Berendina and Give2Lanka aim to assist 10,000 school children by 2020
View(s):Berendina Employment Centre (BEC), an NGO and a subsidiary of Berendina Group, recently awarded educational scholarships to a group of children starting with General Certificate of Examination (GCE) and Advanced level from the Hatton district.
Chairman of Give2Lanka and former Chairman Berendina, Dulan de Silva, handing over certificate of merit to P. Kumuthini of N/ Cambridge College, Kottagala.
BEC, one of thre NGOs’ of the Berendina Group, works closely with Give2Lanka. Collectively, they provide assistance and guidance to school children from rural areas of Sri Lanka who do not have the same educational facilities and access to acquiring knowledge as those in larger towns of Sri Lanka, the organisation said in a media release.
BEC believes that self-sufficiency and sustainability are key to children achieving their goals and leading successful lives. With that aim and the assistance of all associate contributors to Give2Lanka; they also assist youth looking for employment, find suitable jobs, thus giving them an opportunity to become financially independent.
Give2Lanka is a not-for-profit organisation which specialises in providing a fundraising platform for well governed and managed charitable institutions that do not have the resources and the capacity to raise much needed funds, to manage and implement projects. The main focus of Give2Lanka is to support organisations that provide sustainable changes, focusing on educational opportunities in low socio-economic communities. Give2Lankaensures children and their families have access to basic human needs through an array of tailor-made programmes designed to encourage social, emotional and educational growth, empowering communities to be independent and resilient.
“The minimum requirement for eligibility is 6 credits in G C E Ordinary Level, including Maths. They must come from low income families with a per capita income less than Rs. 5000 a month. Initially students are provided monthly educational support ranging from Rs. 1,000 (Arts and Commerce Medium) to Rs. 1,500 (Science). Parents and students are provided mentoring. The students are provided with career counselling after Advance Level. Youth in the programme, interested in further studies are provided with fees upto Rs. 50,000 for 30+ approved courses like AAT, CMA, Nursing and a range of vocational training,” the release said.
Those interested in immediate employment, are linked to a suitable job in one of the 300+ companies linked to Berendina leading to sustainable long term employment. Already over 14,000 youth have been linked to jobs by Berendina including some bright children falling under this programme.
On November 22 scholarships were issued to 188 students in Ambagamuwa Division in Nuwera Eliya at a function held at Sri Krishna Bawan Hall Hatton. In total 1178 students will be awarded scholarships in November and December.
Berendina and Give2Lanka aim to assist 10,000 children by 2020 while 4481 youth have been assisted to-date.