AANA - Dr. Kamna Das Memorial Award for Mentoring and Community Service

With the sponsorship of Dr. Shonit Das and Mr. Abir Das, AANA established an annual service award beginning in 2011, in the name of late Dr. Kamna Das who was an inspiration to all the members of AANA.
This year, this prestigious award was presented to the 'Assamese School of Language and Performing Arts' of Calgary, Canada.

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The 'Assamese School of Language and Performing Arts' was formally inaugurated on February 6, 2011. A grant was given by the Alberta Government to start the school. The funding helped in starting off the school by covering costs for books and other materials. The objective of the school is to provide education to the younger generation and small children in the native language of Assam and also to teach them Assamese culture, heritage and performing arts.

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The school is run by AAA (Assam Association of Alberta) and the teachers are volunteers from AAA. The community believes that while integrating into a predominantly global society and a larger Canadian society, it is important for the new generation to be aware and knowledgeable of their own unique culture and heritage. Please see the teachers, students, and volunteers at the end of this report (Page 11).

We were very happy to present the award to the worthy recipients. Congratulations to the teachers and the students for embarking on their worthwhile journey of teaching and learning. All the best for continued success of the school!