JICA Alumni Association (AA) of Sri Lanka was established in 1973 under the auspices of the Embassy of Japan and the Association was under the care of the Embassy until the JICA office came into existence in 1976. The Association which started with a membership of 32 has now risen to over 1300 members.
Major events conducted by the Association in the past are as follows:
Tsunami Relief Work
Sri Lanka was devastated by a Tsunami in the year 2004. The Association, in collaboration with a Lions Club, where the then President of the Association was a senior Lion, was able to provide much needed relief to the affected people. 4 container loads, received from Sri Lankan expatriates, containing dry ration, new clothes, household equipment etc., were distributed among the destitute that were languishing in the makeshift camps. Over 500 school children who had lost all their belonging, due to tsunami, were provided with new shoes, school uniform materials, school books etc., so as to enable them to start their schooling again. 18 fishermen who lost their fishing boats were provided with new fishing boats, with all the necessary fishing equipment and outboard motors. The total cost was around Rs. 75 million and all the money was collected from well wishers in foreign countries.
Multi Service Health Camps
In 1998 the Association ventured out to conduct humanitarian projects to provide relief to the underprivileged, marginalized people in our society mainly the rural folk. All the projects are joint projects with the Lions Club in order to harness the resources of both organizations to offer a better service to the deserving people. One such project is the Multi Service Health Camps. At these camps the Association donates over 1000 calibrated new spectacles, conduct cataract operations on identified patients, conduct make shift diabetic and dental clinic etc. All the services are offered free of charge.
Scholarships to school children and University students
The scholarship scheme, which also started in 1998, offers monthly grants to deserving poor students who are talented but lack in basic needs due to poverty. The students are recommended by the Principals and class teachers of respective school. The Association also offers scholarship to University students from rural villages whose parents are considered to be the poorest of the poor. An annual get together of all scholarship recipients, with their parents, is organized in December where we offer free shoes, school uniforms, school books, school bags etc. to be used for the new school year beginning in January.
Blood Donation
The Blood Bank, in Sri Lanka, is constantly requesting the public to donate blood to save a valuable life as they, very often, run short of blood. In the year 2000 the Association started a blood donation campaign to contribute its share towards this worthy cause. The efforts have been very successful. During the last 3 years the Association was awarded a special plaque as one of the leading Blood Donors in Sri Lanka
Besides the above highlighted events, the Association is conducting annual study tours organized for the benefit of the members and their children and seminars for school children etc.
The JICA Ex-participants Association of Agriculture was established in 2006 to encourage mutual cooperation among JICA trainees of Agriculture sector in order to enhance the contribution for agriculture sector development in Sri Lana. The JICA Ex-participants Association of Agriculture aims to create liaison between and among members through various activities such as conferences, seminars, dialogues among others, as well as to encourage the establishment of appropriate collaborative agricultural activities to ensure continuous technology sharing among members.
Past achievements of JICA Ex-Participants Association of Agriculture (JICA-EAA):