Tennyson & Vinitha Rodrigo Trust

The Settlor of the Trust, Tennyson Rodrigo, was a visionary who was also altruistic with a burning desire to transform Sri Lanka to a modern, secular, forward looking nation in the international arena. He believed firmly that schools, universities and other institutions of higher learning have a compelling role and responsibility to create and foster attitudinal change and critical thinking so that education will serve as a core pillar in producing the next generation of thought leaders and change agents in the community. The thought of creating a Trust with clear objectives to advance his vision may have been with him for a long time but it was conveyed to Ruwan Punchihewa, Priyath Salgado and later to Deva Rodrigo when Tennyson was in his mid 80s. By that time he had judiciously invested in company shares and in interest bearing bank deposits his life savings as the initial capital for the Trust. The Deed of Trust was executed by Tennyson as the Settlor on 12 June, 2018 with Deva Rodrigo, a first cousin of his as the Chairman of the Advisory Committee of the Trust, and Jacey Trust Services (Private) Limited, a company established by the leading law firm Julius & Creasy as Trustee. Ruwan Punchihewa, also a first cousin of Tennyson and Dr. Thushara Rodrigo, his nephew, witnessed the signing of the Deed. Tennyson was at that stage bedridden with cancer that had advanced to affect most of his body but not his mind. He drafted many versions of the Deed moving with considerable difficulty from the bed to his computer table and produced a document that finally satisfied his exacting standards of quality and clarity of expression. On the date of signing, he tried but failed to sign properly and had to attach his thumb impression to the Deed. His resilience and indomitable spirit were hallmarks of his character throughout his remarkable life.