Coastal Cleanup

A Project on Coastal Conservation was carried out as part of a Community Service Project by the Guides of 4th Matara on September 15, 2011, which happens to be International Coastal Cleanup Day. The Guides of 4th Matara, the members of the School’s Marine Environmental Group and other school children totalling up to 100 volunteers took part in this program in keeping with activities being carried out as part of the Centenary Celebrations of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.

Valuable advice was provided by Mrs. Amali Jayasekera of the Marine Environment Protection Authority and her team who acted as resource persons in making this programme a success. Among those invited for the Programme’s opening ceremony were officers from the Marine Environment Protection Authority, Conservation Officers from the AGA office, Police and Security officers of Coastal Conservation, Principals of Schools, the Girl Guide Commissioner of Southern Province and Ms. Wajira Silva a Centenary Ambassador of the SLGGA.

Work commenced on the 100m coastal belt along Thotamuna area, and after hours of cleaning, the
garbage collected in bags were categorized and weighed before being taken by tractors of the Matara Municipal Council to the Recycling Centre in Kotawila. As a follow up to this programme, plans have been drawn up to plant 100 trees in this area and to create awareness among 100 families on coastal conservation.

Internet in the Family

The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) has created a Parental Guide titled ‘Internet in the Family’, for helping and protecting children when they use the Internet. This Guide was offered to the Funday Times to distribute among our readers. We have now printed this Guide with the sponsorship of NDB bank and AVIVA NDB.

‘Internet in the Family’ offers advice to parents on how to help children to search the Internet, how to determine the credibility of information, how to avoid dangers posed by undesirable sites and how to conduct themselves on social networks and blogs.

The Guide includes a ‘Family Code’ of behaviour for using the Internet and offers ten recommendations for adults. The booklet is available free of charge to all Funday Club Members and readers on a first-come-first-served basis. Parents of club members could pick up a booklet from the Wijeya Newspapers guardroom at No. 8, Hunupitiya Cross Road Colombo 2, by producing their
membership card.

Outstation Club Members and readers who are interested in having a copy of the Guide, please write in or email us and we will post it or send it through our newspaper agents.