Educate Lanka - educatelanka.org

Educate Lanka Foundation, Inc. (ELF) has developed a proprietary Scholarship Model to help underprivileged students in Sri Lanka achieve a quality education.

There are four major parties involved in this process:

• The Student - Beneficiary of the scholarship (funds)


• The Financial Sponsor - Responsible party for student's scholarships


• The Liaison Officer - Responsible party for coordination between the ELF and the students


• Educate Lanka - The link between all the parties

The Students, being at the bottom of the chain in the process, have major responsibilities to fulfill for the other three parties. Students who are facing economic hardships to afford a quality education could contact a respective ELF Liaison Officer or Educate Lanka Foundation to have their needs and situation evaluated. After being evaluated under the pre-established criteria, ELF will include these students in its student portfolio and locate financial sponsors to fund the scholarship of those students.

The primary responsibilities of Students are:

• Complete the ELF application and other required information such as a request letter, school reports, recommendations from principal/Gramasewaka etc.



• Ensure the proper use of funds (administered by the Liaison Officer) and provide true and accurate information regarding utilization of funds.



• Provide periodic updates and progress reports to the Liaison Officer to be reviewed by ELF and the respective Sponsors.
• To show improvements in their educational performances after receiving the ELF Scholarship.

The Sponsors are at the top most tier of this process and hold the most important role in sustaining the ELF's Model. Sponsors can contribute in a variety of different methods to assist in this process.

The primary responsibilities of the Sponsors are:

• Identify a student(s) in need of sponsorship from the portfolio of students that includes ones who are selected as scholarship candidates by ELF.



• Honor the responsibility and continue to make the contributions as agreed upon at the time of commitment.*



• Continue a successful relationship with the student, with the aid of ELF, to ensure students' goals are fulfilled and the anticipated progress is attained.



• To respect and abide by the ELF's guidelines with regard to contacting and extending support to the students to safeguard the confidentiality and integrity of all parties involved.**

* The period of time will be decided and be agreed upon at the time of commitment with ELF.

** ELF will notify the sponsor of necessary steps and guidelines when contacting students and extending other support.

The Liaison Officers play a significant role and carries a great deal of responsibility in ELF's Sponsorship Model. With the level of responsibility (handling of funds and information) involved with this position and the importance of having a good understanding of the students' background and needs, the Liaison Officers should hold a creditable position in the society. It is our preference that the person would be one of the following:

• A Principal or a reputed teacher of a school (retired or current);


• A religious leader (from any religion);


• The head of a community/village (Gramasewaka);


• Other responsible personnel who has the time and the commitment to carry a responsible role on a voluntary basis.

The primary responsibilities of the Liaison officers are as follows:

• Identify financially destitute students in their respective areas and direct them to ELF.


• Attain necessary applications and other required documentation from students and direct them to ELF on time, preferably certified by a notary, to ensure the accuracy and the validity of documentation.


• Receive the funds from ELF and distribute them among the students on a quarterly basis.


• Subsequent to distribution of funds, gather feedback from the students and send them to ELF in a timely manner.


• Accommodate Sponsor visits with students and other student related activities as requested by ELF.

ELF is the link between all three parties and ensures the efficient functionality of its Model. ELF also manages the operations in the USA and in Sri Lanka and recruit volunteers and liaison officers to expand its efforts. The foundation also conducts fundraisers throughout the year to increase its student portfolio and to fund the financial obligations of the students who do not have financial sponsors.

ELF has a 4-step process that it follows to operate its Sponsorship Model -

1st Step - Find and engage Liaison Officers in small cities/towns in Sri Lanka to identify underprivileged and deserving students.

2nd Step - Evaluate the application material of the students under its selection criteria and select who are deemed eligible for financial support.

3rd Step - Locate Sponsors worldwide through its website to get financial support for the selected students.

4th Step - Coordinate the funds and information flow among the Students, Sponsors, and the Liaison Officers to evaluate the progress of the students and to ensure its eventual goal of providing the students the access to a quality education is met.