My name is Bryan Kingston. You may recognise me as the person who won Rs. 2 million at the Sirasa Lakshapathi Television Programme in 2021. I got the opportunity to take part in this programme only because of another victory in my life, and that was obtaining 9 A passes at the G.C.E. Ordinary Level examination. Even to this day, I am happy about being able to achieve both these victories, and in such close proximity nonetheless. After obtaining my results, I was given the opportunity to enter Ananda College to study Bio-Science for the G.C.E Advanced Level Examination. As a sight impaired student, I am the first to gain an education through the Bio-Science stream in Sri Lanka. I am truly blessed to have had access to such opportunities in my life.
However, none of this has been easy. It is truly a great challenge for us visually impaired student. Yet, through the assistance of many institutions, professionals and lecturers, I am able to face these many challenges successfully.
Today, I hope to speak about one such institution — my Alma Mater, The School for the Blind, Ratmalana, my home-away-from-home until I completed my Ordinary Level exam. The School for the Blind, Ratmalana is the first of its sort in Sri Lanka, providing education from the most primary levels, all the way up to the 11th Grade when students face their G.C.E. Ordinary Level exams. My school proudly boasts of a rich history of 111 years of service towards the blind and visually impaired population of the nation. Truly, I take great pride in having studied in the most prestigious school for the blind in Sri Lanka.
The School for the Blind was founded by Ms. Mary Chapman in 1912. In the beginning, the school functioned amidst great hardship and, as a result, shifted around quite a bit until it found a permanent abode in Ratmalana in 1914 thanks to the generosity of Mr. A.J.R. de Soysa. Our system of writing, known as Braille, was introduced to the school and to Sri Lanka for the very first time by Mrs. Bauser, the 1st Headmistress of the school. Due to the hard work and immense contributions made by each of these individuals, the houses of the school — Bauser, Soysa and Chapman, were named in their honour.
When you hear the word “houses” you might be wondering whether we have sports in the School. The answer is simple. Yes! Under the divisions of Primary, Secondary and Upper, a large number of sports and activities are offered to all students. Amidst the many experiences that I have gained in my life, I consider those gained through sports and tournaments held at my school to be the greatest. The skills and abilities I acquired through the sporting arena have been fundamental in my development as an all rounded student. Apart from the skills acquired, I was able to experience the true meaning of team effort, gaining the ability to work together, to organise events and much more. In a particular year, I don’t quite remember exactly when, I was able to win the senior all round championship after taking part in one of the tournaments. I also have a pleasant memory of how my house won at the Inter-House Sports Meet under my leadership amidst the fact that I was unable to participate given that I was in hospital due to a minor medical issue. Even though I wasn’t able to participate, I was able to rally the troops and discuss the strategy we would eventually take to win. I consider this to be one of the greatest victories in my schooling career!
The School for the Blind greatly supported me in my education, especially during my journey towards obtaining 9 A’s. The teachers at my school have ample experience in teaching students with sight impediments and thus understand how to teach us in a way that we can easily absorb the material. It was mainly through their assistance and commitment that I was able to understand much of the subject matter. Moreover, in our school, we have many facilities such as a computer lab, a science lab and a library, each equipped with instruments and tools specifically geared towards the sight impaired student. I very specifically remember how, in the science lab, we experienced the foul smell after burning sulphur, and smell was a sense that we learnt to appreciate when trying to recognise certain compounds. The computer labs have been designed in a manner that is accommodative of the sight impaired, comprising of George Schemer and MED Apps to make the machines user friendly. We also have a well equipped Braille library. Basically, all the facilities that are needed to develop the academic prowess of a sight impaired student, from the very beginning to the end, is provided by the school.
Most students get into traditional schools due to the inclusive education policy of the Government. However, this is not to show fault but in my experience, I believe that the benefits one gains through The School for the Blind, Ratmalana could never be matched at any other institution. When I entered Ananda College, which is a traditional school, most students did not know how to respond to me. They had no experience working or being friend with a visually impaired student. Initially this places a barrier of sorts, preventing both parties from mixing and building good relationships. They only consider us as people who need a lot of attention and protection and are completely unaware of the many things that we are capable of doing by ourselves thanks to the training that we have received at The School for the Blind, Ratmalana. The teachers at The School for the Blind love us very much, but also are quite aware of the extent of our abilities. Therefore, they give us great opportunities to work independently. We all walk around the school and do most of our things on our own. We go on educational trips from our school and are given the freedom to contribute towards the planning of those trips. This training immensely contributed towards our personalities. Such external factors that are needed to form a successful citizen can be obtained only through a school such as mine.
These opportunities and experiences are very rarely given to us in traditional schools. Students who do go to traditional schools and, are unable to develop due to the lack of attention given to them, enter our institution in the 9th of 10th Grade without knowing any Braille. The problem here is that they will have to learn the system of Braille from the very beginning. Because they did not have a system of note taking, this often means that the students did not follow the lessons and, thus, did not accumulate the knowledge taught. Then they might lose the opportunity of sitting for the G.C.E Ordinary exam in the relevant year. Yet, the teachers and hostel staff work tirelessly to get this student up to mark as we believe that no child should be left behind. As you may have noticed, I have so many pleasant memories in this school and I am grateful to all those who made my experience such a wonderful one. My love for school is not based on a specific building or person, but moreover because of all that I have gained from school. From the very beginning, if the foundation is laid by a school like mine, I believe anyone can go forward with the courage and confidence required to face society. I believe that it is through all of these great facilities and the wonderful teachers that I was able to make my life successful. Therefore, I am truly indebted to my school. With all of my heart I wish that my school will continue to nourish hundreds and thousands of sight impaired lives for many more years to come.