Graduation Ceremony – January 2022

Another 6 months have flown by and despite the many challenges brought on by COVID-19, 687 rural children, youth and women have successfully completed their empowerment courses, offered free of charge at the OYOB Centre of Excellence and graduated. 

The 32nd Graduation Ceremony of the IT Centre, Business Skills Centre and the Dive for Good Centre was held for the 439 rural students who successfully completed their courses. This includes courses such as Coding, Graphic Design, Public Speaking, Professional Diving and Electrical Maintenance. Over the years the Foundation of Goodness has helped empower over 7900 rural Sri Lankans to gain valuable skills that can be used to improve their job prospects. 

Notably among the graduates were three ladies who successfully completed the professional diving course at the Dive for Good Centre and are ready to plunge into the predominantly male industry of diving. We are extremely proud of them for being determined to break barriers and reach greater heights.

We were honoured to have Leonie Vaas attend the ceremony as the Chief Guest and Rohan Jayasekera, Manoji & Bhawani as the Guests of Honour which truly added value to the event.

The unveiling of the newly renovated and refurbished Women’s Empowerment Centre at the OYOB Centre of Excellence by Founder Kushil Gunasekera also coincided with the graduation ceremony of 248 students who have successfully completed 6 month courses in dressmaking, baking, food processing and more. 

The event was followed by a mini market showcasing the new skills of the students.  The Foundation of Goodness’ women empowerment courses have benefitted over 7200 rural women in Sri Lanka since inception. 

We were honoured to have with us Anupama De Zilva as the Chief Guest and Alafiya Najmudeen, Roshni De Bond, Manoji & Rohan Jayasekera as Guests of Honour. 

We hope that these skills open windows of opportunity for our students to excel, better their lives and reach their true potential.