Enabling individuals to realize their full potential through awareness and provision of high-quality services and resources for an inclusive, bright and productive life.
WHY WE STARTED
Access to education, health care and social participation is a fundamental human right for all children, and is essential for enabling a better future for all. Unfortunately, too many children in Sri Lanka do not reap the same benefits. This is particularly an issue for children with Special Needs whereby social stigma, lack of awareness and limited resources has resulted in many desperate parents and neglected children unable to reach their full potential.
Current Statistics:
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An Estimated 20% of children in Sri Lanka have some form of mental or physical disability
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23.5% of children aged 5-14 with disabilities are excluded from mainstream education (DCS, Statistical Data 2012) and amongst those who do attend mainstream schools, participation in educational activity reduces with age*
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Around 55.4% of the disabled population aged 15-19 and 86% of the disabled population aged 20-24 are not engaged in any educational activity or vocational training*
*UNICEF Sri Lanka Report 2016
WHAT WE DO
Our Services & Expertise
OUR STORY
Vision: Creating a world with equity for all to thrive.
Mission: Enabling individuals to realize their full potential through awareness and provision of high-quality services and resources for an inclusive, bright and productive life.
Our Values
Trust: Our relationships are built on trust, creating confidence through our reliability, integrity and fairness in everything that we do.
Care: Caring is at the heart of what we do. Caring defines us, our work and how we treat one another.
Integrity: Integrity is of utmost importance to us. We will not compromise our values and promise to provide the best service for your needs.
Inclusivity: We respect, promote and celebrate diversity enabling a positive environment for active participation and meaningful contribution
Equity:We recognize the importance of fairness and equality in outcomes, support and opportunity.
OUR STORY
OUR STORY
About me
About Me
Hi There! My name is Tashya De Silva. I've created this website as a means of creating awareness and improving accessibility to resources, information and services that would be useful to you as a Parent/Caregiver/Educator/ Mental Health professional or Student; helping your child reach their full potential and thrive in this world as an equal, independent and productive member of society.
My Qualifications:
Member of British Psychological Society
MSc in Applied Psychology (Clinical & Counselling) from Coventry University (UK)
BSc (Hons) in Psychology from the University of Warwick (UK)
Professional Disploma in Child Psychology accredited by Complementary Therapist Accredited Association (CTAA)
Certificate in Counselling Children & Adolesence accredited by International Association of Therapists
Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy - Centre of Excellence
Certificate in Teaching Children with Learning Difficulties - ReMinds
Advanced Diploma in Teaching, Training and Assessing Learning (City & Guilds, UK)
Professional Certification in Instructional Design from Arizona State University (USA).
Work Experience
I have volunteered and worked both locally and internationally with children with special needs and ranging mental health needs, including:
Taylors College (Malaysia)
Care Education (India)
Alice Stevens School (UK)
Depression Alliance & University of Warwick (UK)
World Vision Lanka
National Council for Mental Health (Residential Facility – Gothatuwa)
John Keells Foundation
Shanthi Maargam
WHAT WE DO
Bright Minds was established in response to the dire need for access to appropriate resources in Sri Lanka.
The aim of our organization is:
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Promote awareness of mental health issues
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Encourage an inclusive and equal environment for all to be able to lead independent, meaningful and productive lives.
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Partner with like-minded professionals, institutions and organizations to drive systematic changes in infrastructure, curriculum, policies and services to enable an inclusive, equal and better future for all.
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Organize special workshops for communities, schools and institutions.