It's not often we talk about or recognize our field officers. When the initiative started our work in 2009, there was limited infrastructure (in terms of roads, transport, civil service, basic services etc) in Killinochi, Mullaitivu and Mannar areas. With the Initiative being largely run from overseas, we needed local presence to get things done, assess situations and find local solutions. This is when we started employing field officers to play this key role to ensure the Initiate was meeting the local needs and finding local solutions. This was one of our best decisions and one of the important reasons we have grown more than ten folds.
The field officers work very hard to understand the true need on the ground, check the validity of the requests, come up with a long-term solution and make recommendations accordingly. One of the key reasons the Initiative is able to help so many with very limited resources is the tireless work of our field officers. Their dedication and flexibility to work with so many time zones and get things done in a timely manner has helped so many students, who otherwise would not have been where they are now. The amazing work of these individuals has enabled us to keep our admin cost under 2%.
We started employing Field Officers in 2010, which made a significant difference. However, the first three field Officers were from Jaffna, moved on after one or two years. From this experience we made a conscious decision to recruit a Field Officer from Vanni region and Dekala came onboard. She played a key role in the Initiative getting established in the Vanni region. Vinoth was assisting us while he was still a student and came on board to work with us to improve the situation in some of the most underserved areas of Upcountry. As we gained more experience, we realized that the students needed more than financial support e.g. career advice, counselling etc. This is when Shopika came on board. With Dekala leaving and us increasing our presence in the East, Suvirthan and Ketheeswaran have recently joined the initiative.
The Initiative is increasing its focus on underserved areas and its efforts to ensure school leavers, especially those who are not going to university or training programs, have a career path. The student numbers are nearing 1000 and the Initiative is sponsoring students from 13 out 25 districts. Given the increased focus on school leavers and workload due to sheer numbers, the field officers are as ever an important and integral part of our Initiative’s operation.
We are pleased to introduce our team of field officers to our supporters and well-wishers.
Dekala comes from Tharmapuram, Kilinochchi, one of the areas badly affected by war. She has been with the Initiative since 2015. The Initiative was very lucky to get somebody of her calibre. The connections she made in the educational circles and the recognition the initiative gained through her interactions are immense. She is very attentive to every single detail, always willing to go the extra mile to get things done and not afraid to challenge the status quo and even the board members. The distances she travelled alone in her motorbike on sketchy roads to get things done speaks of her courageous attitude. Local legend has it, some of the highways she travelled are frequented by ghosts at night.
While she was working for us, she was volunteering at Tharmapuram Central College. She later became a full-time teacher, got her diploma after attending the Teacher’s College virtually and in person. Her achievements both at a professional and personal level speaks volumes of her ability.
After being with us for almost 10 years, she got married in January and will be joining her husband in the UK in June. We are sorry to see her go both professionally and personally. However, she is moving on to better and brighter things. We wish her all the best for a bright future!
Vinoth is a Sociology graduate of the University of Jaffna, and his hometown is Talawakkelle. He has been working with us since 2021. He works in the most challenging areas of the country where socio economic conditions and physical access are major barriers to education. He covers the poorest areas of the tea estates, Nuwaraeliya district in the Central Province and Badulla District of the Uva Province. He also guides university students from these areas, from where we support more than 100 of them with their university education.
The Initiative has been putting considerable effort to improve the performance of A/L students in upcountry, running A/L revision classes and improvement projects. The results of these efforts could be seen in the significant improvement in A/L performance from the sponsored students from upcountry. Vinoth played a crucial role in this effort and as we increase our efforts in the upcountry, Vinoth will continue to play a crucial role in improving the performance in these underserved areas.
Shopika comes from Tharmapuram, Kilinochchi. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Sociology) from Eastern University. She has been working with us since April 2022. She started with us as a guidance counsellor to help students with subject selection in A/L and university course selection. However, her role evolved to include sponsorship administration and project coordination. As the number of students increased, she started taking some of the workload off Dekala.
Guidance counselling is not a one-off activity with our sponsored students due to the demography of the students we deal with. She has to regularly follow up and from time-to-time visit their houses to ensure her advice has been followed through. She will continue to work in the Vanni area. In addition to guidance counselling, sponsorship administration and project coordination, her work also includes guiding students who have not been able to gain university entrance with a career path.
Suvirthan’s hometown is Sithankerny, Jaffna District. He joined us recently, replacing Dekala. He has a Master's Degree in Data Analytics from the University of Kelaniya. While he and Shopika complement each other, he will concentrate on the areas in Jaffna District, mainly the Islands education zone, which is dead last in the whole country in the GCE O/L performance. He will also work in the Valikaamam zone, where there are pockets of areas that need significant assistance to improve its educational performance.
Ketheeswaran is from Thirukkovil, Ampaarai. He is a graduate of Art & Design program from University of Jaffna - Ramanathan Academy of Fine Arts. He joined us recently to assist the Initiative as we expand deep inside the Eastern Province. The inner regions of Eastern Province are grossly underperforming and will require concerted effort from the Initiative to improve its educational performance. Ketheeswaran will play a pivotal role in our efforts in Eastern Province.
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87 Initiative was formed in 2009, with the intention of improving the standard of Education in the under resourced areas of Sri Lanka
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