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Name: Mr. Saman Wijebandara
Position: Team Leader
With PALM: Since 1991
Ethnicity and Religion: Sinhalese Buddhist

PALM’s soft-spoken Team Leader is one of the organization’s most experienced officers. His background in Civil Engineering and other advanced technical studies have led him to some truly intriguing experiences, including a two-year tour as Design Engineer in Saudi Arabia, as well as five years working as the Rural Technical Coordinator at Sarvodaya. It was during his time with Sarvodaya that Saman began to envision and practice participatory methods in remote communities—and also where he met several key future PALM colleagues. Saman’s first few years at PALM were spent structuring the organization and obtaining resources, as well as further understanding and developing that crucial link between the technical and social fields of development. He went on to help develop PALM’s long term vision; his dream is “to build an organizational structure for PALM that will sustainably drive the organization from within, without being overly dependent on individual staff or external bodies.”

Name: Mr. Sunil Dombepola
Position: Deputy Team Leader
With PALM: Since 1994
Ethnicity and Religion: Sinhalese Buddhist

Sunil has always been somewhat of a rebel; he used the freedom of university to look at society from as many different angles as he could. While earning a Bachelor of Science Management at the University of Jayewaredenepure in Colombo, and doing Post-graduate work in Adult Education at the Open University, Sunil was a member of the Cooperative Movement, a student council leader, and an vocal activist in various social justice campaigns. After working as a Research Associate with the Marge Institute in the areas of agriculture, education, and social welfare, Sunil discovered the fledgling PALM Foundation and its unique integrated approach to improving the lives of marginalized populations. “Before PALM began working with these people,” he says of the hill country’s low-caste Sinhalese and Tamil communities, “they didn’t have a voice, they were just seen as labourers, they followed orders. Now PALM has been able to turn these people into active citizens and draw out their capabilities.” Sunil’s wife also does humanitarian work (working with widowed women); he has two children, a 1-year-old girl, and an 8-year-old boy.

Name: Mrs. Harinee Perera
Position: Coordinator, Program Support Link
With PALM: Since 2001
Ethnicity and Religion: Roman Catholic, Sri Lankan (a mix of Sinhalese and Colomba Chetty)

Harinee’s background in marketing and management (she holds a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration from the University of Colombo) led her to several interesting jobs before making her way to PALM, including two years as the Confidential Secretary to the Mayor of  Nuwara Eliya, and six years as a Branch Executive at Hayley’s, one of the largest conglomerates in the country. PALM offered Harinee a different set of challenges — and the new opportunity to help less fortunate Sri Lankans. When people’s social standard is uplifted, she found, their attitude becomes more positive, leading to what she refers to as a “cycle of productivity.” This snowball effect changes not only the individual, but society as a whole, she says. Harinee has a husband, two children, so balancing her family with her career is top on her mind. “Building a stronger society,” she says, “begins with being a strong mother and hard working role model for my children.”

Name: Ms. Jennifer Edith Joseph
Position: Coordinator, Empowerment Support Education Program
With PALM: Since 2000
Ethnicity and Religion: Indian Tamil, Catholic

Jennifer feels very well suited to working with PALM, even though her position does not draw directly from her Peradeniya University Agriculture Degree. Still, she has picked up a great deal of training in her six years with PALM, including a one-month course in Gender and Peace Development in Pakistan, as well as a certificate in NGO Management from the National Institute of Business Management in Colombo. She enjoys the challenges of running the Empowerment Support Education Program because it addresses so many important topics, including child welfare, gender issues, elder support, alcoholism, and health education. Jennifer is also pleased at how Tamil-friendly the organization is, in a country where many organizations are dominated by Sinhalese. She also enjoys the supportive environment at PALM—and being close to home.

Name: Mr. M.D. Isaac
Position: Financial Officer
With PALM: Since 1997
Ethnicity and Religion: Indian Tamil, Christian

A member of the International Association of Bookkeepers, London, and recipient of a diploma in Basic Computer Programming, Isaac is eminently qualified as PALM’s Financial Officer. He also worked 13 years as the Accounts Assistant for an export garment factory. Isaac’s previous jobs, however, were all profit-oriented, and he is proud, he says, that working with PALM “is about helping people in communities, and also helping my fellow staff, to grow.” Isaac continues, “My job is like God for me, I really enjoy accounting, so I hope to continue this work as long as possible.” Isaac is the middle child of seven brothers and has his own 15-year-old boy. Besides bookkeeping, he enjoys playing the guitar for his Church choir.

Name: Ms. Matilda Jesudasan
Position: ESEP Program Assistant, Children’s Programming
With PALM: Since 1995
Ethnicity and Religion: Catholic, Indian Tamil

After completing high school, Matilda immediately pursued her dream of becoming a teacher and helping the plantation children with whom she grew up, by signing on as PALM’s Pre-School Coordinator. In the following 11 years, PALM has given her ample opportunity to work with and develop programs for children. PALM’s holistic approach has also enabled Matilda to work on health and gender issues; although at first, she did not fully understand the value of this approach, she now sees the interconnectedness of these programs and the importance of working with them simultaneously. Matilda is currently following a diploma course in Human Rights and would like to continue her work with young children as a kindergarten teacher.

Name: Mr. G. Susil Jayasundera
Position: Coordinator, Infrastructure Development and Natural Resource Management Programs
With PALM: Since 1995
Ethnicity and Religion: Sinhalese Buddhist

After earning a National Certificate in Quantity Surveying, “G.S.” spent two years working with an engineering firm in Saudi Arabia before returning to Sri Lanka; he began his career in development work as the District Officer in charge of technical programs with Sarvodaya before moving on to PALM. In addition to learning how to implement potable water schemes, plumbing, and masonry projects, G.S. has lived and worked in low-income and isolated villages throughout the Hill Country. This, he says, has opened his eyes to the hard reality of plantation life and rural poverty in Sri Lanka, inspiring him to seek creative ways in which to blend his technical skills with social work. Before coming to PALM, G.S. had little exposure to Tamil communities and culture; he now shares his newfound appreciation of Tamil culture with Sinhalese friends, in the hopes of reducing prejudice and changing negative attitudes. G.S. would like to improve his Tamil language skills and feels that all Sri Lankans should speak both Tamil and Sinhalese. Susil is married and has two quickly growing boys; he comes from a large family with 13 brothers and sisters (including three sets of twins).

Name: Mr. Peter Martin Premananth
Position: Civil Engineer and Assistant Coordinator, Infrastructure Development Programme
With PALM: Since 2005
Ethnicity and Religion: Sri Lankan Tamil, Roman Catholic

Prem is very familiar with plantation communities and the issues they face; his father worked as a plantation Field Officer for many years. He believes that development of crucial infrastructure, especially in regards to environmental engineering, inspection, and pollution control, can result in improved living conditions. Putting his ideas into practice, Prem earned a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Peradeniya, and went on to work on hydropower–related projects with Squiremech Engineering in the Kegalla and Nuwara Eliya districts before joining PALM. In addition to infrastructure projects, Prem enjoys how PALM’s holistic approach allows him to collaborate with other sections of the organization, from which he has gained a deeper understanding of Sri Lankan social and gender issues. Prem lives with his parents and younger sister in Hatton

Name: Mr. T. Kanagasabai
Position: Caretaker, Cook
With PALM: Since 2000
Ethnicity and Religion: Indian Tamil, Christian

Sabah’s parents both worked in the tea industry, as do his eight surviving siblings. The young Sabah shunned estate work, however, and spent several years in Colombo, before coming back in the Hill Country to be closer to his family. He worked as a gardener and then Apu’s Assistant in the Maha-Uva Estate Manager’s Bungalow. Sabah's newfound cooking skills led him to PALM, where for his first several years, he fed large groups at the organization’s Ragallah Training Facility. After he was assigned to higher grounds, in PALM’s Toppass Guesthouse, Sabah truly began to refine his skills. As the Guesthouse’s Chief Caretaker and Cook, Sabah continues to learn, attending a monthly cooking class in Kandy. He also trusts his creativity, and his soups and curries sing—especially when cooked with vegetables picked fresh from PALM’s organic garden.

Name: Mr. Anburaj
Position: Division Coordinator, Social Mobilization Program
With PALM: Since 2000
Ethnicity and Religion: Indian Tamil, Hindu

Anbu brought to PALM 10 years experience working as the Field Coordinator for Plantation Communities with the Thrift and Credit Cooperative Society, as well as one year as a primary school teacher. His focus in PALM’s Social Mobilization sector is to improve community cooperation among plantation villages and to help people gain access to credit schemes and loans, allowing them to invest in cultivation, livestock, poultry farms, and other small businesses. Anburaj (whose name translates to English as “Love King”) is married and has one girl and one boy.

Name: Mr. S. Pushparaja
Position: Assistant Coordinator, Natural Resource Management Program
With PALM: Since 1996
Ethnicity and Religion: Indian Tamil, Hindu

Pushpa’s education includes an Advanced Level in Arts and a Bachelor of Natural Science from the Open University; his resume includes working as a plantation school teacher, where he instructed both Tamil and Math to all levels. This experience no doubt helped him discover the lack of basic rights – land rights, personal freedoms, and citizenship — within the plantation sector. He also identifies a need for improved environmental education, specifically in the areas of garbage management, organic gardening, and  mushroom cultivation as a tool for income generation. Pushpa has three brothers, two sisters, and a wife and baby girl.