It is truly hard to believe how quickly two years have passed, I am writing this message for the SLMANA newsletter as I prepare to transition to be the immediate past president. It was certainly a busy two years, which is probably why it passed in the blink of an eye!

During the past many years SLMANA has funded many healthcare related projects in Sri Lanka. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been raised and funded over the past 22 years for the benefit of poor sick and disabled, regardless of race, ethnicity or religious affiliation.

During my term the focus has been on childhood diabetes in Sri Lanka. We had three successful fundraisers in the past two years. Last years proceeds went towards “pen4life” project, this year’s fund collection will go for Education, Awareness and Screening (EAS) project in the northern province of Sri Lanka. I would like to thank all our members for their tireless efforts to reach our goal.

We are proud of our accomplishments. But there is more work to be done; conducting health fairs, recruiting new members, organizing medical missions- to name a few. It takes a collective effort to make an organization like ours viable, and there is a need for new young blood to bring new vision, ideas and energy. Indeed this has been a major challenge, which we hope we can overcome very soon!

As my presidential tenure draws to a close, I am filled with excitement and great anticipation of what the future holds for SLMANA. I will be passing the baton to the incoming president Dr Aruna Seneviratne. He will be part of the “bridging generation” before our younger counterparts will carry on the mission started in 1995. Please give your undivided support and encouragement to Aruna.

Serving the association has been an honor, a challenge, an opportunity and most of all a joy. Yes, it’s been a lot of work, especially for one who is still working fulltime, a parent and a grandparent! But I have enjoyed every minute of it. I thank the executive committee, the members of our organization, the editorial board of the newsletter and the many friends and supporters of our organization.

Darshi Sunderam, MD
President of SLMANA 2017-2018