The President of the Los Angeles City Council, Herb Wesson Jr. recently announced the official “Sri Lanka Day” to pay tribute to the founder of Sri Lanka Foundation Dr.Walter Jayasinghe for his outstanding services in the City of Los Angeles and its Sri Lankan community.

The occasion was graced by Dr. Walter Jayasinghe, together with Dr. Dishan Jayasinha, President of SLF, Aeshea Jayasinghe, Vice President of SLF and Adrian Jayasinghe. Besides them were distinguished guests and a large gathering of Sri Lankans to honor the proclamation.

Addressing the gathering, Herb Wesson Jr., the President of the Los Angeles City Council, gave a description on the Sri Lanka Foundation and what it does in the City of Los Angeles and its community, in a nutshell.

He went on to say that he met Dr. Jayasinghe as a man who believes that success is a debt, and that Dr. Jayasinghe has spent his life attempting to give back his success to others.

He also mentioned that Dr. Jayasinghe was the first doctor to open a 24 hour medical clinic where people could come in off the street and get the help they needed.

He said that he firmly believes that Dr. Jayasinghe is special because when he takes a step up the ladder of success, he turns around and take someone else up with him.

Subsequently, the man himself, Dr. Walter Jayasinghe humbly saluted the president and the members of the City Council for bestowing him this great honor and thanked President Herb Wesson for their friendship of 30 years and for the hard work Wesson has done for the city himself.

Dr. Jayasinghe said he was honored that his motherland Sri Lanka, received such prestige in this part of the world, by none other than President Wesson Jr. and he went back in time to reminisce when he began in 1962 in Los Angeles, and gave recognition to the first ever certificate he received from Mayor Yarty for his social service work, whilst studying at UCLA.

Followed by Dr. Jayasinghe’s thankful words, President Wesson Jr. presented the proclamation to Dr. Jayasinghe with a huge round of applause from the audience.

Following the presentation, the audience was ushered to a reception where the traditional oil lamp was lit by Dr. Jayasinghe, his family members, staff and other distinguished guests. Right after, people were treated with delicious Sri Lankan traditional food. This culminated the presentation of the Proclamation declaring ‘Sri Lanka Day’ on August 17th of every year.

Los Angeles is the most diverse county in the U.S., and hosts businesses in a broad range of professional and cultural fields. It is second to Sacramento which is the capital for financial institutions. Naturally, it is the center where the biggest Sri Lankan celebration, the ‘Sri Lanka Day,’ takes place.

Sri Lanka Day celebrations are sponsored and organized by the Sri Lanka Foundation, a brainchild of Dr. Walter Jayasinghe, a leading expatriate physician who came to the United States in the early 1960s.

Dr. Jayasinghe, is an enthusiastic, self-motivated individual who always strives to achieve a very high standard in whatever he undertakes. With this he set out to start the Sri Lanka foundation in Los Angeles, California in 2003, to promote Sri Lankan cultural activities in the United States and expose the American public to the many facets of the historical heritage and culture of Sri Lanka.

Throughout the year the Foundation carries out a series of activities to promote Sri Lankan culture.

The premier event of the Foundation is the annual Sri Lanka Day celebration. It is a day when the sights and sounds and the unique taste of Sri Lanka come alive.

This year, the event will feature Sri Lankan traditional products, clothing, food, music, dances, art, and theatre. The highlight of the day will be the hoisting of Sri Lankan national flag in the Los Angeles City Council building.