Shanthi and Susantha win Serendib Sri Lankan Awards

Monday, 3 November 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Serendib Sri Lankan Community Australia Awards 2014 ceremony was held in Melbourne recently with 70 winners emerging from several different sectors of the community.

World-renowned movie star Ravindra Randeniya, singer Alston Koch, Chairman of Rugby Australia and leading Sydney businessman Dilip Kumar and Sri Lankan Consul General of Victoria, Upul Pushpakumara were special guests at the ceremony. Two key award-winners were Shanthi Kumar (Sri Lankan of the Year) and Susantha Katugampala (Lawyer of the Year). Shanthi Kumar arrived in Melbourne over 26 years ago and later moved to Western Australia to manage a McDonald’s store and now owns many McDonald’s stores in Perth in Western Australia. Shanthi shared his experiences in business, saying determination was required in order to achieve goals. He emphasised that giving back to the community was just as important achieving success. He supports charities in Australia and Sri Lanka. Susantha Katugampala arrived in Melbourne 25 years ago and graduated from Monash University in Melbourne. He is the Principal of Fairfields Lawyers in Melbourne, an Australian law firm specialising in immigration and business law. Susantha shared his experience as a lawyer, saying his biggest achievement was helping thousands of families call Australia their home. He emphasised the importance of ongoing support from Sri Lankan expats around the world for Sri Lanka to sustain peace, development, prosperity and ethnic harmony.