‘I am the wind’ by Julia Pearson enabled Krishanthini to win second place in her age category at the All Island Poetry Recital competition.  The national award she has received is a mark of her diligence and enthusiasm for this programme.

The MJF Kids are 120 children living in the vicinity of the MJF Group premises. These children live in difficult circumstances of physical and emotional abuse making it impossible for them to have a normal and secure childhood. The Foundation has taken these children under their wing to expose them to a life of possibility. The children gather a few times each week at the MJF premises and are guided by caring teachers in art, crafts and sewing and are assisted in their school curriculum of English, science and mathematics. The children also undergo character building exercises such as leadership programmes and group centred activity. Through the Voice of the MJF Kids news magazine the children are given the opportunity to make their opinions count on subjects such as ethnic harmony and the environment, and to share their creativity with people around the world.