During the luncheon hosted by the Sri Lankan Ambassador at his residence for a group of exchange students from Sri Lanka, the Ambassador on behalf of the Government thanked the German school, Gymnasium Isernhagen for the support extended by them to conduct an exchange programme between Sri Lankan students and German students since year 2007.
Even though the first exchange programme took place in 2007, the relationship between Sri Lanka and Gymnasium Isernhagen runs back to Summer 1995, in which the first group of students from Gymnasium Isernhagen visited Sri Lanka with Mr. Manfred Möller,( the teacher in charge and the chief organizer of the Programme) From then on every second year, a group of students from Germany have travelled to Sri Lanka.
Since 1997, each group of German students who visited Sri Lanka has raised funds for charity projects to assist the needy people and the institutions in the country, including hospitals, schools and orphanages. One such project conducted by Gymnasium Isernhagen was rebuilding of 4 destroyed houses after Tsunami in February and March 2005 (2 houses in Maggona and 2 houses in Payagala South) and the building of a home for Tsunami-affected children and other poor children in Weliweriya. in 2015 and 2016 Gymnasium Isernhagen took the initiative in financing Reverse Osmosis plants, one plant was opened in 2015 at Kakuluwela Maha Vidyalaya, Dehiaththakandiya, Polonnaruwa and another one was opened in 2016 at Kebithigollawa Hospital.
The first exchange Programme between Sri Lankan students from St. Thomas´ College (STC), Mount Lavinia and Gymnasium Isernhagen took place in 2007, for which Ladies´ College Colombo joined in 2009. Ever since, these two student exchanges have continued to take place every year.
There have been a total of 20 exchanges between Gymnasium Isernhagen and the two Sri Lankan schools, St. Thomas´ College and Ladies´ College for which about a total number of 160 students from Sri Lanka have taken part since 2007. Around 260 students of Gymnasium Isernhagen have visited Sri Lanka between 1995 to 2017 under this exchange programme.
As a result of an initiative taken up by Manfred Möller, the three schools involved, signed a partnership agreement In July 2016 during the visit of the Mayor of Isernhagen, Mr. Arpad Bogyar to Sri Lanka, who visited both partner schools for the signing of the documents.
Embassy of Sri Lanka,
Berlin
28th February 2017
