Renowned nutritionist Divya Sathyaraj, daughter of actor Sathyaraj, and Sri Lankan Tamil Activist Poongkothai Chandrahasan, granddaughter of late Sri Lankan Tamil Leader S.J.V Chelvanayakam, have joined hands to launch ‘The Green School, Green Revolution’, an innovative initiative to combat food insecurity sustainably, targeting Tamil children in Sri Lanka’s Eelam region.
Sri Lanka is facing a humanitarian crisis compounded by food insecurity and threat to livelihoods, and the worst affected are the children. As many as 2.3 million children are in need of humanitarian assistance, and 56,000 kids under 5 years have been diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition needing urgent treatment while 4.8 million require access to uninterrupted education. The Green School, Green Revolution is trying to bring about a change in these areas.
Poongkothai Chandrahasan, who is also Founder-President of ‘Serendip Be the Change Foundation’ in Sri Lanka, shares, “Government school staff are reaching out to us, saying children are fainting from hunger in schools. They say the kids come to school on Mondays, having taken only tea from the preceding Friday to Sunday, because their families can’t buy food. Teachers have taken to bringing extra food to share with the children, hoping to induce parents to send children to school, as there is an alarming number of dropouts. My grandfather, popularly known as ‘Eelaththu Gandhi Thanthai Chelvanayakam’, launched the non-violent struggle for Tamil rights in 1956, seeking parity of status for the Tamil language, and devolution of power, allowing Tamil-speaking peoples to govern themselves within a federal constitution. Today, almost 70 years later, we, the Eelam Tamils, have not been granted any form of autonomous governance, and instead, we are far worse off, as our war-ravaged provinces have been further devastated by the pandemic and the current economic crisis.”
Explaining the initiative, she says, “The project was started in Neduntheevu in Northern Sri Lanka and we have implemented it in three schools and three preschools. We will be introducing it in 15 schools in the Jaffna Northern Province. As we get more support, we will be expanding to schools in all the Tamil areas in Sri Lanka."
On her part, Divya explains, “As a nutritionist, I strongly believe that lack of sufficient nutrition in the early years of a child's life can lead to a lot of health problems later. Malnourished children won’t be able to fulfil their cognitive potential and will also suffer from poor immunity.” Asserting that dissipating hunger is not charity, it is justice,” she says, “When my schoolmate Poongkothai conveyed to me her concerns about the malnourishment faced by the children in Sri Lanka and explained about the ‘Green school, Green Revolution’ programme, I immediately agreed to be a part of it, as I felt it was a very efficient way to combat malnourishment.”
She adds, “I decided that the best birthday gift I could give my father was to sponsor the cost of the first Green Community Garden and Kitchen set up at the Baby Jesus Preschools.”
The Green School, Green Revolution initiative is a sustainable way to provide nutrition to children in schools and preschools. “Organic gardens are set up in the schools and students are given weekly practical training to maintain them. The organic fruits and vegetables will be used in the school kitchens, which we set up or renovate, to provide meals for vulnerable children. Also, the student farm-entrepreneurs cooperative can sell the surplus vegetables and use that money to sustain their gardens, thereby reducing their dependence on funding. In the case of preschools, organic home- and preschool gardens are set up, and appropriate training in cultivation given to the pre-schoolers’ mothers, so that they can pool their vegetable produce and cook nutritious food for children in the newly-set up preschool kitchens.
“As we are working in partnership with the Northern Province Agriculture Ministry, the organic cultivation and gardening training is given by the Government Agricultural Instructor,” shares Poongkothai.
"We are happy that our pilot project has resulted in improving nutrition status of our beneficiaries. This is just the beginning of our efforts. We will continue to work together to improve the health and happiness of Tamil children by expanding the green school, green revolution programme in Sri Lanka and India. However what we can do as two individuals is a drop in the ocean and therefore we will soon be announcing the next phases of our efforts, which will give an opportunity for the TN Government, Politicians, Celebrities, Diaspora and all well-wishers of the Tamil cause to join hands with us to ensure that no Eelam Tamil child goes hungry," says the duo.
“I am very proud and happy that Eelathu Gandhi Thanthai Chelva’s granddaughter Poongkothai and my daughter Divya have started the Green School, Green Revolution in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province. The impact it will have on children’s education and their future, is important. The programme will also involve the children’s families, who will become skilled in organic agriculture. It is timely, and important for social good.” - Sathyaraj, actor.
