St. John Sri Lanka leaders plan for strategic development

Key officials of the St. John Ambulance Association and Brigade in Sri Lanka, representing all the districts, recently met in Colombo to prepare plans to serve the Sri Lankan community through first aid,

Chairman Dr. Sarath Samarage

Commander Prasanthalal De Alwis PC

Commissioner Dr. Nilam Jiffry

G.R.M.G.M.B. Godamune

Nandakumar Perera

emergency and community care services.

St. John Ambulance Sri Lanka, along with Jamaica and Zambia, has been selected by St. John International’s Social Enterprise Development Project. St. John Ambulance Sri Lanka was chosen because of its long-standing performance since 1906 and its desire to develop further.

The workshop was led by Chairman Dr. Sarath Samarage along with Commander Prasanthalal de Alwis PC and Commissioner Dr. Nilam Jiffry. Directors Vice Chair Zuheer Raban, S. Nandakumar Perera, Palinda Edirisinghe, and Dr. Manjula Sahabandu, and Nimal Premathilake also attended. District Commissioners representing all parts of the country actively participated in planning their services in the districts. First aid training and provision is contributing directly to St. John Sri Lanka’s aims in promoting public health and islandwide empowerment of people in communities with first aid skills. It will have more emphasis on child development through its Cadet and ‘Kitty’ programs conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Education.

Lord Prior of the Order of St. John Prof. Mark Compton, sending a message to the workshop, said: “I appreciate the work that St. John Sri Lanka has been doing, facilitated by the St. John International staff, to come up with your business plans and strategic plans for the next few years. It is crucial work that you do, and I appreciate very much the extra effort you are putting in by conducting this planning workshop.”