Our Organisation
For three decades the Abaya Karam charity organisation, together with our supporters, have strove to minimise the suffering faced by the underprivileged children in the North and East of Sri Lanka. We provide desperately needed funds to two charities in Sri Lanka, that help build a brighter future for these children. Find out more.
Abaya Karam means helping hand.
In the true spirit of the name, our organisation is 100% run by volunteers. Our core values are honesty and integrity in fundraising.
Each year Abaya Karam holds a fundraising concert to share the beauty, joy and artistry of our traditional performing arts with the community, in an enchanting evening of classical Indian music and dance. Find out more.
Our Mission
In following this philosophy quoted on the left, Abaya Karam has identified the most vulnerable and traumatised children in need of a helping hand.
Our mission is to unite the community to achieve the survival of these children and instill hope.
Our Story
We were the fortunate Tamil families who migrated from turbulent Sri Lanka to a peaceful Australia, many having survived near death experiences during the Sri Lankan Civil War. In this safe haven we were fortunate enough to establish stable lives, however our thoughts were never far away from the struggles and loss faced by the Tamils, especially in the North and East of Sri Lanka. To lend a helping hand, a few families gathered on the 11th of December 1992 and formed Abaya Karam.
Our newly formed organisation and supporters came together to raise funds for the welfare and care of the most vulnerable and traumatised children in the North and East of Sri Lanka. In pursuing these humanitarian objectives, we were inspired by the selfless service carried out by two children's homes in Sri Lanka – Ramakrishna Mission in Batticaloa and Durgapuram Mahalir Illam in Jaffna.
As means to fundraise for these children's homes, we decided to focus on the enchanting musical and dance traditions of our ancient culture, such as melodic Carnatic music and captivating Bharatha Natyam dance. On the 15th of May 1993, Abaya Karam held its first fundraising concert at Bankstown Town Hall. This became an annual tradition, made possible through the collaboration of music and dance teachers, talented students and their supportive parents, volunteers, generous donors, skilful technicians and well-wishers. They have all been core to achieving Abaya Karam’s mission.
Over the years the children's homes have seen the survival and advancement of a very significant number of disadvantaged children. This has motivated us to continue our work towards our mission, to unite the community to achieve the survival of these children and instill hope.
Late Mr. K. Sivananthan was instrumental in forming Abaya Karam. He was the first president and guided this organisation to the current state. Since the inception Mrs. P. Sivananthan, Dr. A. Bala, Mrs. D. Bala, Late Mrs. J. Kandiah, Late Mr. C. Ganesan Raju, Mrs. P. Ganesan Raju, Mr. T. Sivanesarajah and Mrs. Y. Sivanesarajah have been actively involved with this organisation.
Our Committee
| President: | Mrs. Kalayini Anandasayanan |
|---|---|
| Vice President: | Mr. N. Mahadeva |
| Secretary: | Mrs. Rajanthi Ravindra |
| Asst. Secretary: | Mr. Ravi Ravindra |
| Treasurer: | Mrs. Vicky Mahadeva |
| Asst. Treasurer: | Mr. N. Vivekanantharajah |
| Committee Members: | Dr. Bala Mrs. Praemala Ganesan Raju Mrs. Yogam Deivendran Mr. S. Segaram Mrs. Parameswari Sivananthan Mrs. Yasotha Sivanesarajah Mr. T. Sivanesarajah Dr. N. Ramesh |
Past Presidents
Late Mr. K. Sivananthan
Dr. A. Balasubramaniam
Late Mr. C. Ganesan Raju
Late Mr. S. Krishna Kumar
Mrs. Yogam Deivendran
Mr. S. Segaram
Mr. N. Mahadeva
Dr. N. Ramesh