Businessman Dhammika Perera and his wife Priscilla have launched DP Kids, an online learning platform to provide pre-school education free to children between the ages of 2 and 7.
The launch of DP Kids represents the latest in a series of initiatives as part of the Dhammika and Priscilla Perera Foundation’s efforts to leverage platforms such as DP Education and DP Digital University to deliver free education and empower a new generation of school and university students.
“We hope that children from different backgrounds in Sri Lanka will be able to access world class resources in a safe and secure online educational environment cost-free,” a spokesperson for the Foundation said.
DP Kids has also made a concerted effort to localise its content, using the skills of famous and acclaimed Sri Lankan singers, writers, illustrators and animators to ensure that lessons are relatable and aligned to Sri Lankan tradition, culture and values.
Among those who contributed to the DP Kids platform was the beloved doyen of Sri Lankan children’s literature and art, the late Sybil Wettasinghe, whose final work was in contributing traditional songs and illustrations to the platform. The music she had composed for DP Kids will be made freely available through the platform in the form of two digital songbooks.
DP Kids has also worked closely with leading local animators who provided localised animated characters for DP Kids and 3D animated videos for nursery rhymes that reflect local cultures and traditions of Sri Lanka.