“Creating Future Leaders by giving educational and career support to underprivileged children” is one of Berendina’s core missions that reached another epic milestone, when they launched one of the first crowd funding platforms in Sri Lanka, to raise educational funds from the public.

 The launch held at JAIC Hilton recently, graced by Lianne Houben, the Charge de Affairs at the Embassy of Netherlands in Sri Lanka, was a huge success as eminent personalities such as the Dutch Ambassador Louis W.M. Piët, Jayantha Dhanapala, Hanif Yousuf, Hiran Dias, Hemaka Amarasooriya and Priyanthi Fernando endorsed this initiative whilst pledging their support towards the cause.

Dulan de Silva, Chairman of Berendina Group, in his address to the audience said, children are the most precious gift as well the strength of our nation’s future. Believing that all our children have equal rights to education and well-being has been a mantra for Berendina since its inception over 2 decades ago, he further stated.

 Berendina’s inception in Sri Lanka dates back to 1992, and its projects are designed to impact development and livelihood work in many districts. De Silva led the audience through the beginnings of Berendina to its current victories and proudly invited the public to learn the numerous feats it has endowed on the many rural communities (www.berendina.org and jobsberendina.com).

 This crowd funding platform called “Give2SriLanka” has a deeper undertaking as it plans to spread its donation yield to fulfill good deeds in many facets along poverty alleviation.

 Berendina currently awards over 1,000 scholarships annually to talented and keen yet, underprivileged students in the rural areas to enable them to continue their studies without any interruption. Some of these children reside in plantations, remote rural villages, and post-conflict areas where the most marginalized communities can be found. Berendina’s efforts managed to award Rs.10 million worth of scholarships last year alone and it hopes to increase its impact by using its newest vessel “Give2Sri Lanka.”