Peradeniya alumni get-together in Ottawa
Posted on November 24th, 2013
By Rajendra Alwis
a special General Meeting of the Alumni Association of Peradeniya (Ottawa Chapter) was held at St. Monika Parish Church, in Ottawa, on 16th November. The evening witnessed a houseful gathering of alumni at the church assembly hall, along with their families and friends. The attendees of the event responded enthusiastically to the events of the day and it turned out to be truly memorable evening. The chief guest of the meeting was the Most Venerable Brahmanagama Muditha Nayaka Thero, the chief incumbent of the Hilda Jayewardenaramaya of Ottawa, who is also a product of Peradeniya University. The meeting began by lighting the traditional oil lamp by several graduates of the Peradeniya University, which symbolized eradicating darkness and radiating brightness to ensure future prosperity.
Setting the tone for the day, the president of the Peradeniya Alumni (Ottawa Chapter) Dr. Nimal Ratnayaka addressed the gathering. At the very outset he extended a warm welcome to all those who were present at the occasion. He stated that the aims and objectives of this function were to renew our old friendships, to meet and socialize with our fellow University mates, their families and their friends. He also said that this is the time for us to re-connect; to swap stories of escapades and to relish the happy times that we experienced as students of our Alma Mater, the University of Peradeniya.
Dr. Ratnayaka speaking further added that we should not forget the main purpose of our Alumni Association, that is to share ideas, develop plans and strategies that will help the University of Peradeniya-our Alma Mater- our University – to sustain as an outstanding institution for higher education in Sri Lanka.
Continuing his speech Dr. Ratnayaka said that during last twenty months, since its inception, still being a young organization it has managed to award 100 scholarships in cash, each worth Rs. 12,000 per year, to the needy students. A donation of 273 books was made which covered diverse disciplines. Another new project is now well underway to provide computers to all the university residential halls for the common use of the resident students.
One of the most attractive pieces of the agenda was the playlet, titled ‘Gajabahu’, produced by Keerthi Weerasuriya of which the theme was ‘gaje gesima‘ in the campus halls. The playlet rekindled the sweet memories of the past grads not only because of the famous, well-known theme but also it was symphonised in classical Maname style. Members and participants enjoyed a delicious dinner, specially prepared in Sri Lankan style. Sing-song party after the dinner brought almost everyone to the floor.
At the end, the vote of thanks was proposed by the Secretary of the AAUPOC, Dr. Jayananda Weerasingha. He extend his sincere thanks, on behalf of the Executives Committee, to all those who contributed to make this event a success.
November 24th, 2013 at 12:04 pm
Bravo! FINALLY some action to DEBUNK the 40,000 deaths figure in the last phase of Eelam war IV!
But MORE THAN THAT, this census will identify ALL CASUALTIES of LTTE terror since 1982 ISLAND-WIDE!
However, the GOSL should be careful to CROSS-VERIFY this Census Information provided by Eelamist Tamil households …. for Manipulating Records and Disseminating False Information in their Forte’!
……………..
Island-wide household census will determine number affected by conflict
By Franklin R. Satyapalan
November 23, 2013
The Secretary to the Ministry Public Administration and Home Affairs Bandara P. Abeyakoon said the government launched an internationally-recognized island-wide household census to ascertain first-hand persons affected by the conflict, gone missing and feared dead or disabled after 1982.
He said that in the past, a similar household census was conducted ad hoc and as a result there were conflicting reports that some 40,000 to 60,000 persons went missing during the conflict.
He said that the Director General of the Department of Census and Statistics D. C. A. Gunawardena has been tasked to implement this project.
Gunawardena said that he was carrying out the instructions of the Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga who serves as Chairman of the Task Force to implement the Lessons Learnt Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) recommendations to set in motion a scientifically designed household census
He said that the objective of this island-wide household census is to ascertain the number affected after 1982 and also gather first-hand information on the scale and circumstances of death and injury of civilians as well as all damage to property during the conflict.
The census, funded by the government and the department, was tasked to conclude its work before the December 20, 2013 deadline.
He said that his departmental officers at the district level were summoned to Colombo for workshops conducted at the Hector Kobbekaduwa HARTI auditorium so that the trainers could train Divisional Secretariats and Grama Niladhari officers to carry out the census scientifically.
November 24th, 2013 at 12:44 pm
This census is BS. We already did a census in 2011.
How can a household census be done IN A MONTH? Tamil PEOPLE will never tell the truth. They will say their “disappeared” relatives were abducted by the army to get money when those “disappeared” are living the luxury life in Canada. Another stupid decision by the govt.
Looks like MR is panicking after Cum-Moron’s threat!!