All Jpura past students living in Ontario are welcome to this event..

Membership Engagement Survey

The JCAA is celebrating its 5th anniversary this year. Since it inception, we have come a long way and made a name for ourselves within the community as a very active, lively and vibrant alumni association in Canada due to your unconditional support and help. Over these five years, we carried out many successful projects for the benefit of members, the Sri Lankan community in Canada and many under privileged students presently in the university.  Undoubtedly the praises that JCAA received are due to your hard work, dedication and commitment and without you, this organisation would not have come this far. The executive committee of 2012-2013 wish to take this opportunity to thank you profoundly for what you have done to make this organisation a very successful association in Canada.


As a vibrant and lively organisation, it is necessary that we create a road map for the next five years to grow, provide more services to our members, community and strategically position ourselves as the most vibrant alumni association in Canada. Above all, we need you to join hands with us and move this association to greater heights.  In order to achieve such heights we need your genuine feedback and participation in our future endeavors.  Thus, we would like to know your likes and dislikes, what kind of events you like to participate in, what programs need to be introduced and above all, your valuable ideas, suggestions and comments so that we may cater to your needs. We also warmly welcome your constructive ideas, attitudes and concepts.

In order to get your feedback we have created a questionnaire. Here is a link to the survey:

please log onto the https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=OmO3_2fLulu3sa_2bZw8fmalXw_3d_3d and complete the questionnaire.The closing date for the survey is   Sunday, March 10th 2013 and we look forward to your kind support.

Help us to help you…… Also, please feel free to answer the questionnaire as we will not varifing the persons who answered. So your privacy is protected. Only  your opinion is counted. One person can answer only one time.


This link is uniquely tied to this survey and your email address. Please do not forward this message.


Thanks for your participation!

මහා රහතුන් වැඩි මග ඔසේස

  

මේ ඝෝර, කටුක, භයානක සංසාරයේ භිය දැක, මේ ආත්මභාවයේම සසර දුකින් එතෙර

වීමට අධිෂ්ඨාන කරමින්, වීර්ය වඩමින්,
නිවන් මග පුරන, 'දක්‍ෂ',
ගිහි පැවිදි උතුමන්ට පමණක්‌ මේ අහිංසක ව්‍යයාමය
උපකාරයක්‌ම වේවා!
ශක්‌තියක්‌ම වේවා!
මාර්ගයක්‌ම වේවා!
තම තමන්ට වැටහෙන ප්‍රමාණයට තම තමන්ගේ ජීවිත වලට ගලපාගනිත්වා!
අර්ථ හෝ ව්‍යාකරණ වැරදි ඇතොත් ඔබ නොකළ වරදකට ඔබ නොගැටේවා!
අනුනටද අනුකම්පා කෙරේවා!
වැරදි නැතොත් නිවැරදි දෙය නිවැරදි ලෙස දකීවා!
මෙහි සටහන් හැම අර්ථයක්‌ තුළින්ම ඔබ සැමට යහපතක්‌ වේවා!
තමා තමාටම පිහිටකොට ගනිත්වා..
යෑයි උන්වහන්සේ ඒ පොත් පෙළ ඇරඹුමේ ලියා ඇත්තාහ.!
පළමු අර්ධය

ඔබත් සොබාදහමත් අතර පරතරයක්‌ නොතබන්න
http://www.divaina.com/2011/05/22/feature04.html
ගිහිවත
http://www.divaina.com/2011/05/29/feature08.html
ඔබ මාරයාව තැතිගන්වන්න...
http://www.divaina.com/2011/06/05/feature05.html
අන්තිමයා වීම අගනේය...
http://www.divaina.com/2011/06/12/feature02.html
මාරයාගේ පළඳනාව
http://www.divaina.com/2011/06/19/feature07.html
හාල්මැස්‌සාගෙනුත් කමටහනක්‌
http://www.divaina.com/2011/07/03/feature01.html
මාර ප්‍රතිපදාව
http://www.divaina.com/2011/07/10/feature03.html
කුසගින්නද ආශිර්වාදයකි!
http://www.divaina.com/2011/07/17/feature07.html
සැබෑ ප්‍රත්‍යාවේක්‍ෂාව යනු...
http://www.divaina.com/2011/07/24/feature04.html
පරණ පුරුදු
http://www.divaina.com/2011/07/31/feature07.html
ඇගේ කඳුළ ළඟ සිත නැවතුණි නම්...
http://www.divaina.com/2011/08/07/feature01.html
දුක්‌ දෙන මිතුරා
http://www.divaina.com/2011/08/14/feature14.html
ඔබ වන්න පිරිත් පොත
http://www.divaina.com/2011/08/21/feature06.html
සැබෑ සිහියෙන් උපනා විනය වේ මැයි අගනා
http://www.divaina.com/2011/08/28/feature02.html
පොඩි හාමුදුරුවන්ට ස්ථාවර අනාගතයක්
http://www.divaina.com/2011/09/04/feature05.html

දෙවන අර්ධය

බුදුන්ගෙන්ම කමටහන් ලබාගන්න
http://www.divaina.com/2011/09/11/feature05.html
රීකන්ඩිෂන් කරනු වෙනුවට අවබෝධයෙන් දකිමු මේ කය
http://www.divaina.com/2011/09/18/feature07.html
කය දුවවා වැඩක්‌ වේද සිත නතර කරනු බැරිනම්
http://www.divaina.com/2011/09/25/feature05.html
ආචාර වෙඩිමුර නැති යුද වීරයා වන්න
http://www.divaina.com/2011/10/02/feature05.html
බ්‍රොයිලර් ජීවිතය
http://www.divaina.com/2011/10/09/feature04.html
බ්‍රොයිලර් ජීවිතය II
http://www.divaina.com/2011/10/16/feature04.html
සයුරු සැපෙහි වේ මේ සා දෝසා
http://www.divaina.com/2011/10/23/feature04.html
ප්‍රේත ලෝකයේ මනාලිය
(ඔබම මිස වෙන කවුරුන් ඔබට අනුකම්පා කරන්නද?)
http://www.divaina.com/2011/10/30/feature04.html
දැවෙන සමක්‌-නිවෙන මගක්‌
http://www.divaina.com/2011/11/06/feature14.html
නිල මැස්‌සයි ඔබයි දෙන්නම දැන් සමයි
http://www.divaina.com/2011/11/13/feature13.html
කුලියට ගත් එළිය කුමට........?
http://www.divaina.com/2011/11/20/feature03.html
අවසාන මෙහෙයුම
http://www.divaina.com/2011/11/27/feature05.html
මේ ලොව පිරිසිදුම තාක්‍ෂණයයි
http://www.divaina.com/2011/12/04/feature16.html
අනේ ඔබ එවන් පාලකයකු වේ නම්...
http://www.divaina.com/2011/12/11/feature04.html
මෙන්න ලොව සුන්දරම වචන පෙළ
http://www.divaina.com/2011/12/18/feature08.html
ඇත් සවිය පරදන අතහැරීමේ අවිය
http://www.divaina.com/2011/12/25/feature12.html
හිංසාවේ රාත්‍රිය
http://www.divaina.com/2012/01/01/feature07.html
බුදු සිතක උපදිනා සිතිවිල්ලක්‌ ඔබේ සිත තුළත් උපදවාගන්න
http://www.divaina.com/2012/01/08/feature05.html
දෙවියන්ද වඳින පින් බිමයි මේ.....
http://www.divaina.com/2012/01/15/feature02.html
දිව්‍ය තලවල කොහොමද අපේ රටේ ජාතික ගීය ඇසෙන්නේ?
http://www.divaina.com/2012/01/22/feature07.html
අභියෝගය අවබෝධයක්‌ කරගන්න
http://www.divaina.com/2012/01/29/feature04.html
ගමන ඉවරත් නොමැති යන ගමනකුත් නොමැති තුන් කලට වහල් නිති
ඔබත් ඔරලෝසු කටුවක්‌ද?
http://www.divaina.com/2012/02/05/feature06.html
නාලාගිරි අදත් වඩියි
http://www.divaina.com/2012/02/12/feature07.html
මහ රහතුන් වැඩි මග ඔස්‌සේ දිව්‍ය ලෝකෙ සැපයි... ඒත්?
http://www.divaina.com/2012/02/19/feature05.html
මේ කැඩපතින් ඔබේ මුහුණත් බලන්න
http://www.divaina.com/2012/02/26/feature02.html
යක්‍ෂයා නොව ධර්මය දකින්න
http://www.divaina.com/2012/03/04/feature07.html
හොඳ තැන් සොයමින් යනවා වෙනුවට...
http://www.divaina.com/2012/03/11/feature07.html
සිහියෙන් බලන්න... දහම ඔබ අසලමය
http://www.divaina.com/2012/03/18/feature04.html
අපායේ උපතක්‌
http://www.divaina.com/2012/03/25/feature04.html
ආශාවේ වියරුව - කැමැත්තේ මරලතෝනිය
http://www.divaina.com/2012/04/01/feature05.html

Related Articles :

Next Jpura Event

Jpura summer get-together and AGM

JCAA Summer get-together and 5^th AGM will be held on Sunday July 22^nd

JCAA 2011/2012 committee ask all members to participate this important event.

Please submit any suggestions to be discussed in the AGM to Secretary JCAA on or before July 20^th . – Send your suggestions to jpuracanada@gmail.com

Place - Lakefront Promenade park – Mississauga

Nearest intersection – Cawthra road and Lakeshore Road East

FREE Lunch

FUN Games

6 a Side Cricket play (Teams – Rahula, Soratha, Wimaladarma and Lady Margaret)

Amazing Race

Lakeshore trail marathon

Behind the Blossoms Annual Dinner Dance

J'pura Gala Dinner Dance was huge success

Science

New Theory Unites Dark Matter & Dark Energy


In recent times scientists have discovered the cosmos appears to be filled with not just one, but two invisible constituents - dark matter and dark energy - whose existence has been proposed based solely on their gravitational effects on ordinary matter and energy. But now, physicist Robert J. Scherrer of Vanderbilt University has proposed a model that could cut the mystery in half by explaining dark matter and dark energy as two aspects of a single unknown force. The model is described in his paper "Purely Kinetic k Essence as Unified Dark Matter" published online by Physical Review Letters and available at http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0402316.


"One way to think of this is that the universe is filled with an invisible fluid that exerts pressure on ordinary matter and changes the way that the universe expands," says Scherrer. His model is extremely simple and avoids the major problems that have characterized previous efforts to unify dark matter and dark energy.


Back in the 1970s, astrophysicists postulated the existence of invisible particles called dark matter in order to explain the motion of galaxies. Based on these observations, they estimate that there must be about 10 times as much dark matter in the universe as ordinary matter.


One possible explanation for dark matter is that it is made up of a new type of particle - dubbed Weakly Interacting Massive Particles, or WIMPs - that don't emit light and barely interact with ordinary matter. In the 1990s along came dark energy, which produces a repulsive force that appears to be ripping the universe apart. Scientists invoked dark energy to explain the surprise discovery that the rate at which the universe is expanding is not slowing, as most cosmologists had thought, but is accelerating instead. According to the latest estimates, dark energy makes up 75 percent of the universe and dark matter accounts for another 23 percent, leaving ordinary matter and energy with a distinctly minority role of only 2 percent.


Scherrer's unifying idea is an exotic form of energy with well-defined but complicated properties called a scalar field. In this context, a field is a physical quantity possessing energy and pressure that is spread throughout space. Cosmologists first invoked scalar fields to explain cosmic inflation, a period shortly after the Big Bang when the universe appears to have undergone an episode of hyper-expansion, inflating billions upon billions of times in less than a second.


Scherrer uses a second-generation scalar field, known as k-essence, in his model. K-essence fields have been advanced by others as an explanation for dark energy, but Scherrer is the first to point out that one simple type of k-essence field can also produce the effects attributed to dark matter. Scientists differentiate between dark matter and dark energy because they appear to behave differently. Dark matter appears to have mass and to form giant clumps. In fact, cosmologists calculate that the gravitational attraction of these clumps played a key role in causing ordinary matter to form galaxies. Dark energy, by contrast, appears to be massless and spread uniformly throughout space where it acts as a kind of anti-gravity, a repulsive force that is pushing the universe apart.


K-essence fields can change their behavior over time. When investigating a very simple type of k-essence field - one in which potential energy is a constant - Scherrer discovered that as the field evolves it passes through a phase where it can clump and mimic the effect of invisible particles, followed by a phase when it spreads uniformly throughout space and takes on the characteristics of dark energy.


"The model naturally evolves into a state where it looks like dark matter for a while and then it looks like dark energy," Scherrer says. "When I realized this, I thought, this is compelling, let's see what we can do with it." When he examined the model in more detail, Scherrer found that it avoids many of the problems that have plagued previous theories that attempt to unify dark matter and dark energy.


The earliest model for dark energy was made by modifying the general theory of relativity to include a term called the cosmological constant. This was a term that Einstein originally included to balance the force of gravity in order to form a static universe. But he dropped the constant cheerfully when astronomical observations of the day found it was not needed. Recent models reintroducing the cosmological constant do a good job of reproducing the effects of dark energy, but do not explain dark matter.


One attempt to unify dark matter and dark energy, called the Chaplygin gas model, is based on work by a Russian physicist in the 1930s. It produces an initial dark-matter-like stage followed by a dark-energy-like evolution, but it has trouble explaining the process of galaxy formation.
Scherrer's formulation has some similarities to a unified theory proposed earlier this year by Nima Arkani-Hamed at Harvard University, who attempts to explain dark matter and dark energy as arising from the behavior of an invisible and omnipresent fluid that they call a "ghost condensate."


Although Scherrer's model has a number of positive features, it also has some drawbacks. For one thing, it requires some extreme "fine-tuning" to work. The physicist also cautions that more study will be required to determine if the model's behavior is consistent with other observations. In addition, it cannot answer the coincidence problem: Why we live at the only time in the history of the universe when the densities calculated for dark matter and dark energy are comparable. Scientists are suspicious of this because it suggests that there is something special about the present era.



by Kate Melville

J'pura pot luck event on Sunday February 19

Business & Finance

by Vijitha Bulathsinghala

ABR, MBA, B.Sc.

"How is your credit?"

If someone asks you this question, you might wonder what it means,specially if you are a new-comer from Sri Lanka.

In Canada, "credit" means your "creditworthiness" not anything else. It is not credit/debit in accounts. In other words, credit means how reliable you are, for someone else to give you a loan.

Why is your credit so important? - Because most of you think of buying a house when you come to Canada.

In order to buy a house you should be able to get a mortgage.

What are the requirements to get a mortgage? – A GOOD CREDIT SCORE AND SUFFICIENT INCOME.

In Sri Lanka you should have a good rapport with your bank to establish your creditworthiness. Then you have to stick to that bank for your financial needs. In Canada & USA there are central systems to monitor your creditworthiness. These places are called credit bureaus. There are two credit bureaus in Canada. They are Equifax (www.equifax.ca; T: 1-800-465-7166) and TransUnion (www.transunion.ca; T: 1-800-663-9980). If you go to a bank, a financial institution or a merchant they can see how your creditworthiness is. This process is called "checking credit ". The credit bureaus assign a credit score to you on completion of the process of checking your credit. The credit score is an indication of your creditworthiness at that time. 

 Establishing good credit is an important factor, when it comes to purchasing a house. A good credit score will not only enable you to purchase a house, but will also enable you to get a good interest rate on your mortgage. On the other hand, a bad credit score will prevent you from getting your mortgage approved. Hence, it is extremely important to establish a good credit score. 

How do we do we establish a good credit score? The credit score is computed based on five factors.

1. Payment History

This means how well you have paid off your loans in the past. This has a 35% impact on your credit score.  Settling your minimum payment on time has a positive impact on your credit score. In Sri Lanka, most people do not settle their credit card dues on the due dates. If we do this in Canada, the result will be a bad credit score. Late payments, judgments and charge-offs will also have a negative impact on your credit score. Missing a high payment has a more adverse impact than missing a low payment. Hence, it is important to establish a good payment history by paying off all your dues on time. It is very important to make your minimum payment on time, however small that amount is. Some people delay paying small amounts thinking that they can pay everything the following month.  Even if your minimum payment is $10,  make sure you pay it, so that you will not lose points from your credit score.

2. Outstanding Credit Balances

This is the ratio of the outstanding credit balance to the available credit limit. In other words, this is the amount you have borrowed as a percentage of the credit limit of that particular credit card. The outstanding credit balances have a 30% impact on your credit score.  Ideally, the outstanding credit balance should be at least 10% below the available credit limit. That means if you have a credit card with a limit of one thousand dollars ($1,000), the outstanding balance should not be more than nine hundred dollars ($900) at any given time. I usually advise my clients not to exceed 80% of the limit, so that you reduce the risk of exceeding the limit.

3. Credit History

The credit history is the length of time since a particular credit line was established. This has a 15% impact on the credit score. A seasoned borrower  will have a stronger credit score. Few years ago it was mandatory that you establish credit for at least one year for you to get a mortgage. However it is not mandatory now. There are programs to assist new comers to overcome the one-year credit history hurdle.

4. Type of Credit

The type of credit that you have, has a 10% impact on the credit score. A mix of loans – mortgages, credit cards, auto loans is more positive than having only credit card debts.

5. Credit Inquiries

The loan providers have to obtain your credit score before approving your credit line. The number of credit inquiries that have been made on a person’s credit history within a six-month period has a 10% impact on a person’s credit score. Each hard inquiry can cost from 2 to 50 credit points, but the maximum number of inquiries that will reduce the score is 10. Eleven or more inquiries during a six-month period will not have a further impact on a person’s credit score. 

We now know how the credit score is computed, and the factors impacting the score. But you would realize that you should first have credit facilities to build a good credit score. You would also realize that it will be difficult to get a credit facility approved, if you do not have a good credit score. So, how would a newcomer, who does not have credit facilities in Canada “build credit?”

One of the first things that you should do when you arrive in Canada is to get a credit card. As newcomers do not have a credit history in Canada,  most banks now offer secured credit cards. A secured credit card is a credit card that you obtain by having a cash deposit as security. In addition, there are credit cards that are offered by retail stores – Bay, Sears, Canadian Tire etc. It may be easier to obtain a credit card from a retailer, than a financial institution. Once you obtain a credit card, you should make your purchases using this, but ensure you settle the minimum payment on the due date. You should also ensure that you don’t make purchases up to the credit limit, so that you maintain a favourable ratio between the outstanding credit balance and the credit limit.

The next factor in building credit is to pay your utility bills on time.

What should your credit score be? 

720 and over - Wonderful. You will be offered the very best mortgage rates
700-719 - Excellent score. You are a very desirable borrower

680-699 - Good credit. You should be in good shape to buy

660-679 - OK credit.  640-659 Borderline. OK if everything else is OK

620-639 - Weak credit. Everything else should be perfect

600-619 - Difficult. Need some work or a special program

Below 600 - Trouble! Try to fix your credit

What should you do if you have a bad credit score?

Typically, a person with a bad credit score is in this position because they lack structure in their lives.  There are, of course cases where health has been a factor, or there has been a lay-off or fluctuation in employment, but for the most part, these are individuals who lack the discipline tom pay their bills on time or to curb their spending.

One thing that is important to remember is that the credit score is computed by a computer system that does not take personal factors into account. When you run a credit report, it is today’s snapshot of your credit profile. This can fluctuate dramatically within the course of even a week based on your activities. It is in your best interest not to go on a shopping spree and increase your credit card debts when you are trying to apply for a loan.

How do you fix a bad credit score?

1. Start paying your bills on time. Remember the payment history has a 35% impact on your credit score

2. If you have a number of credit cards, but use only one of them, and you are close to the maximum limit on that card, the ratio between the outstanding credit balance and available credit limit will be impacted. You should then distribute your debt over the other credit cards to improve this ratio which has a 30% impact on your credit score.

3. If you only have one credit card that is pushing the limit, try get a few more and spread the debt over the other cards to have at least a 20% margin of available credit on all cards.  Although the new cards will effect the credit history factor, this only has a 15% impact on the credit score whereas the ratio between the outstanding credit balance and available credit has a 30% impact.

4. Do not close any existing credit card accounts even if they are at a zero balance. Some people think that they are doing themselves a favour by having fewer cards but they lose out on the credit history factor. Even if you do not have a good credit rating on those old credit cards, you are rewarded for having a long-term credit history.

5. Lastly, review your credit report to ensure that all credit facilities stated therein are in fact yours. There could be situations where someone else’s credit facilities are erroneously added to your file. If the credit score of the other person’s facility is weak, it could impact your credit rating.

So, the first requirement in getting your mortgage approved is to have a  good credit rating. 

The second requirement is to have a sufficient income to pay your monthly mortgage.

Lenders follow two simple affordability rules to determine how much you can pay.

The first affordability rule is that your monthly housing costs shouldn't be more than 32% of your gross household monthly income. Housing costs include monthly mortgage principal and interest, taxes and heating expenses — known as P.I.T.H. for short. For a condominium, P.I.T.H. also includes half of the monthly condominium fees.  For leasehold tenure, P.I.T.H. includes the entire annual site lease.

Lenders add up these housing costs to determine what percentage they are of your gross monthly income. This figure is known as your Gross Debt Service (GDS) ratio.

The second affordability rule is that your entire monthly debt load shouldn't be more than 40% of your gross monthly income. This includes housing costs and other debts, such as car loans and credit card payments. Lenders add up these debts to determine what percentage they are of your gross household monthly income. This figure is your Total Debt Service (TDS) ratio.

So, the major two requirements to obtain a loan are: your income and the credit history.

We will now look at the types of mortgages available in Canada.

What is a “Variable Mortgage”? 

A Variable Mortgage, as the word suggests, is a mortgage where the interest rate varies from time to time. The interest rate is tied directly to the prime rate. The prime rate is a rate that is set by the bank based on the prime rate set by the Bank of Canada. The current prime rate is 2.75% and the banks are now offering prime minus 0.65% which comes to 2.1%. Bank of Canada decides the prime rate at their periodical meetings. Usually they increase or reduce the rate by 0.25% at a time. For those who are ready to take a risk, the variable rate is an option.  However, those with variable rate mortgages need to keep an eye on the prime rate and should keep in touch with a mortgage professional who can explain interest rate trends. 

What is a “Fixed-Rate Mortgage”?

A fixed rate mortgage is where the mortgage rate is fixed for the selected period. The period could be 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, 5 years or even 7 years, depending on the attractiveness of the financial instruments available at the time of borrowing. This type of mortgage is ideal for a conservative borrower who does not like to worry about the increase or decrease of the mortgage amount over a period of time.  Fixed interest rates are determined based on the bond market, as the bonds are the main competing investment to mortgages for investors. Mortgages are prices higher than the bonds usually between 1.2% and 1.9% to account for the higher risk.

The most popular type of mortgage in Canada is currently the 5-year fixed rate mortgage.

Now the banks are offering “Mixed Mortgages” with a 50% variable portion and a 50% fixed portion. This would be a good choice to reduce the risk of interest rate fluctuations.

What is an “Open Mortgage”?

An open mortgage allows you to pay closed mortgage. Usually the banks allow a prepayment of up to 15% of the loan balance. So, if you are planning to make a lump sum payment of more than 15%, an “open mortgage” is a good choice as it gives you the flexibility of paying off the loan.

So, which mortgage is cheaper…?

A study on a 30 year period has shown that those who are on variable mortgages save money. However, there should be a good management of cash flow to harness the savings from variable mortgages, as you have to keep the savings to meet the extra payments that you may to make, if the interest rate increases during your mortgage period.

What is the “Amortization Period”?

The “Amortization Period” is the time you take to completely pay off your mortgage. This period can be 15, 20, 25, 30, or 35 years. Banks had been offering 40 year mortgages up till last year. But it’s not available now. The advantage of having a longer mortgage term, is that you need less income for mortgage approval. The longer the period, lesser the income you need to qualify for the mortgage. Further, your monthly payment will be lower if you go for a mortgage with a longer term. Monthly payment for $100,000 mortgage with an amortization period of 35 years and an interest rate of 2.1%, is $335.95.   Therefore for a $300,000 mortgage you will have to pay only $1,007.85 ($335.95 x 3). If the interest rate is 4.1%, the monthly payment for $100,000 is $446.71.

Now you have a good understanding of prerequisites to get a mortgage what the credit score is, its importance, how it is computed, what you should do if you have a bad credit score, and the different mortgage types available to you in Canada.

After all this time, we're starting to get together

Point of View

Straw man ideas from a Jpura member

By Kumara Wickramarachchi

J’pura Alumni Association has come a long way since its shot period of existence.  Members are enthusiastically engaged devoted their time and energy to organize programs like J’pura scholarship program, blood donation campaign and many other events at various scales.  By spending sleepless night and days of labour, our dedicated officials (past and present) make all these happened, for which they deserve our gratitude  and big thanks ”Bravo Ladies and Gentlemen” . Question is, can we maintain our current member enthusiasm for next ten years by doing what we are doing now? I am not sure. I believed most of these programs are very effective in short term to bring our alumni together, but these shot term strategies have very short shelf life, after they achieved the basic objectives, enthusiasms eventually die down.  The outcome will be, organization either completely disappears or limits to a very few active members.  If our organization has not already been reached this phase yet, I am sure signs are definitely being popped up. This eventuality is not specific to J’Pura Alumni Association but it is universal.  Every organization is going through this hard reality, some survives others succumb.

Question is how do we survive?

Answer is simple, keep the organization relevant.   As long as J’pura alumni association is relevant to its members, they will come, actively engage and grow bigger and bolder. Sounds easy, but it is the most challenging task of all. Believe me, at this phase some members will abandon the organization but others will start to rally. At this phase officials need to be bold, visionary and take strategic decisions; don’t try to please everybody, let minority opinion to go if they cannot respect the majority. Don’t worry they will join back when they see the success. But most of all create an environment which allows all opinions, ideas and views are being heard before they are discarded.  As long as officials started to filter members’ opinion through their ideological lenses, nobody will trust them, nobody will express opinions and next time nobody will bother to come. So don’t try to impose our values on others, let the sluice gates opened and then create a mechanism to manage the flow.

Assessment

My humble opinion is our association is very much inward looking and too much focus on getting something to our members or to our university.  Due to this inward looking attitude we miss out lots of positive things happening outside our boundaries.  It is even contradictory to our Buddhist values.  By breaking down the boundaries, going beyond J’pura and integrating with the larger social fabric, foundation of our organization can be strengthened.  But remember to keep your identity. Unless we fully integrate to Canadian society, we don’t progress. We must cherish the society we live. I think we should integrate all Sri Lankan graduates into one Alumni Association and brand it as larger professional body, instead of living in our own glass silos and pointing finger to others.  We should give something to the Canadian society; in return all members will get a larger benefit.  Below is a rudimentary analysis of some of our current programs and some of proposed initiatives.

Current Programs

Strategy Level of Engagement Term of Impact Strategic Value Strategic assessment Annual get-together High Short to medium Medium value strategy Keep members engage and provide net working opportunity to new members. Web page Medium to high Long term High value strategy (Need improvement to current Web) Fully integrated web page can be a effective discussion platform (ideology and education), Information and news islet, marketing tool and can be a classified ads host. Scholarship program Low Short term No strategic value, mostly compassionate ground No national (SL as a Country) benefit, No benefit to the J'pura university, no recipient will dropout due to not having the scholarship, no benefit to members. New immigrant welcome/info sessions Medium Short term Medium value strategy Attract new members, opportunity to integrate new comers to the community, provide strategic info to newcomers (effective only for very new immigrants).

Proposed Additional programs

Strategy Level of Engagement Term of Impact Strategic Value Strategic assessment Revise the mandate to include all Sri Lankan University Alumni and change the Name to Sri Lanka University Alumni Association High Medium to Long term High value Strategy Increase active membership, expand the resource base, increase participation rate and increase our bargaining power in Canadian Market place. Fundraising for Canadian programs (cancer, food bank, etc.) Depends on how we market it Medium to Long term High value strategy Increase visibility of the organization within Canadian society, recognition for members and social acceptance, increase association influence in Canadian market place. Organize volunteer activity Depends on how we market it Medium to Long term High value strategy Increase visibility of the organization within Canadian society, recognition for members and social acceptance, increase association influence in Canadian market place. Make Federal and Provincial Political contributions to all major parties Depends on how we market it Medium to Long term High value strategy Increase Association influence in policy making, Influence politicians on member maters, increase visibility in Canadian society. Make Donations to J'pura University Medium to high Short to Long term High value strategy Positively contribute to the university resource base, Increase Association's long term recognition.

  Friends, you can glorify or vilify these thoughts, but you cannot ignore them because you are part of it, so mercilessly attack them and contribute to your organization future.  From a Sleeping Old J’purek