Dear Readers,
View(s):Victor Hugo once said “He who opens a school door, closes a prison”, and I truly believed a university where we can educate children was of utmost importance.
I was adamant; to fulfill this dream of mine, to educate children in the way I thought was best. The battles I’ve fought day and night, while many told tales and tried to bring me down, I never gave up.
Humans are inherently care mostly only about themselves, they refrain from supporting peers if it means that their status quo will be much less after the peers succeed. See, this is why our entire species will one day disappear, when we stop helping each other to survive.
I am the founder of Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital in Malabe, and the extent to which I fought battles, are tales to be told. Now there are thousands of children studying under regulated means, simply because one of us stood up to challenge the already existing bureaucracy, the way things were done, the situation of undergraduate students.
Things only change, when we dare to risk change. “They cannot stop me. I will get my education, if it is in the home, school, or anyplace”, this is how everyone should look at education. No matter where they obtain it, learning is progress. Being handed over the authority to take care of humans, is a completely different situation, for that I agree proper procedures should be in place.
But do we not finally agree, that due to the risk I took during the time I lived, a few extra hundred doctors are now produced for the betterment of this country.
I ask for nothing but your kindness, to treat everyone as you would want to be treated. Help those in need, and you’ll never regret a single day, because you will live with gratitude and a light heart.
Former Panadura MP and former Chairman of the Neville Fernando Hospital and South Asia Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) succumbed to the COVID virus at the IDH Hospital Thursday (4th February) evening. He was 89 years.
He was treated at the Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital for the infection and was later admitted to the Infectious Diseases Hospital on Tuesday for further treatment.
Dr. Fernando died while he was receiving treatment at the Intensive Care Unit at the IDH. (IM). We at Education Times are grateful for the legacy left behind, and the struggle persevered in order to make several thousands of children’s education dreams a reality.
My time has come,
Thank you kindly,
Dr. Neville Fernando
Written by Devuni Goonewardene (direct any feedback to devuni@gmail.com)