The Association was started in 1989 with the aim of assisting and nurturing Mahinda College and its current pupils, establishing goodwill and relations between the Old Mahindians and the College and to encourage the Old Mahindians in the UK to socialise and develop relations among themselves. As an independent organisation, it is not affiliated to any organisation of a similar nature either abroad, or in Sri Lanka and its policy and activities are controlled by its members and the management committee, which meets about 4 or 5 times a year. Its varied commitments are underpinned by fund raising activities, which include an annual dance "Mahinda Nite", raffles, and collection of other donations both financial and material.
It's range of activities has broadened to encompass religious, cultural and sporting events. There is an annual Founders Day Alms Giving at one of the Buddhist temples in the UK. The association's cricket team has a regular series of fixtures with other OBA's the most important of which still remains the match against the old rivals, Richmond College. The highlight of the cricket calendar is the Festival of Cricket, at which the Mahinda Team won the FOC Trophy, The Best Player Award and the Best Bowler award in 2000.
One of the earliest contributions of the Association was to sponsor the college cricket team by donating all the cricket gear to last the whole season. This continued for several years. Recently, the emphasis has been to support educational activities of the college, as that would benefit a greater number of students. Several computers and air conditioning equipment were donated to establish the Computer Centre at the College and since then a further number of computers and printers have been sent. A donation of microscopes and other equipment for the science laboratories has been made.
During one of the regular meetings the officers of the association had with the principal, it became apparent that the students of Mahinda were being handicapped by insufficient proficiency in English. In view of this, the Association decided to provide extra funding and support for English education and secured the services of a capable English teacher from 1997- 2001.
The association is also committed to provide a Video Library and a Language Laboratory. A large television and a video recorder for the Video Library and audio equipment for the Language Laboratory have already been sent. Further audio and video
tapes and other essentials will be sent in due course.
This Association has dedicated itself to assisting the college, especially in the field of education, which has been the foundation of success for many of the members. It expects to achieve this goal through the close collaboration and in consultation with the staff and the principal of the College.
