Sajith Wickramasekara founded Benchling in 2012 as a digital version of a scientist’s lab notebook. A year later, when Wickramasekara appeared on the Forbes Under 30 list, the biotech R&D software startup had raised $6 million at a valuation of $17.5 million. Today Benchling has more than 600 customers, including Regeneron, Sanofi, and Syngenta. It is worth $6.1 billion following a recent financing round led by Franklin Templeton and Altimeter.
Wickramasekara was born in Raleigh, North Carolina. He attended the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics and later entered college at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). At MIT, he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
He worked as a research assistant during high school and realized R&D relied too heavily on pens and paper. So he built Benchling, now worth $6 billion and backed by over $400 million in VC funding.
Benchling is a software platform for scientists doing breakthrough research on biotherapeutics, biofuels, and biomaterials with techniques such as Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) are the hallmark of a bacterial defense system that forms the basis for CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technology, and Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is a type of immunotherapy that uses a patient’s own genetically modified T cells to find and kill cancer. Over 140,000 across leading academic institutions and life science companies depend on the Benchling Life Sciences R&D Cloud to design DNA, collaborate on experiments, and make critical R&D decisions.
Since co-founding the company in 2012, Sajith has guided Benchling through remarkable growth. Today, more than 200,000 scientists at over 600 companies and 7,000 research institutions globally have adopted Benching’s R&D Cloud to make breakthrough discoveries and bring the next generation of medicines, food, and materials to market faster than ever.
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SLF Int’l USA DONATED TO V2U COMMUNITY FOR THE THIRD PROJECT IN MONARAGALA TO EMPOWER SELF-EMPLOYMENT AND FIGHT AGAINST HUNGER!!
Sri Lanka Foundation International, USA, donated to the V2U Organization founded in Canada to support the third project in Monaragala, to prepare land for raising crops to cultivate a field which Medagama Chandaloka Thero spearheaded in three different locations.
The main objective of the V2U Community Organization is to educate Sri Lankans on food cultivation to create self-generating employment opportunities in agriculture and other related fields.
Food insecurity in Sri Lanka will likely worsen amid poor agricultural production, price spikes, and ongoing economic crisis. An estimated 6.3 million people in Sri Lanka face moderate to severe acute food insecurity. Their situation is expected to worsen if adequate life-saving assistance and livelihood support are not provided.
To avert a further deterioration of food security conditions and to support the restoration of agricultural production, the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Foundation International, USA, Dr. Walter Jayasinghe’s vision for this project is a multi-faceted initiative to rebuild villages struggling educationally and economically. The ambition is a replicable model to create sustainable and holistic transformation through land cultivation. He believes a thriving economy is a system of production, distribution, and consumption that efficiently uses all available resources to benefit all stakeholders of that economy.
With the support of SLF, V2U Community Organization is reaching out to farming areas that are often underdeveloped with a lack of resources, skilled people, and economic development. They encourage volunteers to gain experience in community development while helping with various tasks that contribute to the local people’s long-term goals. They have already identified the next project in Dehiathakandiya in the Ampara District.
This project will continue to empower poor rural women and men to connect to markets by scaling up value chain development, developing public-private-producer partnerships, and mobilizing innovative financial products tailored to the rural poor in the country.
The main objective of the V2U Community Organization is to educate Sri Lankans on food cultivation to create self-generating employment opportunities in agriculture and other related fields.
Food insecurity in Sri Lanka will likely worsen amid poor agricultural production, price spikes, and ongoing economic crisis. An estimated 6.3 million people in Sri Lanka face moderate to severe acute food insecurity. Their situation is expected to worsen if adequate life-saving assistance and livelihood support are not provided.
To avert a further deterioration of food security conditions and to support the restoration of agricultural production, the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Foundation International, USA, Dr. Walter Jayasinghe’s vision for this project is a multi-faceted initiative to rebuild villages struggling educationally and economically. The ambition is a replicable model to create sustainable and holistic transformation through land cultivation. He believes a thriving economy is a system of production, distribution, and consumption that efficiently uses all available resources to benefit all stakeholders of that economy.
With the support of SLF, V2U Community Organization is reaching out to farming areas that are often underdeveloped with a lack of resources, skilled people, and economic development. They encourage volunteers to gain experience in community development while helping with various tasks that contribute to the local people’s long-term goals. They have already identified the next project in Dehiathakandiya in the Ampara District.
This project will continue to empower poor rural women and men to connect to markets by scaling up value chain development, developing public-private-producer partnerships, and mobilizing innovative financial products tailored to the rural poor in the country.
SLF Int, USA DONATED TO V2U COMMUNITY FOR A SECOND PROJECT IN MAHIYANGANAYA TO EMPOWER SELF EMPLOYMENT AND FIGHT AGAINST HUNGER!!
Sri Lanka Foundation International, USA, donated to the V2U Organization founded in Canada to support the second project in Mahiyanganaya, to prepare land for raising crops to cultivate a field which Keenathumulle Chuulawansa Thero spearheaded in five different locations.
Agriculture is an important part of the Sri Lankan economy, engaging one-third of the working population. However, most farm households have limited knowledge of production methods and also face a financial struggle to access land for cultivation. These obstacles constrain their ability to compete in the market and increase their incomes. In response to these challenges, Sri Lanka Foundation International and V2U Community Organization are partnering on the Supporting Opportunities in Livelihoods Development projects, which trains farm households in the eastern regions of the country on improved agricultural practices.
The Chairman of the Sri Lanka Foundation International, USA, Dr Walter Jayasinghe’s vision for this Project is a multi-faceted initiative to rebuild villages struggling educationally and economically. The ambition is a replicable model to create sustainable and holistic transformation through land cultivation. He believes a thriving economy is a system of production, distribution and consumption that efficiently uses all available resources to benefit all stakeholders of that economy.
The project focuses on providing training on value chains of food production to have a sustainable impact in the rural economy, to promote residual income and healthy organic meals to families to be self sufficient.
With the support of SLF V2U Community Organization has disseminated this project proposal to a wide range of villages across Sri Lanka. Another land is been prepared for the next project in Dehiattakanndiya which is due to start next week.
The main objective is to build a sustainable agriculture, and management of resources, a solution to the hunger crisis in Sri Lanka.
Agriculture is an important part of the Sri Lankan economy, engaging one-third of the working population. However, most farm households have limited knowledge of production methods and also face a financial struggle to access land for cultivation. These obstacles constrain their ability to compete in the market and increase their incomes. In response to these challenges, Sri Lanka Foundation International and V2U Community Organization are partnering on the Supporting Opportunities in Livelihoods Development projects, which trains farm households in the eastern regions of the country on improved agricultural practices.
The Chairman of the Sri Lanka Foundation International, USA, Dr Walter Jayasinghe’s vision for this Project is a multi-faceted initiative to rebuild villages struggling educationally and economically. The ambition is a replicable model to create sustainable and holistic transformation through land cultivation. He believes a thriving economy is a system of production, distribution and consumption that efficiently uses all available resources to benefit all stakeholders of that economy.
The project focuses on providing training on value chains of food production to have a sustainable impact in the rural economy, to promote residual income and healthy organic meals to families to be self sufficient.
With the support of SLF V2U Community Organization has disseminated this project proposal to a wide range of villages across Sri Lanka. Another land is been prepared for the next project in Dehiattakanndiya which is due to start next week.
The main objective is to build a sustainable agriculture, and management of resources, a solution to the hunger crisis in Sri Lanka.
SLF Int, USA 2022 Srimerican of the Year Award Keith Ranga for his Excellence as an Artist, Humanitarian Services and Community Leadership
Keith Ranga was born in Sri Lanka and emigrated to the U.S. in 1992. He attended the college of De. Mazenod in Kandana, Sri Lanka. Keith Ranga began his acting career at 14 years old in an independent movie in Sri Lanka followed by two additional before moving to the U.S.
Keith Ranga has made a measurable impact in the past 20 years of his life with his dedication to the Sri Lankan American community as a passionate advocate to provide his humanitarian services and promote culture.
In 2006 he was elected to be the President of the Sri Lanka America Association in Southern California. He immediately stepped in to his role by evaluating the needs of our community and established a net working system with his executive committee to reach out to families that needed assistance in professional or personal matters. By providing this service he connected with so many families in Sri Lankan community and provided very valuable services.
In 2006 Keith Ranga organized the very first Cultural Show for Sri Lanka Independence Day collaborating with the Consul General of Sri Lanka, about 100 performers took part which was witnessed by hundreds of foreign diplomats and a large crowd of people from our community. He planted a very valuable seed that day to lay the groundwork for something that developed and expanded in to an annual event to celebrate Sri Lanka Independence Day. 2006 Keith Ranga took the leadership to organize the very first “Parade of Lanka” at the Santa Monica Promenade which was hosted by the Sri Lanka Foundation International, USA which was viewed by over hundred thousand people. In 2007 Keith Ranga coordinated the very first “Ranwan Reyek” production to introduce the Sinhala Cinema to the new Sri Lankan American younger generation. These productions provided an opportunity to many young Sri Lankan American kids to be involved in Los Angeles. Also in 2007 he organized the Tea Expo collaborated with the Sri Lankan Consulate office in Los Angeles to promote Sri Lankan Buddhist Temples in Los Angeles, supported many Sri Lanka social and cultural events by volunteering his services.
2017 Keith Ranga took the leadership to showcase the “Parade of Lanka” in the Rose Parade route in Pasadena at the Sri Lanka day which now has become the main attraction of the Sri Lanka Day anticipated by the local community. 2018 he took the leadership to organize the 70 years of Independence Day event held at UCLA. In 2019 Keith Ranga cast as a lead actor for two upcoming Sinhala productions which will be shown in Los Angeles. He also took a role as a producer and has brought many actors over to US and offered accommodation, food and transportation to provide opportunities for them to be successful in a foreign country.
He has received the following Awards, “Young Sri Lankan Artist Award 2018” presented by the Los Angeles Ranwa Reyek Foundation for his extraordinary contribution for the Sri Lanka Cinema, “Promoting Sri Lanka Culture Appreciation Award” presented by the Sri Lanka Foundation International in Los Angeles for his valuable services in organizing and conducting the “Parade of Lanka” on Sri Lanka Day 2017, “Leadership Award” from the Sri Lanka America Association in 2013, “Certificate of Appreciation” presented by the Consul General of Sri Lanka in 2011 for his services rendered towards the community, Certificate of Appreciation presented for his excellent leadership qualities by the Sri Lanka America Association in 2005-2006 , Top “Salesman of the Year 2017” by Colonial Life Insurance Company.
Keith Ranga has truly inspired people to become more involved in the community, reached out to those who are not as privileged as others and share his talents with those around in order to make a positive change in our community and to the entire world.
Keith Ranga has made a measurable impact in the past 20 years of his life with his dedication to the Sri Lankan American community as a passionate advocate to provide his humanitarian services and promote culture.
In 2006 he was elected to be the President of the Sri Lanka America Association in Southern California. He immediately stepped in to his role by evaluating the needs of our community and established a net working system with his executive committee to reach out to families that needed assistance in professional or personal matters. By providing this service he connected with so many families in Sri Lankan community and provided very valuable services.
In 2006 Keith Ranga organized the very first Cultural Show for Sri Lanka Independence Day collaborating with the Consul General of Sri Lanka, about 100 performers took part which was witnessed by hundreds of foreign diplomats and a large crowd of people from our community. He planted a very valuable seed that day to lay the groundwork for something that developed and expanded in to an annual event to celebrate Sri Lanka Independence Day. 2006 Keith Ranga took the leadership to organize the very first “Parade of Lanka” at the Santa Monica Promenade which was hosted by the Sri Lanka Foundation International, USA which was viewed by over hundred thousand people. In 2007 Keith Ranga coordinated the very first “Ranwan Reyek” production to introduce the Sinhala Cinema to the new Sri Lankan American younger generation. These productions provided an opportunity to many young Sri Lankan American kids to be involved in Los Angeles. Also in 2007 he organized the Tea Expo collaborated with the Sri Lankan Consulate office in Los Angeles to promote Sri Lankan Buddhist Temples in Los Angeles, supported many Sri Lanka social and cultural events by volunteering his services.
2017 Keith Ranga took the leadership to showcase the “Parade of Lanka” in the Rose Parade route in Pasadena at the Sri Lanka day which now has become the main attraction of the Sri Lanka Day anticipated by the local community. 2018 he took the leadership to organize the 70 years of Independence Day event held at UCLA. In 2019 Keith Ranga cast as a lead actor for two upcoming Sinhala productions which will be shown in Los Angeles. He also took a role as a producer and has brought many actors over to US and offered accommodation, food and transportation to provide opportunities for them to be successful in a foreign country.
He has received the following Awards, “Young Sri Lankan Artist Award 2018” presented by the Los Angeles Ranwa Reyek Foundation for his extraordinary contribution for the Sri Lanka Cinema, “Promoting Sri Lanka Culture Appreciation Award” presented by the Sri Lanka Foundation International in Los Angeles for his valuable services in organizing and conducting the “Parade of Lanka” on Sri Lanka Day 2017, “Leadership Award” from the Sri Lanka America Association in 2013, “Certificate of Appreciation” presented by the Consul General of Sri Lanka in 2011 for his services rendered towards the community, Certificate of Appreciation presented for his excellent leadership qualities by the Sri Lanka America Association in 2005-2006 , Top “Salesman of the Year 2017” by Colonial Life Insurance Company.
Keith Ranga has truly inspired people to become more involved in the community, reached out to those who are not as privileged as others and share his talents with those around in order to make a positive change in our community and to the entire world.
SLF INT, USA DONATED TO V2U COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION FOR A PROJECT IN MORAWAKA, MATARA TO EMPOWER SELF EMPLOYMENT AND FIGHT AGAINST HUNGER!!
The V2U Community nonprofit organization was established in November 2021 in Toronto, Canada, by Thiwi Gama and Sanjeewa Pushpa Kumara in the USA. The organization’s vision is to rebuild Sri Lanka with “no boundaries or bias” while empowering Sri Lankans in the fight against hunger by promoting the cultivation of privately owned land for food production. The main objective of the V2U Community Organization is to educate Sri Lankans on food cultivation to create self-generating employment opportunities in agriculture and other related fields.
Sri Lanka Foundation International, USA, donated to the V2U Organization to support a project in Morawaka, Matara district, to prepare land for raising crops to cultivate a field which Puwakbadaowita Saranda Thero spearheaded.
The Chairman of the Sri Lanka Foundation International, USA, Dr Walter Jayasinghe’s vision for this Project is a multi-faceted initiative to rebuild villages struggling educationally and economically. The ambition is a replicable model to create sustainable and holistic transformation through land cultivation. He believes a thriving economy is a system of production, distribution and consumption that efficiently uses all available resources to benefit all stakeholders of that economy.
The V2U Community Organization has put in place monitoring efforts to ensure progress in a few months and better understand the occurrence, distribution and status of plant populations and there growth. Also, providing education to motivate farmers to become active players in agricultural production, processing and marketing will lead them to adopt environment-friendly farming practices.
SLF has partnered with the V2U Community Organization to identify other locations to promote similar projects throughout Sri Lanka.
This initiative is unique as, in addition to helping the farmers obtain a fair price for their products and creating employment for youth in the village (through processed food product manufacture and sales), we focus on: Helping the farmers improve through crop diversification through the introduction of better agricultural practices as well as,
*educating the children and youth,
*mobilizing the community results in community development,
*creating a holistic transformation model.
Click on the link below to know more details about the project:
https://youtu.be/Oq3mX6-gcXk
Sri Lanka Foundation International, USA, donated to the V2U Organization to support a project in Morawaka, Matara district, to prepare land for raising crops to cultivate a field which Puwakbadaowita Saranda Thero spearheaded.
The Chairman of the Sri Lanka Foundation International, USA, Dr Walter Jayasinghe’s vision for this Project is a multi-faceted initiative to rebuild villages struggling educationally and economically. The ambition is a replicable model to create sustainable and holistic transformation through land cultivation. He believes a thriving economy is a system of production, distribution and consumption that efficiently uses all available resources to benefit all stakeholders of that economy.
The V2U Community Organization has put in place monitoring efforts to ensure progress in a few months and better understand the occurrence, distribution and status of plant populations and there growth. Also, providing education to motivate farmers to become active players in agricultural production, processing and marketing will lead them to adopt environment-friendly farming practices.
SLF has partnered with the V2U Community Organization to identify other locations to promote similar projects throughout Sri Lanka.
This initiative is unique as, in addition to helping the farmers obtain a fair price for their products and creating employment for youth in the village (through processed food product manufacture and sales), we focus on: Helping the farmers improve through crop diversification through the introduction of better agricultural practices as well as,
*educating the children and youth,
*mobilizing the community results in community development,
*creating a holistic transformation model.
Click on the link below to know more details about the project:
https://youtu.be/Oq3mX6-gcXk
USAID to provide US$ 20 Mn as humanitarian aid
USAID Administrator Samantha Power said USAID will provide additional US$20 million as humanitarian aid in addition to US$40 million which will be given to procure fertilizer to assist one million farmers.
The total amount pledged by her, comes up to US$ 60 million.
Ms. Power said political reforms and economic reform should go hand in hand.
“Sri Lanka should ensure stable borrowing and stable balance of trade,” she added. (Yohan Perera)
For more information go to:http://www.dailymirror.lk
The total amount pledged by her, comes up to US$ 60 million.
Ms. Power said political reforms and economic reform should go hand in hand.
“Sri Lanka should ensure stable borrowing and stable balance of trade,” she added. (Yohan Perera)
For more information go to:http://www.dailymirror.lk
SLF Int USA, WE ARE EXCITED TO SHARE THIS INVITATION FOR A VIRTUAL TOWN HALL WITH AMBASSADOR JULIE CHUNG AND ANJALI KAUR, DEPUTY ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR, USAID
Please join United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung in her second town hall with the Sri Lankan-American Community. Ambassador Chung will provide updates on the status of U.S.-Sri Lankan relations, U.S.-led relief efforts, and her perspectives on the ongoing crisis and ways forward. Ambassador Chung will be joined by Deputy Assistant Administrator for the USAID Asia Bureau Anjali Kaur, who will share USAID’s humanitarian assistance plans with the community. The town hall will also feature a question and answer session; participants are encouraged to submit questions and areas of concern they would like addressed in advance and during the event via chat.
Date: Thursday, September 22, 2022
Time: 7.30am PST, 10.30am EST
Pre-Register, Submit Questions, and View the Virtual Event
Here:https://interactive.state.gov/sri-lanka/
Ambassador Julie Chung arrived in Colombo as the U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka in February 2022. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counselor, Ms. Chung has served in senior positions throughout the Indo-Pacific and Western Hemisphere. Ms.Chung served as the Acting Assistant Secretary in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. She also has extensive experience in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, including as the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Japan, Deputy Chief of Mission in Cambodia, and Economic Counselor in Thailand. In addition, she has served at the U.S. embassies in Iraq, Colombia, Vietnam, and Japan and the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China. She also served as an advisor on nonproliferation discussions of the Agreed Framework with North Korea while working in the Office of Korean Affairs in Washington.
Anjali Kaur is an international development professional with comprehensive experience at the field, country, and global levels with evidence-based, integrated global health programs. Before joining USAID, Ms. Kaur was the Senior Program Officer at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, leading the worldwide policy and advocacy strategies for the HIV and TB programs. Before that, she was the Senior Director of Asia Pacific for Malaria No More. She established the India Office and expanded the organization’s work across the region, engaging with governments, the private sector, civil society, and the media. Ms. Kaur was also with UNICEF Polio Programme, where she worked at the country and HQ levels and the World Bank and UNFPA. She is a Fulbright Scholar and received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Johns Hopkins University.
Key areas of the virtual town hall
*Status of U.S.-Sri Lankan relations
*U.S.-led relief efforts
*Perspectives on the ongoing crisis and ways forward
*USAID’s humanitarian assistance plans with the community
This event is open to the public and all are welcome. Please feel free to share the above link and the attached flyer with your networks.
For more information contact:
Keshini Wijegoonaratna- 213-400-7705 or
keshini@srilankafoundation.org
Date: Thursday, September 22, 2022
Time: 7.30am PST, 10.30am EST
Pre-Register, Submit Questions, and View the Virtual Event
Here:https://interactive.state.gov/sri-lanka/
Ambassador Julie Chung arrived in Colombo as the U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka in February 2022. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counselor, Ms. Chung has served in senior positions throughout the Indo-Pacific and Western Hemisphere. Ms.Chung served as the Acting Assistant Secretary in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. She also has extensive experience in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, including as the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Japan, Deputy Chief of Mission in Cambodia, and Economic Counselor in Thailand. In addition, she has served at the U.S. embassies in Iraq, Colombia, Vietnam, and Japan and the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China. She also served as an advisor on nonproliferation discussions of the Agreed Framework with North Korea while working in the Office of Korean Affairs in Washington.
Anjali Kaur is an international development professional with comprehensive experience at the field, country, and global levels with evidence-based, integrated global health programs. Before joining USAID, Ms. Kaur was the Senior Program Officer at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, leading the worldwide policy and advocacy strategies for the HIV and TB programs. Before that, she was the Senior Director of Asia Pacific for Malaria No More. She established the India Office and expanded the organization’s work across the region, engaging with governments, the private sector, civil society, and the media. Ms. Kaur was also with UNICEF Polio Programme, where she worked at the country and HQ levels and the World Bank and UNFPA. She is a Fulbright Scholar and received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Johns Hopkins University.
Key areas of the virtual town hall
*Status of U.S.-Sri Lankan relations
*U.S.-led relief efforts
*Perspectives on the ongoing crisis and ways forward
*USAID’s humanitarian assistance plans with the community
This event is open to the public and all are welcome. Please feel free to share the above link and the attached flyer with your networks.
For more information contact:
Keshini Wijegoonaratna- 213-400-7705 or
keshini@srilankafoundation.org
SLF Int, USA Supports V2U Community Organization Partnership Formed Between USA & Canada established A Project to Empower Self Employment and Fight Against Hunger!!
The V2U Community nonprofit organization was established in November 2021, in Toronto, Canada by Thiwi Gama and by Sanjeewa Pushpa Kumara in USA. The vision of the organization is to rebuild Sri Lanka with “no boundaries or bias” while empowering Sri Lankans in the fight against hunger by promoting the cultivation of privately owned land for food production. The main objective of V2U Community Organization is to educate Sri Lankans on food cultivation with the ultimate goal of creating self generating employment opportunities in agriculture and other related fields.
Dr. Walter Jayasinghe, Chairman of the Board of SLF INT, USA, extends his full support to this project while commending V2U Community Organization for their initiative.
V2U Community Organization members along with other entities continue to encourage communities to support one another in the preparation of land for cultivation. This project is in full progress in the areas of Wauniya, Mahhiyangana, Ingiriya, Matara, Mahanuwara, Hambantota, Polonnaruwa and Monaragala.
The main emphasis is to promote families to be self sufficient, create residual income and chemical free meals.
Rep. Titus Urges U.S. Support for Sri Lanka
Washington, DC – Today Congresswoman Dina Titus (NV-01), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, led nine of her colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary of State Blinken and USAID Administrator Power urging them to take swift action to provide meaningful support to the Sri Lankan people in the face of widespread food, fuel, and medicine shortages. They also called on the Administration to continue to support the Sri Lankan government and people as they work to implement democratic and economic reforms. These reforms include advancing efforts to address longstanding issues related to accountability and reconciliation and to meet broader U.S. foreign policy goals for the region.
“We remain deeply concerned by the unprecedented and disastrous economic crisis currently facing Sri Lanka,” the Members wrote. “Although we greatly appreciate the $11.75 million in new humanitarian and development assistance that USAID provided at the end of June, more is clearly needed now. We urge USAID to take immediate action to provide additional relief to the Sri Lankan people, including increased food, medical, and fuel aid.”
According to the World Food Programme, due to widespread economic issues, three in ten households, or approximately 6.26 million Sri Lankans, are unsure where they will get their next meal. An estimated 60 percent of Sri Lankans are skipping meals to stretch food supplies and hundreds of thousands are being forced to wait in extensive lines to acquire daily necessities. If the current economic situation does not improve soon, some experts warn that the number of those suffering from dangerous food insecurity could rise to 22 million, or one-third of the country’s population.
In addition to Rep. Titus this letter was signed by nine other Members of Congress, including Representatives Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. (D-GA), Ami Bera, M.D. (D-CA), Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), Gwen Moore (D-WI), David E. Price (D-NC), Jim Costa (D-CA), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ), and James P. McGovern (D-MA).
Read today’s full letter
letter_to_blinken_and_power_on_sri_lankan_economic_crisis-final
“We remain deeply concerned by the unprecedented and disastrous economic crisis currently facing Sri Lanka,” the Members wrote. “Although we greatly appreciate the $11.75 million in new humanitarian and development assistance that USAID provided at the end of June, more is clearly needed now. We urge USAID to take immediate action to provide additional relief to the Sri Lankan people, including increased food, medical, and fuel aid.”
According to the World Food Programme, due to widespread economic issues, three in ten households, or approximately 6.26 million Sri Lankans, are unsure where they will get their next meal. An estimated 60 percent of Sri Lankans are skipping meals to stretch food supplies and hundreds of thousands are being forced to wait in extensive lines to acquire daily necessities. If the current economic situation does not improve soon, some experts warn that the number of those suffering from dangerous food insecurity could rise to 22 million, or one-third of the country’s population.
In addition to Rep. Titus this letter was signed by nine other Members of Congress, including Representatives Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. (D-GA), Ami Bera, M.D. (D-CA), Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), Gwen Moore (D-WI), David E. Price (D-NC), Jim Costa (D-CA), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ), and James P. McGovern (D-MA).
Read today’s full letter
letter_to_blinken_and_power_on_sri_lankan_economic_crisis-final
DON’T MISS OUT!!Sri Lanka Day Expo & Parade Worldwide Virtual Event Begins in a few more days
FREE EVENT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Spectacular Cultural Program
Virtual Expo will be open to the public from August 10th – August 20th
Amazing Virtual Parade
Resourceful Presentations
Get ready to “Dance Baila” with the Band, “HEAT”
Live MC’S from US, Australia and Sri Lanka
There are many new features added this time for our worldwide audience. Including new online games to win prizes worth $5000!!
REGISTER NOW DON’T MISS OUT!!!!
https://www.slfplatform.org/
Sri Lanka-themed virtual Global Celebration will be launched in the United States on the Sri Lanka Foundation International platform introducing to a worldwide audience Sri Lanka’s historical heritage and culture, music, dance forms, and local food and products. All that and more, while being entertained by breath-taking cultural performances, you can enjoy lounging in the comfort of your living room!
If that were not enough, a dazzling parade would pass by you, and a glittering fashion show will be brought to your living room, bringing post covid fashions never before seen. The show will originate from Australia and Sri Lanka. You will not only be entertained with a variety of such attractive offerings; you will also be invited to Special Presentations in the Networking Lounge relating to Education, Medical, Culture, and Cooking.
This unique virtual event takes place on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th August 2022, when traders, manufacturers, and service providers, will meet virtually all under one roof to market their products, network, and do business. It will also serve as a business platform for Sri Lankan traders to make inroads into the global market and develop strategic partnership programs with Australian, British, Canadian, and U.S. firms while virtually meeting and networking with them. Added highlights for the vendors and sponsors will include audio and Video features in the booths to directly speak with the customers. The auditorium will be available to present promotional videos of their businesses during the Cultural Performances. The platform will open a few days early and will remain open a few days later for people who missed the event on the weekend.
When the annual Sri Lanka Day was last celebrated in the historic city of Pasadena in 2019, the thousands of visitors who filed along the historic route of the New Year’s Day Rose Parade gasped in amazement as they watched the ‘Pageant of Lanka,’ a miniature Kandy Perahera with decorated elephants on rollers and traditional Sri Lankan dancers, parading on the streets of Los Angeles. That day, Sri Lanka took its rightful place among the ethnic festivals held in America.
This year, Sri Lanka Foundation International is organizing the event on a virtual platform for the second successive year making the pre covid era annual Sri Lanka Day celebrations in Los Angeles a worldwide event. Although virtual events are not quite like seeing an event in person, these “quarantine events” play a fascinating role in keeping the public arts alive while public life is in lockdown
Throughout the two-day festivities, it will feature events staged from around the world when the sights and sounds and the unique taste of Sri Lanka will virtually come alive. Mesmerizing dance and music performances will be staged throughout the two days. It will feature Sri Lankan traditional music, dances, art, and theatre staged from Sri Lanka, Australia, Canada, Chile, France, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, The U.K., and India.
The performances are to be interspersed with a cultural fashion show with Sri Lankan models showcasing Sri Lankan costumes on the catwalk. The audience will also be treated to a tour de force of Sri Lankan art, artifacts, fashionable clothing, jewellery, sweets, spices, and food to promote indigenous products and entrepreneurs.
Sri Lanka Day celebrations are sponsored and organized by the Sri Lanka Foundation, based in Los Angeles, California, a brainchild of Dr. Walter Jayasinghe, a leading expatriate physician who came to the U.S. in the early 1960s. In 2003, he established the Foundation to promote Sri Lankan cultural activities in the U.S.
The mega event is cosponsored by a leading group of Sri Lankans and Sri Lankan companies, including Bold Gems, HSBC, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, Hatch’ Delmege Forsyth & Co Ltd, Ceilan Coir Products Export, Salota International, Mireka Homes Havelock City, Jmed, Uniformity, Raju Rasiah Jewelers, Rupavahini (Ethera Methara), Derana TV, and ITN.
By. Nandasiri (Nandi) Jasentuliyana
Former Deputy Director-General, United Nations, Director, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and President Emeritus, International Institute of Space Law & Policy For more information contact:
Shirani Stanislaus-213-304-7500 or shirani@srilankafoundation.og
Keshini Wijegoonaratna-213-400-7705 or Keshini@srilankafoundation.org
Achala Weerasinghe-213-400-1662 or achala@srilankafoundation.org
