History of ACOBAWC – ACOBAWCUSA

HISTORY OF ACOBAWC-USA

Since 1988….

The Ananda College Old Boys’ Association of the West Coast, USA (ACOBAWC) was established in 2012, following several previous attempts to unite Anandians across the USA. The first unofficial initiative, known as “Anandians in USA,” was launched in 1984 by two old Anandians in California. This effort encouraged several old Anandians, from both the East and West Coasts, to become life members of the main Old Boys’ Association in Colombo.

In 1988, the first formal organization, the “Overseas Anandians Association of Southern California” (OAASC), was created by six old Anandians, including the two initiators of the previous effort. OAASC, which was formally incorporated in California, existed for several years and held four fundraising events, making it the first recognized group of old Anandians and a precursor to the current ACOBAWC.

The name “Overseas Anandians Association” was conceived by one of the founding members, Dr. Walter Jayasinghe, who believed that the organization should have a broad international perspective. Dr. Stanley Wijesekara, another founding member, served as the first president of OAASC. The inaugural fundraising event took place at The Hyatt Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles on February 3, 1990, where approximately $2,500 was raised. This amount was used to establish the first scholarship at Ananda College, with the funds placed in a fixed deposit at Sampath Bank in Colombo. The annual interest generated from this deposit was awarded at the school’s annual prize-giving event to the student achieving the best results in the General Certificate of Education, Ordinary Level (GCE O Level).

It is worth noting that this very first scholarship is still maintained by both ACOBAWC and Ananda College.

To a new beginning….

In the following years, Palitha Pelpola and Nihal Wijesinghe, two other founding members, served as Presidents of the OAASC. Fundraising events were held in 1993 and 1996, with the modest amounts raised at these events contributing to the GCE O Level scholarship mentioned earlier. The next president of OAASC was Asoka Jayawardane, who organized a cultural event at California State University, Long Beach, featuring a performance by Pandit Amaradeva from Sri Lanka.

The group of old Anandians active during this period was quite small, which resulted in OAASC being inactive for several years. The organization saw a revival in 2004 with the arrival of Mr. Tissa Seneviratne, a former teacher at the College, who helped regroup the Anandians and was elected as the next President. A fundraising event took place in December 2004.

After another period of inactivity, the organization reformed as the Anandian Association of California, with Malraj de Silva as President and Lucky Rajasinghe as General Secretary. In 2008, they held a fundraising event for the first time, called “Maroons’ Night.”

This energetic younger group of old Anandians, who rallied together in 2006, believed that the organization needed to be reorganized in a manner similar to the Ananda College Old Boys’ Association of the East Coast, USA. As a result, a new organization was incorporated in California under the name Ananda College Old Boys’ Association of the West Coast, USA (ACOBA WEST), with Pradeep Gunaratne as its first president.