Chamindha Rajakaruna

Chamindha Rajakaruna, is the Executive Director of Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement of Sri Lanka, the largest non-governmental organization in the country since 2015. His career with Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement dates back to 2007.He is appointed to the Board of Directors of Sarvodaya Development Finance Limited and the Sarvodaya Institute of Higher Learning. Mr. Rajakaruna was prominent student of Royal College, Colombo 07 and he obtained his bachelor’s degree in the field of agriculture from University of Peradeniya with Second-class Upper Division Honors Degree, majoring in Agricultural Engineering. Continuing with his academic career, he started his first postgraduate studies, Masters of Science in Water Resources Engineering in Belgium, in Katholieke University, Leuven (2003) and in Vrije University, Brussels (2004). Afterwards he entered the Technical University of Karlsruhe, Germany for his second Masters of Science degree in Resources Engineering (2006). In his academic career, Mr. Rajakaruna was awarded two renowned scholarships from the governments of Belgium and Germany namely VlaamseInteruniversitaireRaad (VLIR) and DeutscherAkademischerAustauschDienst (DAAD). During his studies, he has majored in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing applications as well as in Waste Water Treatment techniques.   After his return to Sri Lanka at end of 2006, Mr. Rajakaruna joined with Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement as the Legal Officer. Sooner the National Awakening and Good Governance program of Sarvodaya ‘Deshodaya’ was handed over to him and he was appointed as Director of Deshodaya (Awakening the Nation) Secretariat, the specialized unit within Sarvodaya for peace building and good governance. Afterwards he was given the opportunity to extend his service as Director of Partner Coordination (2008), where he was responsible for fund-raising and partner relations of Sarvodayaliaising with the Government of Sri Lanka, the United Nations, other bilateral and multilateral organizations and agencies including the Embassies and the High Commissions, as well as local and international NGOs; and later as the Director-Programs (2010) where he was administrating all donor-funded projects of Sarvodaya in the critical times of post-war reconstruction and reconciliation in the country.   Mr. Rajakaruna is also an Attorney-at-Law in the Supreme Court of Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. His professional experiences include practicing law at Civil and Criminal Courts of Law. Additionally he has experience of working in the Government Sector with the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka and as Research Officer in the University.   Recognizing his service in the development sector of Sri Lanka, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of United Kingdom offered him Chevening Fellowship to study the Government and Civil Society/NGO Relations in WolverhamptonUniversity, United Kingdom. As part of the study programme he also had the opportunity to visit and study the Northern Ireland conflict with the Ulster University of Northern Ireland. He also has served in the capacities of Project Director and Project Manager of few USAID, Canadian High Commission, Embassy to Switzerland and Royal Norwegian Embassy funded projects to promote reconciliation and good governance of Sri Lanka.   He presently serves as the General Secretary of People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL), the premier Election Monitoring Organization of Sri Lanka, and as Director of Sarvo-Tec (PVT) Ltd., and Sarvodaya Institute of Higher Learning.