Anoma Wijetunga, who is very well known as “Anon Catering” among the Sri Lankan American community in Los Angeles, is preparing for her 60th Birthday on Sunday, June 9th, 2024, at 5:30 p.m. at the Mindfulness Meditation Center in Covina. Anoma mentioned to SLF that she wants to have a Buddhist religious ceremony to invite her family and friends and enhance their knowledge of Dhamma. In Sri Lankan culture, most Buddhists go to their local religious centers or temples for their birthdays and participate in chanting, meditation, and other activities. The Mindfulness Meditation Center has organized a prolific Dhamma sermon to be preached on her birthday by the Most Venerable Usgoda Dhamagaru Thero. The sermon will offer a wide variety of Buddhist practices and teachings to support practice, and Anoma’s main objective is to share the blessings with everyone and incorporate them into her daily life. Anoma told us about
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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
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Sri Lankan plantations are planning to brand Ceylon coffee as a globally sought-after brand of coffee. The growing preference for coffee over tea renders an excellent opportunity for this venture. In the last decade, Sri Lankan coffee has shown remarkable growth in production volumes. Due to the industry’s expansion, exports of coffee brought in USD 0.32 million in 2019. According to the Lanka Coffee Association (LCA), the Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) entering this market segment are using this opportunity to be the key movers in this sector. The already established brand value of Ceylon Tea and the excellent terrain in Sri Lanka will surely benefit this endeavor. More smallholder farmers are now progressing into coffee farming. In areas like Nuwara Eliya and Welimada, smallholders commonly cultivate coffee as a secondary tea crop. Plantation firms are highly considering growing coffee as an alternate crop as the output of tea declines. After
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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
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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
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The AccelerateHer program provides a platform for women to access the skills needed to sustain a business, such as legal, operational, and financial assistance. This program is devised to enable women entrepreneurs to scale their businesses and become investor-ready. In addition, we will also tackle gender-specific nuances that prevent women from succeeding in business. A selected number of female entrepreneurs and their startups will be placed at Hatch for 3 months throughout this program opening opportunities to collaborate and co-create together with the larger entrepreneurial ecosystem while also skilling up their knowledge. Our target audience includes women, ideally from under-represented groups, with a validated tech or tech-enabled product and operational income (with at least 1 paying customer) and those who are focused on scaling up their startups globally. SHENUKA UMAGILIYA FOUNDER – BALAMU GUIDES Founded by Shenuka Umagiliya ,BALAMU is your essential travel Guide in Sri Lanka! Bringing together three
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Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) are the engine of the economy of a country. They create new demands, markets, cultures and most importantly they create various job opportunities. SMEs contribute 52% of Sri Lanka’s GDP, which the sector now is in a very crucial stage. Curve Up (Pvt) Ltd. is a Sri Lankan consultancy and empowerment firm who work with and support 500+ SMEs across the island to develop and sustain through business development, empowerment, business coaching/ mentoring programmes. As an exports-based stable economy is crucial to overcome the current economic situation of Sri Lanka, Curve Up launches the “Sri Lanka to Global” (#SL2G) campaign to support to sustain Small and Medium Enterprises in the island that are struggling during these troublesome times. What is #SL2G? It is an export-oriented campaign to enable locally manufactured products to reach to global markets. That helps the SMEs from the grassroots to earn
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Independent Television Network Limited (also known as ITN or simply as ITN Sri Lanka) is a Sri Lankan state governed television and radio broadcaster located in Wickramasinhapura, Battaramulla, Sri Lanka. ITN, a Shrama Abhimani Award winner (Oct 2009), broadcasts content to a wide demographic within Sri Lanka as well as the expatriate community. The programs are high quality and creative to promote the country’s economic and social development, cultural diversification and preservation as well as the environmental protection and promotion broadcasted in three languages; Sinhala, Tamil, and English. The ITN broadcast coverage extends to 99% of the island of Sri Lanka. The Vision of ITN is to be the leader in Electronic Media, and their Mission is to Produce & Telecast Quality and Attractive people friendly media content consistent with the Sri Lankan Values and Culture to a wide range of audience. On March 29th, 2022, at the Cinnamon Grand
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Emirates and Dilmah Tea have enjoyed a longstanding partnership of brewing the finest teas on board and in Emirates’ airport lounges around the world for the past 30 years. To mark the milestone on International Tea Day, all Emirates’ customers will get a special tea box when they fly from Dubai on Saturday. In addition, First Class customers on flights to the UK will be treated to a food pairing, and Emirates’ Onboard Lounge will offer Dilmah Tea infused mocktails on Saturday. The special tea pack for all customers who fly on Saturday contains three different flavours: Ceylon Breakfast, an Emirates exclusive Turmeric Coconut and Vanilla, and the popular Earl Grey with Honey. In First Class, Emirates offers the Brilliant Breakfast tea created by Dilmah founder and passionate tea maker Memill Femando and will be paired with the afternoon tea service on board. Moroccan Mint Green tea can be exquisitely
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Prof. Patrick Mendis, a multidisciplinary scholar and award-winning diplomat, has represented both the governments of Sri Lanka and the United States in the United Nations system (Photo—courtesy of the University of Minnesota). Who is the J’pura alumnus and American diplomat behind our scholarships? By Professor Chandana Gunathilaka It was for the first time at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura’s history that a single graduate of our Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce was awarded both the Dr. Patrick Mendis Prize and the Venerable Dr. Walpola Rahula Prize at the convocation ceremony. That was one of our most outstanding students in the Department of Finance: Uwin Ariyaratna. He was recognised with the Dr. Mendis Prize for having the best performance in academic excellence and extra-curricular leadership at the university. He also received the Venerable Dr. Walpola Rahula Prize for having the highest average score obtained among 1200 plus students in all
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