Michael Roberts on behalf of We are One Lanka.

DEAR FRIENDS

This is a request for money for a good cause. WE ARE ONE LANKA has been initiated as a Company running a charitable Trust with the same name. The title is short-hand for the principle “ We are One and Many ” which marks the diversity of ethnicity and religion that is a feature of Sri Lanka and its migrants abroad.

OUR AIMS are as follows:

• The alleviation of suffering in Sri Lanka , including assistance to the victims of war and supporting those in need;
• The promotion of specific programmes to sponsor the well-being of those in particular need, such as orphans, students, amputees and widowed families; and
• The encouragement of reconciliation among Sri Lanka 's diverse ethnic communities by promoting philanthropic paths that forge bonds across ethnic boundaries and develop mutual concern for each other.

The INSPIRATION for this venture was provided by an open letter composed by the Trinitian Mohan Sekaram of Sydney in late May 2009 (see attachment) and the appeal broadcast by the Thomian, Mohan Samarasinhe of London, circa July that year (see our website).

HOW YOU CAN HELP with DONATIONS: OPTIONS

A.    Commit $220 per year over three years to support a needy medical student at the University of Jaffna .

B.    Commit $360 a year for a specific orphan, family or amputee in indigent circumstances over three years.

C.    Commit any sum of $50 or more – no limits!!! – towards our general aims.

All figures are in Australian dollars. We are awaiting a response from the Taxation Office with regard to DGR status which will make provide d rebates for donations.

We are aware that many people who receive this memorandum will already be engaged in charitable activities of all sorts in Australia , Sri Lanka and elsewhere. But we trust that your pockets will stretch and provide the relatively small sums we are seeking.

Your donations should be sent by direct bank to “We are One Lanka” or a/c 5275 84858 at ANZ, Glenside , South Australia branch, Adelaide , with covering email to donations@onelanka.org . The DONATION FORM that is attached provides more specifics. We will soon be establishing a credit card facility through our web site.

Our website is http://onelanka.org/ and is presently in its formative stage. Further clarification can be sought by return email or subsequently from donations@onelanka.org .

The Directors of WE ARE ONE LANKA LTD are Dr. Michael Roberts, Professor Justin Labrooy, Mr. Lasantha Jayasinghe and Mr. Robin Labrooy, all from Adelaide . The Trust will be assisted by a BOARD OF MANAGEMENT made up by the four above, Ms. Karima Farouque in Melbourne, Dr. Nirmala Labrooy in Adelaide , Mr. Druvi Shanendra Perera in Sydney , Dr. Anoma Pieris in Melbourne , Mr. Tuline Rutnam in Melbourne and Mrs. Rosemary Seneviratne in Perth . We believe that this body blends experience with youth.

METHODS AND SPECIFICS

• Our spirit is secular pragmatic and we will not be tied to any religious body but will be happy to cooperate with any organisation that is charitable towards people in need.
• We will be beginning small and hope to expand our activities according to circumstances and monies assembled.

Our donation forms have been kept simple for administrative convenience. However, in line with the original inspiration we encourage Burgher, Sinhalese and Colombo Chetty donors to direct their donations towards Tamil and Muslim people in the chosen categories by indicating this directionality in their covering letter. There will be others who do not wish to delineate any ethnicity and prefer to embrace recipients from all communities. As the composition of our management indicates, our leanings are Sri Lankan in this catholic sense, though contemporary realities mean that the target of reconciliation are those most politically-disaffected and bodily-suffering.

Initially our hands-on delivery agency in Sri Lanka will be CandleAid run by Captain Elmo Jayawardena and his aides. They have a proven track record and are firmly non-denominational. We have their financial accounts for the year 2008-09 in our hands and note that their receipts amounted to Rs. 24,985,629 (circa 290,000Aus $) – virtually all spent. Remarkably, they have minimised their office staff and most activities are serviced through 700-odd volunteers.

We may utilise other avenues and agencies of charity in Sri Lanka in the future if we have the funds to do so.

We will provide each and every donor with details of our activities every four months.

PLEASE ASSIST US .

Also do please circulate this APPEAL and the Donation Form along your email network and bolster it with your voice on telephone and lounge room.