A tribute to Prof. Badra Hewavithana

We proudly celebrate the retirement of our sister, Prof. Badra Hewavithana, after 34 years of service in Radiology.

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Prof. Hewavithana

On 30 September, she stepped down from her role as Senior Professor in Radiology at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya. As her family, we take this moment to honour not only her academic and professional brilliance, but also her kindness, generosity, and the inspiration she has been to us, her students, her colleagues, and her country by and large.

From her school days at Sanghamiththa Balika Vidyalaya, Galle, Badra’s brilliance shone. She achieved the best GCE O/L results in the Southern Province and the best GCE A/L results in the school in 1974 and 1977 respectively, and was awarded Best Student Performance of the school in 1977. She was a school prefect and the Captain of Vihara Maha Devi House, leading in studies and contributing to inter-house activities. She played inter-house netball, served as President of the Sinhala Literary Association, President Junior Science society displaying leadership qualities even during her childhood. Everyone at school knew her by her full name, Padma Badra Hewavithana, because she would walk onto the stage year after year to collect many of the prizes at every annual prize-giving. It became a sight no one forgot —a symbol of focus, discipline, and commitment. Years later, in 2014, she returned as the Chief Guest of the very same prize-giving, of her alma mater, a moment of immense pride for our family and a testament to her extraordinary journey. Her achievements in both academics and extracurricular activities made her an all-rounder, admired by teachers and peers alike. Even as children, we watched her dedication with awe. While we spent school holidays playing, she memorised Subashithaya or Loweda sangarawa, following our father’s advice to strengthen her Sinhala language skills. Every term in the school she came first in the class, earning a humble sum of Rs. 50 from our father as a small reward for her remarkable perseverance.