A haven that opens doors to better lives, better jobs
Trundling through the village tracks of Bandaragama, Kalutara, we pull up at a coconut estate with a mirror lake… a green haven spread before us. It is a spacious campus where in some open white buildings, youths are being groomed and equipped for a bright future.
The Avinya Academy in Bandaragama, the pilot project of the Avinya Foundation, is the brainchild of Dr. Sanjiva Weerawarana. The aim was to foster underprivileged O’ level and A’ level students with 21st century skills – training in English, IT, customer services and reception services so that they could go on to have better jobs and better lives.
Newspaper lessons: Students fully engaged in their English session. Pix by Priyanka Samaraweera
All this is provided free; funded entirely and personally by Dr. Weerawarana, a top IT professional who worked at IBM and is founder and CEO of WSO2, the open-source technology provider.
The 80-perch plot of land is breezy and verdant with a wealth of endemic avifauna that flock here, while the kalu wanduro are known to break the tranquillity occasionally with their noisy forays.
Sanjiva Weerawarana
As we walked through the campus spaces, the students were learning English with broadsheet newspapers spread on tables, their minds set on grammar and syntax but also the fun of dipping into the colourful vortex of the feature pages. It was heartening to see them converse in English, abandoning vestiges of self-consciousness. They seemed to blossom easily in the relaxed atmosphere where the rigours of a formal setting are absent – no walls, no stiff discipline and no conventional teachers!
The staff at Avinya, small and close-knit, from Executive Director Ranjanie Gunawardena to security officers, work seamlessly to make the campus as congenial as possible.
Starting out, Avinya initially offered a six month programme with separate courses. From this year, the curriculum of the eleven-month full scholarship programme covers English, IT and job skills, an NVQ level 3 certificate in customer services assistance and a Level 2 City & Guilds certificate in reception services.
For those from under-privileged backgrounds, continuing their education can be a costly undertaking. Students at Avinya are well supported. In the first five months devoted to studies, they receive a monthly stipend of Rs. 10,000 and for the remaining six months of work and study – three days of study and two days of work, the stipend increases to Rs. 15,000.
In addition to the courses, transport and wholesome meals, are provided free. A nurse is available on the premises. Sumithrayo periodically visits to ensure good mental support.
Avinya also guides students on a possible career path to follow, says Ranjanie. As we do a tour of the sun-flooded white buildings she says visitors won’t stop asking her “is all this really for free?”
Having begun one and a half years ago, Avinya is also today a finishing school of sorts, schooling the youth in etiquette, behaviour, presentation and emotional intelligence as well.
Former student Danuja Gaganoda (20), from Matara, did his O’ Levels in 2019. During the pandemic he was wandering around in search of a ‘small job’ and heard from a relative about the academy.
“(Avinya) offered us a second chance. They taught us communication and valuable lessons, and educated us through project-based lessons. I studied IT and afterwards got an internship of six months at a company in Narahenpita. Today, I am an academic coordinator at the Lyceum campus in Nugegoda.”
Serene setting: Avinya Academy's purpose-built campus
Isuru Udana (22) from Mathugama joined after A’ levels. “I failed maths and then followed the IT course at Avinya. I was able to join the Full Stack developer course at the Moratuwa University, then joined Dialog to learn soft skills and networking. From January I have been working with the IT team at Hemas Thalawathugoda, but I also teach the Sunday IT course at Avinya for students aged 12 to 18.”
Hashini Dilanjali (22) joined Avinya only two months back to “brush up my English.” She says that the teachers are “there for everything.”
Yehani Atapaththu (25) has been at the academy for one month and calls it a ‘mesmerising’ experience with the “beautiful environment and very supportive teachers.”
Avinya has some impressive career partners for the part-time work including Sampath Bank and Domex courier services, Hemas Hospital and Pizza Hut. Sampath even has a specially crafted programme where at their headquarters students can get involved in CSR activities. The Bank also teaches students financial literacy and money management.
The career partners have assured that if the students are found competent enough they might be permanently employed. Hemas and Domex now have alumni employed there.
Three batches have so far graduated, with nearly 50% of alumni being employed now in the hotel industry, IT support, visa offices, etc.
This is but the beginning and Avinya Foundation and Dr. Weerawarana are aiming to establish an academy in each divisional secretariat in the country. Ranjanie says they want to spread the word so the current student body of 50 will hopefully swell to a maximum of 130.
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