Sri Lanka Project (GROW II) Advisory Committee
April 6, 2005 (Wednesday) 10:00 a.m. to Noon
Conference Room, Learning Center
Present: Phyllis Cunningham, Laurel Jeris, Jaya Gajanayake, Murali Krishnamoorthi, Jorge.
Jeria, Rick Orem, Kay Forest, Cindy Campbell, Sabiha Daudi, Meena Razvi, and Nalika
Diyadawa
Excused: Deb Pierce, Catherine Raymond, Lina Ong, Sharon Horward
Minutes of the meeting held on March 2, 2005 was approved unanimously.
Minutes of the Meeting:
 Sabeeha was welcomed to the Sri Lanka Project Advisory Committee. She indicated her
willingness to be a regular member of the committee.
 Murali briefed the committee on the progress with regard to the GROW II web site.
Following ideas were emphasized during the discussion.
Linking to NIU homepage (Rick)
Connecting to State Department website (Laurel, Kay)
Connecting to CAHE & ITO web pages (Rick)
Including NIU pictures (Jaya)
Sensitivity of using photos without needed permission (Rick, Murali,
Sabeeha)
Linking GROW website to other websites (Kay)
 Jaya reported on the inauguration of the Diploma Course that took place in Sri Lanka on
March 7. There were about 50 guests present during the ceremony. The classes will be
held every Friday. CAG members are very happy about the participants selected. Now
the program is running smoothly. Jaya explained the criteria used in selecting the
participants and the status of the program so far. She further mentioned that the program
will be a great contribution to the country. Following concerns came up during AC
discussion.
Whether the first batch is completing the course by December
(Murali)
Number of women participants (Cunningham)
 Jaya’s and Laurel’s intended program schedule in Sri Lanka for May-June period
Laurel and Jaya spelled out the activities planned for the month long stay in Sri Lanka. It
included three workshops to be held for the participants of the Diploma program. The
workshops hours will be counted towards the hours for the diploma program. The
workshops expenses will be borne by the NIU Project. Opportunities to include
additional participants from the member organizations of the NGO Coalition that are not
represented in the current Diploma program will be explored. Some of the other
activities that will be carried out during the stay in Sri Lanka include field work in Model
Villages, participating in CAG meetings and dialogues with the NGO Coalition.
 Meena briefed the advisory committee on the fund raising efforts of Tsunami Relief subcommittee. Kay briefed the members on the meetings the sub-committee had since its
formation. Phyllis indicated the need to develop a flyer highlighting the 3 year
connection between CENWOR and NIU, as a measure to boost the fund raising efforts.
She specified June would be a good period to begin a new drive and volunteered to help
to develop the flyer. Meena and Nalika agreed to meet the church leaders and arrange
the event. Jaya mentioned about a Tsunami Relief donation of $350 sent by a group of
second graders in a school in Woodridge, to buy a boat for a fisherman family in Sri
Lanka.
 Laurel briefed on the beginning of a conceptualization process related to the next
proposal to the State Department. Major trust will be to offer the experiences from the
two GROW projects to 3 other countries in South Asia - India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Discussions followed up to decide whether to include in the proposal a Study Abroad
trip to Sri Lanka by NIU students or have the participants from the 3 countries go to Sri
Lanka for first hand experience. It was decided to consult the State Department Officer
to seek advice and decide which option has more weight in the severe screening process.
 It was agreed to have the next Advisory Committee meeting in the form of a video
conference with the Sri Lankan counter parts. Jaya will contact the Learning Center and
the Sri Lanka partners to organize the video conference on a date and a time convenient
to both groups taking into consideration the 11 hour time difference.
 The meeting was adjourned at 12:00 Noon.