Friends of a killed Wellington PhD student are fundraising to help rural students in Sri Lanka get an education, as plans to establish a scholarship in her memory come to fruition.
Apsara Wimalasiri, who was studying at Victoria University of Wellington, was killed by her ex-husband while on a trip home in Sri Lanka in April last year.
With the anniversary of her death approaching, Wimalasiri’s former PhD supervisor and friend, Dr Corrine Seals, said she and others had started a Givealittle page to raise funds to pay for school supplies for Sri Lankan children in rural areas.
Victoria University would be also establishing a memorial scholarship in Wimalasiri’s name for Sri Lankan students whose studies focused on social justice and human rights, she said.
The university has already donated to the scholarship fund, with some members of staff putting money in as well. Fundraising would soon begin.
Wimalasiri, who was from a small village, had shown a strong passion for children in rural areas being educated, Seals said. Her PhD thesis focused on multilingual education for Sri Lankan children and children in New Zealand.
“Apsara was an activist. She cared a lot about the Sri Lankan people and she also cared a lot about people’s access to education in Sri Lanka.”
A teacher in Sri Lanka told Seals that, for about NZ$30, one student could be sponsored and given a backpack, shoes, calculator, pencils and school books.
The aim is to raise $3150 through Givealittle, which could provide 100 students with school supplies, Seals said.
The fundraiser was a positive way to uplift and honour Wimalasiri’s memory, she said. However, it was important to remember that Wimalasiri’s friends and family were still struggling to get justice in Sri Lanka.
“The Sri Lankan system is really failing her family.”
Wimalasiri’s ex-husband has not appeared at the two court dates assigned to him. He is remanded in a mental health unit.
As he has not yet been tried through the legal system, Wimalasiri’s death certificate cannot be issued, meaning she can’t graduate posthumously.
Source - Stuff.co.nz
-Agencies
