120th Founders' Day Celebrations - 29th February 2020

This year marked the 120th year of Ladies’ College and the Ladies’ College Old Girls’ Association (“LC OGA”) held its Founders’ Day celebrations on Saturday, 29th February 2020. Following tradition, a morning service of thanksgiving, presided over by Reverend Melvin de Silva was held in The Chapel of the Hope of the World which was decorated for the occasion with a beautiful floral arrangement at the altar. The Chapel was filled to over-flowing with old girls of all age groups, joining together to give thanks for their beloved old school.

The theme of the service was, aptly, ‘Unity with Thanksgiving’. Mrs Roshanara Page (President-Elect) welcomed the congregation and Mrs Manisha Pieris (OGA Representative on the Governing Body) gave the Thanksgiving Prayer. Mrs Nirusha Ratnatunga (Secretary) gave a Bible reading while Mrs Eesha Speldewinde (Principal, Ladies’ College), read the Gospel. A heartfelt sermon was delivered by Mrs Dayanthi Samaranayake, who urged us to view ‘Unity’ as a need for all of creation to be reconciled and unite with God. To achieve this, she challenged us to surrender to God, respond to our calling to be God’s stewards and to serve with love, following Christ’s example of forgiveness, humility and servanthood... as indeed our Founders did. The Prayers for the People were led by Mrs Amali David (Treasurer).

The LC OGA Choir, directed by Ms Sureka Amerasinghe and comprising approximately 50 Old Girls, sang three joyful anthems which reverberated throughout the Chapel.

The service was followed by a celebratory brunch in the familiar Old Hall which was festively decorated with handmade red and white pom poms to mark the milestone occasion. A scrumptious buffet catered by Raffles was served outside the Old Hall and there was much lively banter and gossip as old friends reunited to reminisce and celebrate. Mrs Parames Coomaraswamy (Vice President, LC OGA) welcomed the guests to the brunch and a beautiful, giant, white and red birthday cake (created for the occasion by Arulini de Silva of Sugar Shack) was cut by Mrs Eesha Speldewinde (Principal, Ladies’ College), Mrs Fathima Aziz (President, LC OGA) and Mrs Chrishanthie Seneviratne (President, Kandy Branch, LC OGA) after a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday” was sung by the guests. As an extra treat, an Isle of Gelato ice cream cart was in full swing, serving up delicious gelato for the guests.

This year’s LC OGA Founders’ Day event were attended by eight members of the Kandy Branch of the LC OGA, who made a special effort to join their fellow alumni in Colombo for the celebrations.

In a first for the LC OGA, a Pop Up Market was held in the front lawn outside the Mabel Simon Hall during the morning. Over 30 Old Girl entrepreneurs displayed their wares offering everything from gourmet, homemade food, to handmade coasters, notebooks and wrapping paper, framed hand-painted mementos, sustainable alternatives to plastic items, jewellery, bath and beauty products, antiques, string art and apparel. The Pop Up Market was a roaring success, with many of the vendors selling out of their wares during the morning. It was fabulous to see the creative talents of our Old Girls reflected in several diverse enterprises.

A wonderful time was had by all present, making the preparations of the Executive Committee over the preceding few months well worth the effort.

DONATION OF PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

In light of the unprecedented global health crisis caused by COVID19, the LC OGA purchased and donated 100 sets of personal protective equipment to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in April 2020.