Message from the President (2022)
Dear Members / Ladies and Gentlemen
As I reflect on the past year, one word keeps coming to my mind: resilience.
2021 has been a challenging year, and yet it is in times of challenge that we learn what our true resilience is.
The past year 2021 was full of uncertainty. Together, we navigated multiple waves of the pandemic and collectively tried to figure out how we would support and engage with our community. However, we successfully staged our annual cultural show “Hela Mihira” and the surplus income we made from the event was donated to a project in our motherland to provide spectacles after proper examinations by the ophthalmologists to the children of underprivileged schools in Sri Lanka.
“The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.” – Coretta Scott King
I am honoured to lead United Sri Lanka Association Auckland Branch inc. (USLA) this year 2022 for the 2nd term.
Stepping up during critical times is as important as being steadfast in our commitment to community priorities.
I need not elaborate on the current state of our Motherland. In 2022, USLA (Auckland) will be focusing mainly on fund raising to make our own Sri Lankan’s life easy back home in Sri Lanka.
Thank you again for your many compassionate actions, support, partnership, and friendship over the last year. I remain grateful, humbled, and inspired.
Dr(Mrs) Rasika Subasinghe
Message from the President (2021)
Dear Members / Ladies and Gentlemen
I am honoured to lead United Sri Lanka Association Auckland Branch inc. (USLA) this year 2021. We live in challenging and uncertain times. While it is impossible to predict how events will unfold in the coming weeks and months, we want you to know that our team will do our best to bring you the best as a community organization.
I believe in our community and serving on this board with these amazing volunteers. We are fortunate to have new young faces, new talents, but always the same community pride and amazing community involvement.
Being a volunteer means putting others before yourself and I am so proud of the work our committee does.
The work that we do is made possible by contributions from members and donors. We have people willing to work together for the benefit of others. From my heart, I thank all volunteers who have joined hands with me with the objective of making USLA great again.
I am fortunate to be a part of this community and am fortunate to know you all.
Dr(Mrs) Rasika Subasinghe
President – USLA
Message from the President
(2019-2020)
Dear Members / Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my privilege as the President of USLA, to launch our new website today. We have had websites earlier but due to some technical and other issues we could not continue with those sites. The new site will deliver to the world quite useful information about Sri Lanka and specifically about our organization.
How We Got Started
In the year 1983 a small group of Sri Lankans got together and established USLA with the aim of ‘portraying the true political situation in Sri Lanka and promoting the Sri Lankan culture in New Zealand’. At the time the organization did everything possible within its capacity to help Sri Lankans in our mother country, who were affected by the terrorism. USLA, Auckland Branch gained full legal status with the registration of our organization, on 26 Nov 1998, with the New Zealand Companies Office, under the title ‘United Sri Lanka Association (Auckland Branch) Incorporated’. USLA has been catering to our Sri Lankan community in numerous ways up to now and will continue to do so.
Where We Are Now
We organise following yearly events for the benefit and enjoyment of our community.
a. Independance day celebrations
b. Sinhala-Tamil New Year celebrations
c. Musical shows
d. Organising events to promot the talents of our younger generation and members
e. Language Day event
f. Organising other events relating to important current matters
g. Annual tour for the seniors
h. Organising seminars etc for the benefit of our community
i. Making donation to various individuals and societies in NZ and in Sri Lanka
j. Participatiing in events organised by other organisations
k. Any othr activity that benefits our community
My request
My request to our dear members and the well-wishers is please use your website to express your views, exchange ideas and contribute to develop brotherhood in our Sri Lankan communities. Let this be a stage for our members and their children to show the world their creativity.
Roshan Manamperi
President – USLA
