SEF in search of excellence

The Serendib Educational Foundation (SEF) hosted their 27th Annual Sessions at the Tourist Board Auditorium, Colombo recently.

The event was held under the theme ‘In Search Of Excellence’, which consisted of four key segments; namely Pathways, High-Flyers, Mentors, and Start-Ups.

The segments were further enhanced by the calibre of the key speakers at the event, who were Serendib Educational Foundation’s Riza Mohamed and Fazl Amanulla, High-Flyers speaker M. Rashad, Start-Up speaker Shoelace Studio’s Savanthi Weerakoon, and Start-Up speaker The Lee Bows’ Anjana Kudahetty.

The special Q&A session was graced by Akeel Mohamed, who was presented as one of the ‘High-Flyers’ produced by Serendib Educational Foundation.

A highly encouraging video playback of Rafad, a student, was presented to the audience as one of the successful candidates of the ‘Mentor Program’ during the course of the event as well.

“In Search Of Excellence manifests all possible pathways to success to help our future generations” said a spokesperson from Serendib Educational Foundation.

SEF is focused on offering monthly assistance to talented students, project-based support to educational institutions and any other activity that facilitates education. SEF’s vision is to see that the future generation of scholars reach their highest potential in the acquisition of knowledge. 

Since 1991, the Serendib Educational Foundation has offered scholarships to 3,000 students throughout Sri Lanka. As SEF celebrates its 26th year, it aims to further contribute to provide an equal opportunity to underprivileged students.

The SEF Pathways Scholarship program is one of the many services provided by SEF and went into high gear in 2017.  The program involved the principal and the school administration selecting talented and deserving students doing A-Levels. 

Ten schools in the Colombo and Kandy areas were selected. Working closely with the principals of these 10 schools, SEF members had regular meetings with the students and their teachers to assist and provide guidance to these groups of young people.

Schools involved in this Pathways program include: 

Kandy Area: Al Azhar, Akurana;Balika School, Akurana; Mawilmada MV, Mawilmada; Hikma College, Digana.

Colombo Area: Hamza College, Colombo 15; Hikma College, Colombo 12; T. B. Jayah College, Colombo 2; Khairiya Girls School, Colombo 9; St. Josephs College, Grandpass; St. Mary›s, Colombo 3. Another facet of SEF›s contribution towards students is the mentoring program. An engaging mentoring session was held in March 2017 with scholarship recipients, SEF members and corporate leaders. Knowledge and expertise of the corporate world, career guidance and life skills were shared with future leaders.

The 27th session “In Search Of Excellence” was attended by an enthusiastic and vibrant audience comprising of students, parents, teachers and principals, potential donors and SEF members.