The United Sri Lanka Association of New Zealand (USLA) has donated Sarvodaya with further 267,000 Dollars (Approx. 18.4 Million rupees) to be utilised in the SARVODAYA Tsunami relief effort. This is in addition to the one million rupees, handed over to Dr. A.T Ariyaratne by USLA president, Chanaka Batuwantudawe on the 03rd January 2005. This donation was collected by the Sri Lankans in NZ with the help of the wider NZ community through public fund raising and food fairs. The NZ Government has also substantially contributed towards this effort.
The United Sri Lanka Association of New Zealand (USLA) and the wider Sri Lankan community in NZ , are very keen to make a positive contribution towards Sri Lanka’s Tsunami relief effort and have decided to partner the relief effort with Sarvodaya. USLA has already initiated a long term Tsunami relief effort for Sri Lanka with planning to establish a charitable trust in NZ. The association is currently planning further fund raising efforts for this cause, hoping to channel the future funds through Sarvodaya as well.
USLA vice president, Channa Ranasinghe will be visiting Sri Lanka in two weeks to meet with Sarvodaya and obtain further information on how best the NZ Sri Lankan community could contribute towards rebuilding Sri Lanka after this national disaster.