06/09/2025
A Tribute to Carmel
By Sriyani Peiris née Ranasinghe
I had the privilege of associating with Carmel for more than a decade longer than many of my colleagues. During that time, I came to know her discipline, her wisdom, and the transformation in how she regarded me once I, too, became a teacher. Carmel was fortunate to be cared for by many around her, but in truth, it was we who were blessed to receive her unwavering loyalty and service. Her dedication to the school was nothing short of remarkable.
Carmel was known for being careful—sometimes even frugal—when it came to school property. She guarded the school as though it were her own home. I recall vividly the time I took our basketball team to Colombo for the national finals. Sr. Yves Marie, who was then Principal, trusted me, as a past pupil, to lead the girls out of school. My husband stayed with our little boys at his parents’ home in Colombo, while I stayed with the team and Carmel at the Holy Family Convent in Bambalapitiya. We spent three or four days there, advancing all the way to the finals—and winning the championship.
The sisters at Bamba Convent treated us with extraordinary generosity, offering the girls excellent accommodation, far better than what was typically provided at government schools. Carmel and I were the only staff members directly responsible for the girls, and with the sisters’ support, we managed them well. One evening, the girls requested eggs for dinner. True to her thrifty nature, Carmel gave them one each but refused when they asked for more. I laughed and told her to give them as many as they wanted—“even three each”—and promised to cover the cost myself. She relented, and the girls were overjoyed. I even teased her to take three for herself so she could cheer louder the next day. With their determination and spirit, the girls fought until the very last drop of sweat and brought the championship trophy home.
The following year, when we hosted the tournament, Carmel again played a vital role in organizing. Visiting teams were to be housed in classrooms with shared bathrooms, including our sister school, Bamba. I objected strongly, saying it was unfair to offer them less after the kindness they had shown us. Carmel, ever protective of the school, initially resisted, worried about teachers’ belongings and facilities. But after much discussion, she agreed to let the Bamba girls stay in the staffroom, with proper washrooms and privacy. In the end, fairness prevailed, and her flexibility reflected the generosity of her spirit.
For Carmel, there was no separation between herself and the school. The two were one and the same.
Even after I left Holy Family Convent and moved to the UK, I visited her whenever I returned to Sri Lanka. During her time at Kuru Convent with her sister, I often called on her with my mother. After her sister’s passing, she was cared for in Malkaduwawa and later in Wennappuwa. My husband once operated on her and treated her at our hospital, free of charge, and I was grateful to return, in a small way, the care she had always given so selflessly.
I remember one of my last visits, when she confided that she had high cholesterol and little appetite. She was no longer the energetic, spirited woman we had known. I brought her sustagen and gave her sister a small sum to buy her anything she wished to eat. Sadly, when she was later moved to Wennappuwa, I did not visit. Partly it was because I feared seeing her bedridden and so diminished from the Carmel I remembered.
In my farewell speech to the students before leaving for the UK, I spoke of Carmel’s service, loyalty, and devotion. I reminded the girls to respect her and to care for her, for she had always given so much without ever expecting anything in return.
Carmel was more than a custodian or the keeper of the keys—she was the spirit of the school itself: a guardian, a disciplinarian, and above all, a woman who gave her life in service to familans for decades.
May her soul rest in peace. 🙏
