The outgoing president, S. Thangasamy, inducted the new president, who was unanimously elected by the SLES general membership. Anil Sirimanne, commercial counselor of the embassy, was the chief guest for the occasion.
While handing over the SLES presidency, Thangasamy said he was confident that the new leadership with the help of the new committee members would take the society to greater heights.
“I believe in the past two decades all my predecessors and their committees did their best for the welfare of the community members. As I take charge today, I am faced with great challenges as expectations differ from member to member,” the incoming president Ravika De Silva said.
Congratulating the SLES for its yeoman services to the community, Sirimanne said that 20 years of existence indicates the strength of the society and its contributions. “We are from a unique country and its citizens are also unique in their lifestyles,” the diplomat said, stressing that the SLES is also unique in providing diversified services to all segments of the Sri Lankan community living in the Kingdom as well as on the island.
The newly elected office-bearers are: President De Silva, Senior Vice President Rizvi Hassim, Vice President Michael Nickson, Secretary Altaf Hassen, Asst. Secretary Prasanna Kulasinghe, Treasurer Dilshan Punchihewa, Asst. Treasurer Azeez Sabar, Committee Members Ramar Aravinthan, Shanika Wijewarnasuriya, Fathima Dillruba Hussain, Imthiyas Dastakeer, Cynthia Leon, Vamadewan Kangeyan, Chanaka Fernando and Shiva Govindan.
The SLES functions under the aegis of the Sri Lankan Embassy. It was the first body the mission set up to look after the welfare of the Sri Lankan community in the Kingdom. Currently 550,000 people from the island live and work in the Kingdom, the largest concentration of Sri Lankan manpower abroad.
Last year, the SLES organized the Wesak celebrations, which drew more than 7,000 community members from the city.
For the past 15 years, the society runs a free medical clinic on Fridays at the Sri Lankan International School in Riyadh. The clinic, which offers free medical consultation, is open to all its community members. Two doctors, Dr. Mohamed Shaheed, a pediatrician, and Dr. Quintus De Silva, a general practitioner, serve at the clinic on a voluntary basis.
The society has been organizing social, cultural and recreational activities to strengthen relations and goodwill among its members. Such events cover Muslim, Tamil and Sinhalese interests of the Sri Lankan expatriates living in the capital.
