20 January 2008 Dear Esteemed Alum, It is with our deepest sincerity that we hope this letter finds you well and in good health and spirits. As you probably know, our homeland has continued to fall on hard times in recent years, with no end in sight for the suffering and hardship of our nation’s people. We at the Kalagam, however, do what we can to serve those in the Tamil community in providing education, social and spiritual enrichment, and general support to those in need. Our main project continues to be the Saiva Mangaiyar Vidyalayam, a premier Education Institution of Sri Lanka established in 1932. At a time when the government wanted all denominational schools to be handed over, the Kalagam was the only Hindu Society that did not do so, and today it is the only Private Assisted Hindu School on the island. During this past year alone we have taken in hundreds of youth who have fled the fighting in the Northeast and have seen our resources stretched to the limit. As an alum of this all too important learning institution , i t is with great pleasure and excitement that we share with you the plans for an addition to our beautiful school that will benefit thousands of current and future students. The Kalagam Visions Learning Centre (KVLC) will be a multistoried building constructed opposite the Saiva Mangaiyar Vidyalayam. The school, originally built for no more than 750 students, now caters to over 2400, several hundred of whom are these recent refugees from the Northeast. The KVLC will help to compliment the existing education of students by offering them a more well- rounded school experience, as well as open up much needed classrooms at the school by relocating certain rooms. Students will benefit from a revamped computer lab and multimedia room, student offices and activity rooms, halls for special teacher and student training programs, and much more. This project is being implemented through a partnership between Saiva Mangaiyar Kalagam and Visions, an educational nonprofit organization based in Southern California, USA. Both Visions and Kalagam are working diligently on ensuring the success of this project. Ultimately this project calls for 7 total floors, each 2000 sq. ft. in size. The projected cost of each floor is roughly USD$80,000, which means the total project cost is estimated at roughly USD$560,000. Visions, in response to Kalagam’s initial donation of the land, has committed USD$158,000 to this project. While Visions and Kalagam are working together in finding the funding for the KVLC, we need your help. Friends, the path to success in our ambitious plan is rooted in perseverance and collective effort undertaken in a spirit of service and humility. Please help us make the
KVLC possible and give back to the institution that has given so many so much. As Swami Chinmayananda once said, “The highest prayer in this world is service, the greatest devotion is loving the people around us: and the noblest character trait is divine compassion for all living creatures.” We thank you in advance for your generosity and support in this worthy cause. May God bless you all,
__________________________ Mrs. Yogendra Duraiswamy President, Saiva Mangaiyar Kalagam yogendra@sltnet.lk
___________________________ Ms. Meera Pathmarajah Director, Visions mpathmar@yahoo.com
___________________________ Mrs. P. Gajendradas Principal, Saiva Mangaiyar Vidyalayam gajend@eureka.lk
___________________________ Mr. Gregory Buie Co-Director, Visions gtbuie@gmail.com
Please send donations to either one of the following: Saiva Mangaiyar Kalagam 23, Rudra Mawatha, Colombo 06 Sri Lanka *Or visit our website at mangaiyarkalagam.org. Visions 1621 Barry Ave. #PH1 Los Angeles, CA 90025 U.S.A. *Please make your tax-exempt donation (in USA) by sending a check payable to ‘Operation USA’ [Tax ID#95-3504080], specifying ‘Visions—KVLC’ on the front of the check. *Or visit our website at visionsforthefuture.org.