The story starts with a group of students who sat for the O/L exam from an under-resourced school getting admirable results. These students are from rural Hunnasgiriya Galamuduna Kanishta (junior) School. Located in a rural village within the Knuckles mountain range in Minipe Divisional Secretariat, the school severely lacks major resources for education.

With this win for the school came the sheer dedication of one significant person. He is Janaka Dhanuddhara, the school’s principle who is also the school’s only teacher.

What makes him the real definition of a “Teacher”?

Janaka Dhanuddhara teaches all 9 subjects from grade 1 to 11. He single-handedly provides all students with the knowledge and guidance they need to face the world’s challenging and ever-changing future—something that even modern teachers in well-resourced schools often struggle to achieve. With this dedication at hand, he proudly stands behind the outstanding achievement of the four students who recently passed the O/L examination.

For him, this is one of his most cherished goals—seeing his students scoring well and succeed in life.

Dhanuddhara resides in Mihintale where he has to travel approximately six kilometers on foot every Monday morning to reach the school, due to the lack of transport and basic facilities in the area. He stays there until Friday, returning home only for the weekends. Behind this immense commitment are 21 students—16 girls and 5 boys— who make up the entire student body of the school. The school functions with zero access to internet or reliable mobile connectivity.

The students too face significant challenges. They cannot attend any extra classes or receive external academic support as travelling within the area is extremely difficult. To reach the nearest learning centres or public transport routes, they have to walk about 10 kilometres through forested paths where wild elephants are frequently sighted, and then continue by public transport.

What makes him an extra-ordinary life-saver is that he never expected to encounter such difficult and challenging circumstances when he chose to teach at a school in such harsh conditions. Although he had seen Galamuduna school on social media, he never imagined the hardships that he was about to face.

But his determination only grew stronger after he met his students and witnessed the extreme poverty they live in. Many of them wear the same uniform every day and lack the most basic resources a school should have.

One question that constantly echoes in his mind is: aren’t these children entitled to the same free and quality education that’s promised to all Sri Lankan children?

This story is rare, not because such schools don’t exist in Sri Lanka, but because of the extraordinary role Dhanuddhara plays in the lives of his students. It serves as a powerful inspiration for teachers across the country to give their students the education they truly deserve but more importantly, it is a vital reminder to the responsible authorities that action must be taken to support schools like this because such brave, dedicated teachers and schools in such challenging conditions should never go unnoticed.