දියුණුවට අත්වැලක් – Diyunuwata Athwelak Foundation – DiyunuwaBlog.com

In Sinhala, diyunuwa can mean progress, success or development. Athwelak means a helping hand.

Diyunuwata Athwelak Foundation (DAF) has been set up to extend a helping hand to reach towards success, progress and development of our chosen target beneficieries, and Sri Lanka over all.

Legal Status

DAF was incorporated as a Company Limited by Guarantee under The Companies Act No 7 of 2007 on 19 July 2024.

Objectives of the Diyunuwata Athwela Foundation

Our objectives, over the long term, are:

To uplift society through the provision of attitudes, knowledge, skills and resources necessary for the economic, social, physical and emotional wellbeing and success of individuals; with special emphasis on women, youth and children from economically disadvantaged communities.
To foster sustainable consumption, production, sustainable business practices and industry innovation through the provision of attitudes, knowledge, and skills necessary for achieving sustainable economic and operational success of small and medium enterprises.
To promote learning and transformation as mechanisms for the sustainable development of society.
To promote ideas, information, communication and other technologies and methodologies, including renewable and clean energy technologies for achieving social, environmental and organisational sustainability.
To research and develop and/or deploy innovative technologies, media and platforms for the promotion of socio economic and cultural wellbeing, sustainable livelihoods, resilience, harmony and inclusivity among peoples.
To engage in social, agro, clean and renewable energy and other entrepreneurship endeavours for the purpose of implementing the above objectives.
To facilitate animal welfare through the provision of linkages, support, facilities and veterinary needs to care for stray, wounded, sick and old animals; and to find forever homes for stray domestic animals.

Initially DAF would focus on a limited group of target beneficiaries and scale up our mix of projects to cover most of the above areas and interests.

Primary Target Beneficiaries

DAF’s aim is to work with different groups of people, mostly from rural settings, but also in the cities and suburbs when possible and the need is there.

For School Students

We offer guidance on positive attitudes, learning and study skills and discovering the many options that are available in the world of work.

For students and their parents, we offer guidance on:

Potential career paths and finding info on them
Subjects to select at Ordinary Level exams and what streams that lead them towards their career aspirations.
Learning to Learn – Study skills
Power of positive thinking for young people

Our network of contacts with schools has been established over five years since 2019 when our founders commenced a programme for distributing school exercise books to students in rural schools.

For Women and Families

Sri Lanka is still emerging from an economic crisis and people need financial literacy and guidance on how best to manage their personal finances. We offer village level workshops primarily for women (but open to all) that covers:

Clarity on family and personal aspirations
Creating a personal/family budget and living accordingly
Understanding where money goes (expenses)
Understanding the difference between needs and wants
Managing and controlling household expenses, utility bills
Overcoming challenges in sticking to a budget
Exploring additional income streams and livelihoods
The need for an emergency fund
Saving and investing, alternatives and options
Role of insurance
Digital and mobile banking and how it saves time and money

Over the past 15 years our Founding Chair has conducted over 50 full and half day workshops covering the above topics for similar audiences.

For Youth and Young Adults

Setting life goals
Personal development
Career paths
Workplace success skills
Job seeking and interview skills
How to Conduct a Personal SWOT

For Managers, Supervisors & Team Leaders

Getting Things Done – Supervisory Development Workshops
Leaders are Made, Not Born – Effective Leadership Skills
Managers’ Tool Box – Key skills for successful management development

For Micro, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs)

We offer small businesses operators attitudes, knowledge and skills to start, manage and develop a business.
Business planning workshops for entrepreneurs
Small business development strategies
Improve awareness of sustainable business practices on sustainable consumption, production and become a catalyst for industry innovation through the provision of attitudes, knowledge, and skills necessary for achieving sustainable economic and operational success.
To engage in social, agro, clean and renewable energy and other entrepreneurship endeavours for the purpose of implementing the above objectives.

For Furry Friends

Over the long term, we plan to facilitate animal welfare through the provision of linkages, support, facilities and veterinary needs to care for stray, wounded, sick and old animals.
Find forever homes for stray domestic animals.

Overarching Goals for a Sustainable Future

On a broader scale we plan to:

Promote learning and transformation as mechanisms for the sustainable development of society.
To promote ideas, information, communication and other technologies and methodologies, including renewable and clean energy technologies for achieving social, environmental and organisational sustainability.
To research and develop and/or deploy innovative technologies, media and platforms for the promotion of socio economic and cultural wellbeing, sustainable livelihoods, resilience, harmony and inclusivity among peoples.

Updated on 3 August 2024