Eagle’s Inaugural Samana Workshop-A huge success

Mr. Daya Rohana Athukorala - Senior Lecturer - University of Colombo addressing the gathering on the role of a teacher at the Samana Programme. (Right) Miss Himali de Silva - speech and language therapist - Senior lecturer , Disability Studies Unit - Faculty of Medicine - University of Kelaniya. is also seen here delivering a lecture on Autism at the Samana Programme.

Over 1000 participants attended Eagle’s knowledge enhancing workshop for teachers of disabled children

Eagle‘s inaugural Samana Workshop was successfully conducted at B.M.I.C.H. and was attended by over 1000 teachers, parents and volunteers from all over the island.

Commenting on the success of the event, Amal Perera, Assistant General Manager, Marketing & Planning said: “We are pleased with the turnout and the enthusiasm of the participants. We are confident that our endeavour has helped teachers and parents of children with disabilities, to better understand the needs of these children and to guide them to reach their potential.

At this inaugural full-day workshop vital topics such as, “The role of teachers and care givers”, “How to identify children with special educational needs”, “How to handle a child with special educational needs” and “Insights on Autism Spectrum Disorder” were discussed. A special practical session on “Sensory and Movement Training” was also demonstrated onstage.

“To ensure the best exposure for the participants we selected the experts in the field of Special Education and are confident that the knowledge they shared at the event added value to the participants of the workshop.” continued Amal Perera. The following resource persons shared their knowledge with the audience:

Mr. Daya Rohana Athukorala - Snr. Lecturer, University of Colombo
Mr. W.M.K. Weerakoon – Director, Department of Inclusive Education, National Institute of Education
Mr. K. Piyasena – Former Director, Special Education, Ministry of Education, Consultant Special Education
Mr. Rohana Deva – Creative Director, The Sunera Foundation
Ms. Himali De Silva – Snr. Lecturer, Disability Studies Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya

Managing Director – Deepal Sooriyaarachchi commented saying, “Eagle Samana is part of our comprehensive CSR strategy which has been designed to enhance the well-being of the nation at large. As part of worldwide Aviva we are further strengthened by its strong value-system which champions the role of corporate social responsibility”.

The event was implemented in collaboration with, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Social Service & Social Welfare, Ministry of Child Development and Women’s Empowerment. Special facilities were also made available by The Sunera Foundation. This inaugural workshop will be followed by a series of regional workshops which will be more focused and interactive. The core objective of Eagle Samana is to enhance the knowledge of teachers who work with disabled children, through a series of regular region-wide workshops and training modules featuring recognized resource persons in the field of special education. Eagle Samana was implemented after the company identified the prevalent need to enhance the competencies of educators of children with disabilities.