One of the main objectives of our organization is to provide IT education to local kids living close to the center. However, our classes are not regular classes, and we often teach our students in an unusual way, using “IT activities”. We call it non-formal education. Very quickly we noticed that the students were very keen to learn about technology. So much so that some of our students were offered opportunities to work in reputable IT companies in Colombo from a very young age. Others went on to work as freelancers. Our foundation was even able to acquire international recognition, being nominated as the South Asian “best IT program” three separate times. TV stations and newspapers published articles regarding the IT education we provide at our various centers. We also participated in a number of IT competitions held by universities all over Sri Lanka. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit our country, we had to shut down the school’s operations for over a year and were not able to access new laptops anymore. Furthermore, our school decided to donate many of our phones and computers to the students who needed them the most during these difficult times. Because of these challenges, and to the great dismay of our staff and students, we were forced to close down our IT program. Today, we only await the support necessary to create a new IT-dedicated building in order to reopen our program and continue in our mission to bring IT education to the students who need it most.
