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| Saturday, 26 June 2004 |
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Lankan to attend Garden Party at Buckingham Palace by E.Weerapperuma
Mrs. Sheilanee de Saram, Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), Representative in Sri Lanka of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) U.K., Representative in Sri Lanka of the Society of Teachers of Speech & Drama (STSD) U.K. and the Chairperson and Founder of the Institute for Examinations in English Music and Speech (IEMS Examinations) Sri Lanka will be in England on Thursday, July 8, to attend the Garden Party at Buckingham Palace. Queen Elizabeth II of England and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh will grace the occasion. Chairman of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts (RSA) has invited Mrs. De Saram to join the party, organised to mark the RSA's 250th anniversary. Perhaps this may be the first time a woman of her calibre is being invited to join a Garden Party where the Queen of England as Patron and the Duke of Edinburgh as President of the RSA join to make the event a memorable one. Mrs. de Saram said that she was very excited when she thinks of meeting Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, a rare opportunity one gets in one's life time. "One cannot meet the Queen with all the money one has or the powers one enjoys as an MP or a Minister, or someone holding a very high position in society unless the Queen grants you permission and allocate time for an audience with her. I am proud for my country, as the invitation is a high appreciation and recognition of work of a Sri Lankan ordinary citizen and I am really happy I have been able to bring honour to my country. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will be with us for two hours from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and it will be an unforgettable event in my life", she said. Mrs. De Saram is referred to as a "self made woman" by her circle of friends and close relatives known her for many years, told this writer, that on October 06, 2003 she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce and received her Fellowship Certificate from the Director of this prestigious Body. "I have come a long way in my life achieving many things I cherished very much treading a difficult and narrow path. There were numerous obstacles on my way. But, I was very true to my conscious. I knew well that if I do the right thing that it would bring reward at the end", she told smiling modestly. Mrs. de Saram, the only child of late Gerry Amarasinghe and Mrs. Trilby Amarasinghe nee Jayasuriya of Kandana is a product of St. Bridget's Convent, Colombo and a student of late Mrs. Yolande Abeywira. She started her career as a teacher trainee in 1965 and on April 3, 1970, she married Damian de Saram, an Automobile Engineer and the son of late Senator and Chevalier Bobby and Dame Marion de Saram of Grandpass. The wedding was held at All Saints Church Borella and the attesting witnesses were late Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake and William Gopallawa, the then Governor General of Sri Lanka. She has two sons and two daughters. Rev.Fr. Nishan de Saram, Chaplain to the Little Sisters of the Poor, Perth in Australia is her eldest son. The second son Sandika works as the Chief Executive of the IEMS Sri Lanka. The eldest daughter Shayanika, is the Directress of IJ International Montessori, Welisara and the youngest daughter Marie is domiciled in Australia. Her four aunts were Catholic nuns. In 1971 she joined the Trinity College, Kandy as a teacher in charge of Elocution for a number of years. She was not only a teacher at the time but being very innovative and industrious started her own local food industry under the registered name "Nishano Industries" and also displayed her talents in other fields such as cookery. She had several cookery demonstrations for Muller and Phipps, Scan Imports and House Wives' Association of Kandy. "Of course I had to leave the field of food industry when the foreign products came into Sri Lanka market, being very small entrepreneurs I could not compete with the foreign products. The small and medium industrialists of the day may have had the support from several quarters, but I acted on my own with my own little money without depending on any other source of support", she said. In 1993, she became the first Sri Lankan to have obtained an ALAM Diploma in Public Speaking and was also the first Sri Lankan to obtain the Licentiate Teachers' Diploma LLAM of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) U.K. She is also the first Sri Lankan to obtain the Licentiate Teachers' Diploma in Speech and Drama LLCM of the London College of Music & Media at Thames Valley University, U.K. and also the only Sri Lankan to get the membership in Speech Communication and Voice Care Associations in Australia, USA, New Zealand and United Kingdom. Under her guidance the IEMS Examinations gained foreign recognition. This is the only institute recognized by the Society of Teachers of Speech and Drama (STSD), U.K. The Licentiate Teachers' Diploma holders of IEMS Examinations are eligible to be members of the Society of Teachers of Speech and Drama (STSD), U.K. and accredited representative in the country for UAE, other Asian and African countries for LAMDA and is also the first Licentiate Teachers Diploma in Sri Lanka recognised for the membership of STSD, U.K., she claimed. Recalling the days she spent labouring to have her own institute she said that looking back she really feel proud of her achievements. "Of course I had a very humble beginning. At the time those who knew about my Institute referred it to as "One Room Institute". With that first step I am happy as my institute has grown into a huge tree and I am reminded of the Gospel story of the mustard seed. If you have faith and commit yourself to whatever you do, it is bound to bear fruit", she said. She also said that being the only child of her parents she had to act both roles as son and daughter, a woman and man. " That really formed me to be what I am today. My success in the field I have chosen is also because I never took 'No' as an answer. My motto is "First to God and then to myself", she said. When asked why she decided to take this field as her vocation Mrs. De Saram said that from all her fields of activity she realised that her vocation was for teaching the marginalised and poor who can never enter an institute due to sheer poverty. They have the talent. But no one to guide. And I began in a small way without forgetting them and God has blessed me in abundance and I am very grateful to God for his mercy and generosity. Mrs. De Saram, has won the Small Category, Services Sector, Entrepreneur of the Year, Merit Award (1995), Silver Award (1996) and Gold Award (1997), in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the socio-economic development of the country. She was awarded by the Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL) and in 1997, she was the only woman entrepreneur to be awarded the Gold Award in the Western Province by FCCISL. Mrs. de Saram attended the International Conference on "Empowering Women for the 21st Century" held in Vancouver, Canada on September 19, 1999 and chaired the World Congress Committee. At present, she is the Vice-President of the Business and Professional Women of Sri Lanka (BPWSL). |
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