COLOMBO : The global humanitarian event was organized by Muslim Aid Sri Lanka in collaboration with Muslim Aid UK head office.
Delegates from the UK and Muslim Aid’s Country Offices including Myanmar, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sudan, Somalia and Sri Lanka participated in the event.
Special guests for the event were the Director General of Disaster Management Centre (DMC) Sri Lanka Maj. Gen. (Retd) Sudantha Ranasinghe, Director General of NGO Secretariat Mr. Sanjeewa Wimalagunarathna, Goodwill Ambassador of Muslim Aid Sri Lanka As Sheik Arkam Nooramith, Country Director of A-PAD Sri Lanka Mr. Firzan Hashim, and representatives from Muslim Aid UK Mr. Sam Cook – Global Programmes Manager – and Mr. Asif Shahab – Humanitarian Programmes Manager.
The welcome note was presented by the Country Director of Muslim Aid Sri Lanka, Faizer Khan who highlighted the achievements of Muslim Aid’s life-saving humanitarian and transformational development programmes in Sri Lanka.
Keynote speaker at the event the Director General of DMC praised Muslim Aid for organizing such a timely event and its contribution to humanitarian and development efforts in Sri Lanka. He elaborated on the DMC’s role in the country and how agencies could work together with the DMC in the areas of disaster resilience and emergency preparedness. The Director General also mentioned that Sri Lanka and other countries in the region could share their experiences, lessons learned and best practices to develop and replicate according to the country’s requirement.
The Director General NGO Secretariat mentioned that the Secretariat is now working closely with NGOs to ensure they carry out programmes in a transparent and accountable manner. He also praised Muslim Aid for its continuous support in humanitarian and development programmes in the country and requested it to continue its activities for the betterment of vulnerable communities in the country. He emphasized the importance of the development of the primary education system in the country and how NGOs like Muslim Aid could contribute to develop such system.
As Sheik Arkam Nooramith – Goodwill Ambassador Muslim Aid Sri Lanka and General Secretary of ACJU – in his speech elaborated how his relationship with Muslim Aid was built up. He explained how the humanitarian and community development programmes are linked to different faith perspectives. He also emphasized the importance of the transparent and accountability of humanitarian and development organizations.
Mr. Firzan Hashim, Country Director of A- PAD Sri Lank,a addressed the impact of climate change. He summarized ways to overcome climate change challenges through enhancing capacity on preparedness and building partnerships with the private sector for sustainable economic recovery and resilience.
The Global Programmes Manager of Muslim Aid UK elaborated on the 33 year history of Muslim Aid and how it has evolved into a key global humanitarian and development actor. He explained how Muslim Aid plans to develop its humanitarian capacity to meet the increasingly complex challenges faced by the most vulnerable people in the world. Mr. Asif Shahab, Humanitarian Programmes Manager at Muslim Aid UK, explained that the workshop will be instrumental for continuing MASL’s disaster response and preparedness programme, which is effective, timely and inclusive to strengthen disaster management in Sri Lanka.
