The LankaCorps Fellowship provides a unique opportunity for young leaders of Sri Lankan heritage to professionally engage in social, cultural, and economic development activities in Sri Lanka. The program aims to foster the involvement and understanding of young members of the expatriate Sri Lankan community who have limited in-depth experience with the country of their heritage. Each year, The Asia Foundation selects an outstanding group of LankaCorps Fellows to live and work for six months in Sri Lanka, granting them the unique chance to “explore their roots while giving back.” Borrsha Kanapathipillai (Canada) strives to be more engaged with the Tamil diaspora and hopes her experience with LankaCorps will deepen her understanding of the Tamil community and culture. She hopes to continue working closely with historically marginalized communities to provide support in improving their quality of life through sustainable structural changes. She will be placed with Law and Society Trust Bramman Rajkumar (United Kingdom) is a policy advisor in the UK’s Department for Business and Trade, working to increase access to finance for small and medium enterprises. Upon graduating from the University of Oxford, Bramman entered the Frontline program to work and qualify as a social worker in London. His placement organization is the Lanka Orix Leasing Company Matthew Hyginus (Canada), is a current doctoral student specializing in Organizational Behaviour at the Ivey Business School, University of Western Ontario. As an incoming LankaCorps Fellow, he eagerly anticipates delving into his ancestral heritage and gaining fresh perspectives by contributing to a local research NGO. He will be placed at the International Centre for Ethnic Studies Isa Ananya Spoerry (United States) earned both her bachelor’s (Social and Cultural Analysis, Global and Urban Education, Peace and Conflict Studies) and master’s (Interdisciplinary Studies) degrees from New York University before working at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Halfway through college, a quick visit to Sri Lanka redirected Isa’s studies towards the island’s North American diaspora communities. Her placement organization: The Geoffrey Bawa Trust Rhian Paranavitana (Australia) has a Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Arts, Film and Television from Deakin University with a focus on Audio Production… Read more
LankaCorps Fellowship Program
Meet the 2023 LankaCorps Fellows
Friday, October 13th, 2023Introducing the 2019 Class of LankaCorps Fellows
Friday, January 10th, 2020The LankaCorps Fellowship provides a unique opportunity for young leaders of Sri Lankan heritage to professionally engage in social, cultural, and economic development activities in Sri Lanka. The program aims to foster the involvement and understanding of young members of the expatriate Sri Lankan community who have limited in-depth experience with the country of their heritage. Each year, The Asia Foundation selects an outstanding group of LankaCorps Fellows to live and work for six months in Sri Lanka, granting them the unique chance to “explore their roots while giving back.” Meet the 2019 fellows.
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Thursday, July 18th, 2019LankaCorps
Wednesday, November 7th, 2018LankaCorps is a unique opportunity for young leaders of Sri Lankan heritage to professionally engage in social, cultural, and economic development activities in Sri Lanka. The program aims to foster the involvement and understanding of young members of the expatriate Sri Lankan community who have limited in-depth experience with the country of their heritage. Each year, The Asia Foundation selects an outstanding group of LankaCorps Fellows to live and work for six months in Sri Lanka, granting them the unique chance to “explore their roots while giving back.”
Meet the 2018 LankaCorps Fellows
Wednesday, August 1st, 2018The LankaCorps Fellowship provides a unique opportunity for young leaders of Sri Lankan heritage to professionally engage in social, cultural, and economic development activities in Sri Lanka. The program aims to foster the involvement and understanding of young members of the expatriate Sri Lankan community who have limited in-depth experience with the country of their heritage. Each year, The Asia Foundation selects an outstanding group of LankaCorps Fellows to live and work for six months in Sri Lanka, granting them the unique chance to “explore their roots while giving back.” Aisha Rupasingha (U.S.A.) recently graduated from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York with a bachelor’s degree in English. Aisha has a strong interest in storytelling and written and visual media, particularly for younger audiences. She has spent time working at The Walt Disney Company for Disney Junior and intends to return to the entertainment industry to pursue a career as a writer focused on diverse narratives. At Disney, she engaged in all aspects of the television production process—from script development to casting to production and post-production. Coupled with her passion for film and TV, Aisha has a keen interest in community-based work. She led job readiness training for newly arrived refugees in the US at her placement at a refugee resettlement agency in Washington, DC. Her hope is to pursue entertainment and refugee aid work concurrently in the future. Aisha is a student of Sinhala, Arabic, and French and comes from a Sinhala-Muslim background. She has previously visited family in Sri Lanka, but this will be her first time staying there long-term in a professional capacity. Fredrick Martyn (Canada) is currently a medical student at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, DC. He has a bachelor’s degree in Biology from St. Bonaventure University in New York. Fredrick has performed research in juvenile epilepsy at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada, and in adolescent sexual health at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. He is also a director for his medical school’s annual comedy show and writes and performs his own poetry…. Read more
LankaCorps Fellowship Program
Tuesday, February 14th, 20172015 LankaCorps Fellows
Saturday, November 28th, 2015November 28, 2015 — LankaCorps is a unique opportunity for young leaders of Sri Lankan heritage to professionally engage in social, cultural, and economic development activities in Sri Lanka. The program aims to foster the involvement and understanding of young members of the expatriate Sri Lankan community who have limited in-depth experience with the country of their heritage. Each year, The Asia Foundation selects an outstanding group of LankaCorps Fellows to live and work for six months in Sri Lanka, granting them the unique chance to “explore their roots while giving back.” Nithya Thiru Ms. Nithya Thiru is a US citizen from Alaska. She has a bachelor’s degree in History with minors in Political Science and French from the University of Alaska. Thiru has a background working in media and journalism. She is based at Verite Research Pvt Ltd and is part of the Communications and Media Team. Her duties and tasks include supporting awareness and dissemination of research in terms of converting written research into media releases and scripts for radio news, producing podcasts and short videos on key research. Thiru will assist and support research-based events and activities on history and politics, media and information, and gender and justice. Sanjay Pathmanathan Mr. Sanjay Pathmanathan is a Canadian citizen. He graduated from the University of Toronto with a bachelor’s degree in Mental Health and Philosophy. He has a background in the public health sector and in mental health services. Pathmanathan is based at the Foundation of Goodness (FOG). His tasks and duties include conducting capacity-building programs in the North and the South, relating to mental health, English, photography, IT, children’s activities, village heartbeat project, diving and swimming. He will work with FOG on project management, fundraising, leadership, and event-management-related programs and contribute to the organizing of the annual FOG events such as the Murali Cup and the International Tuk Tuk Ride. Pathmanathan will carry out work related to the North Development Initiatives and the Sustainable Income Generation Initiatives within FOG. Ruvani Fonseka Ms. Ruvani Fonseka is a US citizen. Fonseka graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor’s degree in… Read more
LankaCorps: A Conversation with Dr. Naj Nagendran
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2015Last week in Washington DC, The Asia Foundation held a fund-raising event to present its LankaCorps Fellowship Program, a unique opportunity for young leaders of Sri Lankan heritage to engage in social, cultural, and economic development activities in post-conflict Sri Lanka. Each year since 2012, the Foundation has selected an outstanding group of young people…
LankaCorps Fellowship Program
Monday, July 13th, 2015LankaCorps is a unique opportunity for young leaders of Sri Lankan heritage to professionally engage in social, cultural, and economic development activities in Sri Lanka. The program aims to foster the involvement and understanding of young members of the expatriate Sri Lankan community who have limited in-depth experience with the country of their heritage. Each year, The Asia Foundation selects an outstanding group of LankaCorps Fellows to live and work for six months in Sri Lanka, granting them the unique chance to “explore their roots while giving back.”