Donation of funds raised by spouses of Japanese Embassy staff

A sum of Rs. 265,200 was donated to two NGOs, namely Surangani Voluntary Service (SVS) and Only One World (OOW), at a donation presentation ceremony presided over by Akiko Suganuma, Spouse of Ambassador of Japan to Sri Lanka at the Japanese Ambassador’s official residence on Monday, 4 April.

The funds were raised by the Association of Spouses of the Japanese Embassy Staff (ASJES) through an international bazaar held at the Hilton Colombo Residence on 29 November 2015. The Association has been supporting activities of many NGOs in Sri Lanka over the past 30 years.

SVS was founded in 1992 and supports mainly preschool education in Sri Lanka. The organisation was represented by its Director Shigeko Baba at the ceremony. The donation from ASJES will be utilised to install lockers at a centre for handicapped children in Buttala, Moneragala. This has been the 15th donation from ASJES since 2001. Baba mentioned that the lockers would enable the children to keep their personal belongings in a tidy and orderly manner, which also help them to foster a sense of self-discipline. 

OOW was founded in 1991 by former Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Japan Arthur Basnayake and his wife Damini Basnayake. OOW grants scholarships to excellent students who are deprived of attending schools due to their poverty, and also donates medical equipment to hospitals. The donation from ASJES will be utilised for awarding scholarships to one male and one female student to pursue their higher studies at universities. This has been the fourth donation from ASJES since 2013. 

W. Rusiru Dananjaya Perera and P. A. Madhushani Chaturika Kulatunga who will be awarded scholarships through OOW by ASJES this year expressed their gratitude to OOW and Japan at the ceremony. Dr. Vipula who represented OOW at the ceremony mentioned that the scholarships through OOW were extremely helpful to students who have economic difficulties.