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Ruhuna University


ESFoRuM is a result of 100% voluntary services extend by present and former members of Department of Mathematics, Ruhuna University, Sri Lanka, throughout the past years.


Chronology of development:

1992:
Members of the Department of Mathematics set-up a personal fund to support Mathematics Special Degree students who were in financial difficulties in continuing their higher education.  The funds required for this had been collected from monthly salaries of the members.
1998:

Dr. Leslie Jayasekara returns from Japan completing his  doctoral Degree with god wishes from citizens of the Umi-city in Japan with   a link established to help schools in far remote areas in Sri Lanka.

Birth of the Umi-Matara Book Foundation!

(Since  1998 we have donated books for 19 school libraries.)

2004:

December 2004 tsunami -  the greatest ever disaster the Sri Lanka experienced in its history. Southern province had been badly affected. During this time the department of mathematics has been hosting an international conference (RISCMAP) at the department. At the end of the week 1 of the programme all the participants went on a national site-seeing journey while Professor Denis Caromel his beloved wife Professor Isdabelle Attali - both were invited distinguished speakers of the international school went on a private holiday with their two children. They had been hit by the tsunami. The members fo the department had launched search for the missing ones. Moreover, the members has realized their duty to the nation at the disaster. Having motivated by the past experince in book-donation programmes and the latest get-to-gether in hosting the RISCMAP, the memebrs have immediately launched many social support activities (e.g. helping the department of statistics, Sri Lanka in preparing statistics that are required to distribute food and funds). The members also realized the need of a foundation to server the nation which essentially need to have a broad aspect; hence the formation of the Educational Support Foundation Ruhuna Mathematics (ESFoRuM).

After the Tsunami disaster, our members continually receive various requests from their colleagues, former teachers, friends etc asking to provide them with ways to help Tsunami victims. Most of them are interested in providing monthly financial support mainly for school children. However, they much prefer to do these under the coordination/supervision and personal involvement of our members rather than directly sending their support to other government/non-government organizations.

Considering all the above facts we decided to officially form an organization called Educational Support Foundation - Ruhuna Mathematics to carry out these activities under the guidance of the Vice-Chancellor with proper auditing of the related accounts done by the University Audit Branch.

We have no paid workers – all are volunteers; its a story of unity,  sacrifice and  the determination to serve the nation (at least to pay-off what  we all received under the free education system in Sri Lanka).

Pictorial Histroy: