The children of this country did not have a childhood for the past 30 years. They spent their childhood in a country that was on fire because of racial tensions and they did not have a tomorrow to look forward to. The youngsters today are the children of those days. They must have memories of their childhood. Our country did not have the bonds that we have today. We are really split along boundaries.
Children have followed the example of their elders and were divided along narrow racial lines. However this is not so now. Children have the freedom to learn and play. It is the responsibility of the elders to train youngsters to maximise use of this freedom. I request all citizens of this country not to corrupt the young and impressionable minds of our children. It is everyone’s duty to develop a strong generation who will take charge of the country’s tomorrow.
There are a lot of things that we can do to achieve this. One of the main things is encouraging children to take up to sports. There is a drop in the percentage of children taking up to sports. The main reason is that children give priority to studying. Another reason is that parents do not have the financial ability to spend on extra activities for children.A strong future generation can be built up if children are encouraged to take up a sport that is in keeping with their financial abilities. It is common in our country to see people cheering different countries when international matches are played forgetting that they are Sri Lankans. In this world there is only one country that a person can call his motherland. We are all Sri Lankans no matter what religion or ethnic group we belong to. If more and more children are encouraged to take up sports I believe that we will be able to develop a strong nation tomorrow.
These ideas were expressed by Hon Minister Faiszer Musthapha when he addressed a gathering at the Manchester International Football Institute, Kollonawa, which had organized a training session to commemorate the world Children’s Day. This is the biggest training session that has been organized in Sri Lanka and it was noteworthy to mention that various age groups were participating in this program.
Manchester Football Institute Kollonawa had organized this event to commemorate their first year anniversary and representatives from all over the Island participated in this event and all the winners were given awards.
