'Sri Lanka suffered more from tsunami than any other country except Indonesia'

KELANIYA group correspondent

ALUMNI Association of East-West Center, Sri Lanka Chapter held a special meeting at Siyam House Hotel, Bambalapitiya, Colombo to welcome eleven volunteers who came to Sri Lanka to carry out the Asia Pacific Leadership program.

Welcoming them S. B. Bandusena, President of the East-West Center, Sri Lanka Chapter said that our main objective is to promote the development of a stable, prosperous and peaceful Asia Pacific Community.

The Sri Lanka Chapter was established about two decades ago. With the cooperation and coordination of the East-West Center in Honolulu, its institutional goal is to assist in creating an Asia Pacific Community in which the United States is an active and valued partner.

All these volunteers are undergraduates of the University of Honolulu who have come all the way with their own expenses, including, food, transport and accommodation.

W. A. Siriwardena, Secretary of the Sri Lanka Chapter said that the US Congress established the East-West Center as an education and research institution to strengthen relations and understanding among the nations of Asia, the Pacific and the United States.

The Center's institutional goal is to assist in creating an Asia Pacific Community in which the United States is an active and valued partner. EWC researchers work with collaborating institutions and specialists from throughout the region.

The East-West Center is a public, non-profit national and international institution with an international board of governors. Funding comes from the US Government, a number of Asian and Pacific Governments, private agencies and foundations, corporations, EWC alumni organisations and individuals.

Dan Berman, Special Representative for South Asia Office of the President, Honolulu, Hawaii said "Sri Lanka is not a strange place for me. I have visited Sri Lanka on several occasions to give our advice and assistance to the East-West Center, Sri Lanka Chapter.

Miss Kathy Tran APLP Fellow 2005, leader of the team said that Sri Lanka has suffered more from the tsunami disaster than any other country except Indonesia.