Dr. Robert D. Eldridge, Director for North Asia, GRMF, traveled to Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Myanmar from his ordinary base in Japan to meet with leaders in the private sector and civil society, as well as governmental, political, and diplomatic figures. While in Sri Lanka, Dr. Eldridge, who specializes in disasater preparedness and response, gave a talk to the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre about Japan's history with natural disasters and the challenges of the future. He also spoke at a government-run vocational school about career planning. He also visited an irrigation project (see photo) in a village south of the capital city of Colombo supported by the volunteer organization Gammadda (of which published the op-ed "What Sri Lanka Has to Teach the World" in The Japan Times on May 20, 2019), which represents a unique partnership between a business, civil society, and a university.