President's Message

I am very privileged and honoured to be appointed as the President of the University of Kelaniya Alumni Association NSW and ACT (UKAANA) for 2015/16 and to deliver the first Presidents message.

On May 2014 during the Vesak Celebrations at Sydney Lankarama Temple, Udaya Kasthuriarachchi spoke to me of the idea of forming an Alumni Association. Due to the great enthusiasm of many of us the first discussion was organised at Dr Harsha Weerasinha's residence at Cherrybrook on 13 Sep 2015. It was attended by 16 of us  which encouraged us to make further plans to form an Alumni. From that day onwards everyone worked tediously to recruit new members and each and every one found, very happily expressed their consent to join the Association. The inaugural AGM was held on 07 Nov 2015 with the participation of nearly 40 members and their families. We are very fortunate to have Dr Don Wickrama who was one of the very first students of University of Kelaniya, as one of our members.

Our get-togethers and meetings take our memories back to our university days. I believe these memories are the best ever memories we have of our time at the University and along with the unique experiences at Kelaniya University will help members to bond and strengthen the Association.

Our university has produced great human beings who excel in diverse fields and are of great service to the community. They are spread in many parts of the world and the contributions they make are invaluable. Getting to know and being inspired by them will be one of the main advantages of being involved in the Association.

The University has substantially improved over the past 50 years. In the same manner we have developed our skills and abilities in many ways. Our Association will pave the way to take our experiences, skills and knowledge back to the University to help the current students to be better prepared to face the world and be successful.

I want to emphasise the fact that the succusses of UKAANA is entirely depend on the members. Their continuous participation and commitment is vital to the future of the Association. Our committee and other members have shown great commitment and interest in forming the Association. I truly believe members’ engagement in the Association will continue to grow and we will be able to serve the world, better in the future.

 

Prabhath Amarasinghe