In line with their aim to improve communal harmony and celebrate togetherness, the members of Sri Lankan Friends’ Club (SLFC) hosted the Muslim members of the Sri Lankan community living in Qatar at an Iftar recently.
The SLFC invited the members of Sri Lankan Majlis Qatar (SLMQ), an organisation of Sri Lankan Muslim families in Qatar, to the Iftar party hosted at Stafford Sri Lankan International School. The tables were set up with traditional Sri Lankan snacks and food as SLMQ members broke their fasts along with their compatriots from SLFC. 
It was the second consecutive year the club involved itself in this social activity. The event was attended by a large number of people. 
SLFC President Nandika Jayashantha thanked all the guests for accepting the invitation and gathering to celebrate togetherness. He briefed the audience about the core objectives of SLFC and the future events the club is planning to host.
“We have planned for a blood donation campaign on 2nd September at the same venue as was our last campaign, a cricket tournament, an art and painting competition for Sri Lankan children, distribution of school requisites for needy Sri Lankan children back home,” said Jayashantha.
“I am also very happy to mention that within a very short period of time, our club’s volleyball team has achieved a very prominent place in the game of volleyball in the tournaments organised in Qatar,” he told the audience.
Formed in 2008, SLFC helps co-ordinate the social welfare activities for the Sri Lankan community in Qatar. The SLFC remains active in other community activities extensively. SLFC provides support to all national and public events conducted by Sri Lankans living in Qatar.
Besides organising sports, recreational and social welfare activities in Doha, the club also takes part in events of national importance for the Sri Lankan community. This year also SLFC was an important member of the organising committee that held the Sri Lankan Independence Day celebrations in February and Sinhala and the Tamil New Year celebrations in April.
Being part of these activities helps with the club’s primary aim to enhance Sri Lankan image in Qatar and to help develop brotherhood and friendship among different communities of Sri Lankans living in Qatar, said the president.
Other objectives of SLFC include improving communal harmony among Sri Lankans and to highlight the inherent talents of Sri Lankans in Qatar in the fields of art and culture, literature, sports and others.
The club also intends to assist Sri Lankans facing problems in Qatar, help ease problems in Sri Lanka and also assist the Qatar authorities with any requests that they make about the Sri Lankan community in Qatar.
Founded in 2001 on the first day of Ramadan, SLMQ also aims at bringing Sri Lankan families living in Qatar together.
SLMQ has been facilitating greater interaction and fellowship among Sri Lankans in Qatar and serving the Sri Lankan community by supporting community-building efforts both in Qatar and in Sri Lanka.
Some of SLMQ’s recent activities include a competition in drawing, colouring, essay writing and public speaking to mark Sri Lanka’s Independence Day. The competition was open to all Sri Lankan children in Qatar.
SLMQ also hosted a cookery show for the community members last year at Tariq Bin Ziad Independent School. The event included a live salad demo, lecture on healthy living and nutrition, quiz, kids programme and football for men.