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Api Wenuwen Api fund:
Washington Lankans contribute
Members of the Sri Lankan community in the Washington, D.C. area
raised thousands of dollars Saturday for a housing program that will
help members of Sri Lanka's armed forces buy homes.
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Sri Lankans in Washington D.C. at the ceremony |
The July 18 event occurred simultaneously at the homes of Ambassador
Jaliya Wickramasuriya and five diplomats assigned to the Embassy of Sri
Lanka in Washington, D.C.
The diplomats invited local Sri Lankans to their homes to enjoy
traditional food and learn about the Ministry of Defence's Api Wenuwen
Api Ranaviru Housing Project Fund.
Sri Lanka's Secretary of Defence, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa spoke to the
crowded house parties simultaneously via a Webex internet link. He also
answered questions from guests about the housing program and the
successful conclusion of the nearly 26-year-long conflict with the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
"Because of all their hard work, it's very important to meet their
every need," Defence Secretary said. "We need to remember the people who
have lost their lives for the sake of the country."
Defence Secretary Rajapaksa thanked those who contributed to the
housing project and said more homes were under construction for, "our
war heroes".
The program also helps families of soldiers killed in the conflict.
He said schools with gymnasiums, auditoriums and computer labs were
under construction in the villages of returning soldiers. The Api
Wenuwen Api fund, he said, is the backbone of that effort.
The funds are needed because members of the armed forces have
difficulty buying homes without a guarantor. Banks do not want to risk
backing defence personnel, whose lives are considered vulnerable. The
Api Wenuwen Api Ranaviru Housing Project Fund takes on the
responsibility as the guarantor, and will contribute 1/3 of the expense
of constructing each house.
This fund is controlled by a Board of Trustees consists of
distinguished persons under the Ministry of Defence formed under a
Parliamentary act.
Following Defence Secretary Rajapaksa's talk, participants generously
wrote checks and signed pledge cards.
The total amount of money raised for the Api Wenuwen Api fund
throughout the U.S. in 2009 now stands at more than $200,000.
Ambassador Wickramasuriya called the evening's events the "perfect
private-public partnership. Now that we have done this, others will be
able to do it on their own, raising even more money for homes for
soldiers and their families".
The Ambassador said it was possible to raise $1 million a year to
fund the construction of 50,000 new houses in Sri Lanka. |
