Api Wenuwen Api fund raising campaign in UK

by Rosanne Koelmeyer Anderson

‘A soldier is he whose blood makes the glory of the general’ they say and so it has been with many of our valiant Tri-services personnel who have laid down their lives especially over the past few years.

Poignant and devoid of refuge they are many in number, a grave price they have had to pay leaving behind many a childless mother, widows and orphans. Vulnerable and lost in life’s journey their kith and kin are now compelled to move on....with very little hope of a better tomorrow.

But they are not alone, for the concern for such persons has been acknowledged by many who really feel the tug at their heart and have made a conserted effort to make a significant in the lives of these loved ones.

Api Wenuwen Api is major fund raising campaign in the UK in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence and the Central Bank which has pledged to build 50,000 houses for the ‘Api Wenuwen Api Housing Project’ in Sri Lanka for the families of these Tri -Service personnel who lost their lives as a result of the war.

‘The gift of housing is one of the best and most tangible way to demonstrate their gratitude and appreciation and this is the time for all Sri Lankans to support their brothers and sisters who are committed to bringing peace to our motherland - Sri Lanka.’

In view of the on going fund raising campaign in the UK, Sky High Musical Night, a gala musical extravaganza which is expected to draw a considerable crowd has been organized on November 29 at Hayden School Wiltshire at 7.30 p.m.

Many Sri Lankan artistes and artistes from the UK are expected to participate at the gala splash. All proceeds from the show will go towards the ‘Api Wenuwen Api Housing Project’ in Sri Lanka. A fashion show teamed with local dances choreographed by Sri Lanka’s veteran choreographer and designer Mrs Chula Nanayakkara Ariyaratne will also be showcased at the Sky High Musical Night in the UK.

The fashion show will be presented in Sri Lankan style with an array of designer wear by Chula herself in saree wear both Kandyan and Indian and many other segments with a truly Sri Lankan touch.

Chula Nanayakkara Ariyaratne has many accolades to her credit.

As dressmaking was a family trait, Chula’s innate talent had seen her dress her first bride at the age of fourteen and thereafter make her debut as the first local designer to do a fashion show in 1982 at the Tea Centre and Commonwealth Institute in London.

Chula has also been an acclaimed award winner for film costumes as well in four commendable local film productions, Sumithra Pieris’s ‘Ganga Adara’, Lester James Pieris’s ‘Kaliyugaya’ and ‘Uganthaya’ and H.D. Premaratne’s ‘Parithiyagaya’. She also did a stint of designing for Sita Parakarama who put together the famed Ceylon Woman Fashion Show held at the Galle Face Hotel back then.

Chula’s versatility soon took her to even greater heights. She established herself internationally too thereafter by designing the Sri Lankan costumes for the film ‘Mohana Ponnahi’ in which Geetha Kumarasinghe acted with Shivaji Ganeshan.

Later Chula moved on to present many fashion shows abroad where she trained girls in other countries to dance to Sri Lankan rhythms like ‘Peradiga Muttuatta’ and ‘Selestina’, a rhythmic down south dance which were all made possible as Chula herself was an eminent oriental dancer, a pupil of Sujatha Jayawardana and Heebanda Dharmasiri in her youth.

This year too, on November 29 at Sky High Musical Night Chula will once again do the honours to promote Sri Lanka to the world.