The Inaugural Dinner Dance of Southlands College Galle OGA (UK)

The inaugural dinner dance of Southlands College Galle OGA (UK) was held on 22 June 2013 at The Thames Club in Staines, Middlesex with tremendous success.

The well-attended event was graced by the Chief Guest His Excellency Dr. Chris Nonis, the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka, Mr Neville De Siva, Deputy High Commissioner and the very special guest Honourable Mr Chandima Weerakkody, the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka who hails from Galle, Ms Suriya Samaraweera, Mr Nalin Perera of Sri Lanka Tourism and many other distinguish guests from the Sri Lankan Community in UK.

Also among the participants were the representatives of the other major schools from Galle OBA's in UK, Mr Vernon Udugampola from Richmond College and Mr Jagath Jayasekara from St Aloysius College.

The High Commissioner addressing the gathering shared his thoughts on the historical contribution of Methodist missionaries to the Sri Lankan education sector and great professionals the schools had produced over the years. The special guest Mr Chandima Weerakkody in his speech highlighted the importance of the OGA's contribution to the improvements of the Southlands whilst reminiscing over his time in Galle in the past.

The Honourable President of the OGA Mrs Fathima Awuf welcomed all guests and paid tribute to the special guests for their presence and great support at the beginning of a long journey. She thanked the founder members of the OGA (UK) branch and their families and friends for their tireless efforts to make the event a memorable success. The President thanked the main sponsors of the event Thames Club & Suffron.lk for their wonderful support and services.

The event made colourful by the beautiful Sri Lankan dance performed by Minoli Fernando, followed by a performance on the violin by Nashen Awuf . "Wheels the band" has entertained the evening throughout the night with fabulous music leading to a baila competition.

Southlands College Galle OGA (UK) was formed in July 2012. This could not have been achieved without the tremendous effort and time put together by the committee members and friends. We wish to thank the sponsors, advertisers for their generous contributions.

The Southlands College Galle OGA (UK) committee sincerely thank everyone who supported this memorable event a success. We kindly invite all Southlands old girls living in the UK to join with us

May we continue to go from strength to strength.

Knit together in Love and Service