COLOMBO, February 16, 2024 – The Avinya Academy, Bandaragama, announced the successful completion of its second foundation program aimed at equipping and empowering less-privileged students to pursue thriving careers or higher education. The academy’s second batch of 117 students graduated on February 16, 2024.
Dinesha Senaratne, Head of the Empower program, expressed her satisfaction with the students’ achievements, and noted that it has been rewarding to see some students step out of their comfort zones and embrace their hidden talents and skills throughout this comprehensive six-month curriculum. This curriculum encompassed foundational English, IT skills, and other essential competencies vital for success in the 21st century. She hopes these competencies serve as a solid foundation for students and help them stand out in their future career paths, vocational training, or higher education pursuits.
Graduating students will receive a certificate with the STEM.org Accredited™ Educational Experience trustmark, highlighting the program’s quality and relevance. Students will also be enrolled for the NVQ Level 1 Certification on Basic Competencies to Work examination soon after course completion.
Students have selected various pathways they aim to pursue, and the Academy wishes them the best in their endeavors. A select group of students aspire to excel in the field of Customer Services and IT. To support their aspirations, the academy is initiating its inaugural Customer Services Assistant NVQ L3 course, alongside the ICT Technician NVQ L3 program. These initiatives cater specifically to students from the Empower program, showcasing their passion for IT and customer service.
Furthermore, a significant number of students have secured opportunities with partners. Noteworthy among these is the opportunity for approximately 30 students to participate in Pizza Hut’s internship program, which offers training leading to an NVQ L4 certification.
Anju Moses, Executive Director of Avinya Foundation, commenting on the impact of the program, said the hope, passion and motivation instilled in these students over the last six months by the dedicated Avinya educator team has been transformative and propelled these students to push through boundaries and obstacles to continue their learning journey and given them the confidence to dare to dream again.
The foundation looks forward to sustaining this mission and invites collaboration, partnerships, and fundraising support to further its progress.
Sanjiva Weerawarana, the Founder and Chairman of the Avinya Foundation, remarked that the true test lies ahead as the students embark on their respective paths, armed with the skills acquired during their time at the academy.
The Avinya Foundation has launched recruitment for its third cohort of students and is diligently enhancing its curriculum and course offerings to ensure ongoing relevance, progression, and improvement.
About Avinya
Established in 2022, Avinya Foundation (Gte) Ltd is a not-for-profit organization providing economically disadvantaged children an opportunity to become professionals via the alternative path of world-class education in 21st century life skills.
The vision of the Foundation is to establish a network of schools around the country to provide geographically-accessible opportunities to students all around the country, one in each of the divisional secretariat areas. With the six-month course calendar cycle, each school will have a total of 240 students over a period of one year at full capacity. At full scale, the Foundation expects to provide opportunities to 20% of the over 18 student cohort each year to obtain a world-class alternative education pathway.
The members of the foundation are Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy, Dr. Tara de Mel, Anarkali Moonesinghe, Ashroff Omar, Dr. Sanjiva Weerawarana, and Kasturi Chellerajah Wilson.
