Jana Suwaya UK held its third dinner dance at the lavish RNB Banqueting Suite in Kingsbury, on Saturday 21st of March.

The aim of the event was to update supporters on the progress made so far by the charity. All too often, charities provide little feedback with regard to how funds have been spent. Jana Suwaya UK Branch prides itself on transparency. Keeping donors informed of progress is of high priority for the organisation. In November last year, we visited remote villages in Polonnaruwa and Hambantota to meet some of the ladies helped by the charity. A half-hour documentary was screened, providing a snapshot of her visit. The film footage painted an intimate portrait of some of the individuals who had received loans and was well-received by the audience.

The evening was a resounding success, with some classic baila provided by the boys from Exceed and a delicious spread provided by Lakith Cooray and his catering team.

Jana Suwaya UK Branch would like to take this opportunity to thank our supporters. Together we can make a difference.

Mr Sajith Premadasa, founder of the Jana Suwaya Development Foundation, was invited to participate in the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Asia, accepting a personal invitation extended by the former president of the USA president Bill Clinton. CGI Asia was held in Hong Kong on the 2nd & 3rd of December and offered the opportunity for world leaders in development to meet and take action to solve the region's most pressing issues.

Jana Suwaya was the only Sri Lankan development organisation selected to be represented at this year's meeting. Sajith Premadasa met with President Bill Clinton to discuss and request support for the vast range of development initiatives have been implemented by Jana Suwaya across Sri Lanka, including zero-interest microloans, the building of free pre-schools, health centres and training centres.

Sajith Premadasa with President Bill Clinton at Clinton Global Initiative, Asia

Jana Suwaya UK Branch would like to thank all who attended and supported their summer fundraiser in June. The event raised over £ 10,000, through the sale of tickets, sponsorship, advertisements and anonymous personal donations – all support is very much appreciated and received with many thanks.

The funds raised by the summer fundraiser have been transferred to Sri Lanka and has been largely earmarked for distribution in the Pollonaruwa district. The funds will provide interest-free loans to women from rural regions, in order to fund self-employment initiatives. The women chosen have already displayed entrepreneurship skills. It is hoped the loans will allow them to improve and expand their small businesses, thereby increasing their household income. All work is carried out by a team of regional volunteers, therefore no funds raised go towards administration. Loans provided to previously selected women have enjoyed 100% repayment success, therefore a single loan stays in circulation, helping a number of women.

Chairperson and trustee of Jana Suwaya UK Branch, Dr Ranmali Nawaratne, visited Pollonaruwa in November, in order to meet some of the ladies who will benefit from the funds raised from the summer event. The majority of ladies were from the Lankapura region of Pollonaruwa. A group of approximately sixty ladies gathered in a local temple for a meeting and several home visits were also made. The ladies displayed a range of small self-employed ventures, including sewing garments, making recycled bags, sewing patchwork sheets and doormats using material from garment factory cast-offs, rearing chickens, growing mushrooms and running small retail shops.

Dr Nawaratne also visited the Hambantota, the region where the Jana Suwaya Development project first began and where it is the most established. She had the opportunity to meet two dedicated managers from Seylan Bank, who administer the provision of the zero-interest microloans via a mobile bank. Over 11,000 ladies have received loans within this rural region, funding a vast range of small businesses.

In addition to visiting the homes of women who had benefited from the microloan project, a Jana Suwaya Development complex was visited. The complex comprises a pre-school, a health center, a women’s training center and youth training center, all providing free services to those in the area. The complex was built and is funded by a number of international and national donors, including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad).

The work of Jana Suwaya UK Branch would not be possible without the support of our donors, well-wishers. Many thanks to all supporters. Together we can make a difference.

Jana Suwaya UK Branch held its first fund-raising dinner dance on Saturday 7th June at Hammersmith Town Hall.

The evening started with the traditional "magul bera" drumming and dance, as well as the lighting of the Sri Lankan coconut oil lamp. The dance troupe impressed the audience with their energetic drumming and acrobatic skills during their performances, which included the "ves natuma", "raban natuma" and "naga raksha".

In between the dances, there were three short talks to raise awareness of the charity. The chairperson of Jana Suwaya UK Branch, Dr Ranmali Nawaratne, provided an overview of the history of Jana Suwaya and the formation and achievements of the Jana Suwaya UK Branch. The special guest for the evening was Hon Sajith Premadasa, founder of Jana Suwaya and MP for Hambantota. Mr Premadasa played film footage which presented a summary of the Jana Suwaya initiative and spoke on the development of the zero-interest loan scheme, which now includes training centres for women. The chief guest was Hon Niranjan Deva Aditya, Member of the European Parliament for South East England. He is also coordinator and majority leader of European Union Development Committee which control and has oversight of the European Union's 23 billion Euro aid budget. Mr Deva Aditya gave a talk on the impact that microfinance has on local economies, from a global perspective.

A delicious, authentic Sri Lankan spread was laid on and after dinner the crowd got dancing to two popular UK-based Sri Lanka acts - Mr Desmond De Silva, with music by Foreign Affair.

The evening raised awareness and triggered a number of extremely generous donations to Jana Suwaya UK Branch. In total, the evening raised approximately £ 11,000, which will see credit extended to over 430 ladies in rural Sri Lanka.

To make a donation to support the empowerment of Sri Lankan women, please visit the donation page.

Mr. Harshaka Kannangara, trustee of Jana Suwaya UK Branch, visited Sri Lanka in May and oversaw the distribution of funds raised by Jana Suwaya UK Branch. The loans were distributed in the Dambadeniya region of Sri Lanka and funded a range of self-employment initiatives including weaving and cultivation of vegetables.

Jana Suwaya UK Branch had its first event as a registered charity on Saturday 1st March in Richmond.

The aim of the event was to raise awareness relating to microfinance as a concept for empowerment and a description of this, as well as the work carried out to date by Jana Suwaya in Sri Lanka was explained in a talk given by Dr Ranmali Nawaratne, chairperson of Jana Suwaya UK Branch.

A Sri Lankan meal was provided by Golden Platter. The popular Sri Lankan band, Exceed, provided music.

Jana Suwaya UK Branch was registered with the charity commission of England & Wales.

The founder of Jana Suwaya, Mr Sajith Premadasa, visited London to raise awareness of the Jana Suwaya microfinance initiative. This triggered the formation of the Jana Suwaya UK Branch (click here for Jana Suwaya UK Branch committee). A fundingraising drive was initiated and generated £ 3,500 through personal donations alone.