Colombo School of Arts donates wheel chairs to improve the lives of leprosy patients
With Sri Lanka being amongst the16 countries in the world where there has been a rise in the number of leprosy patients with six new patients being detected on a daily basis, the Colombo School of Arts, a newly established international school,recently organised a fund raiser in the form of a benefit concert titled ‘SPERO – Hope for Serendib’, which was held at the British School Auditorium. The concert had sitarist Pradeep Ratnayake as the main performer along with a host of other well known musicians in the industry such as Ananda Dabare, Ravibandu Vidyapati, Sureka Amarasinghe, Peshala Manoj, Karunarathne Bandara, Suraj Gunewardena and Isuru Pererawho offered their services free of charge for this worthy cause.
The main purpose behind the concert was to raise funds to purchase electronic wheelchairs and other individually custom made equipment for the incapacitated inmates at the Leprosy Hospital in Hendala.
Having collected close to half a million in funds through the concert, the students and staff of the Colombo School of Arts recently donated electronic wheel chairs to the leprosy hospital in Hendala.
The principal of the Colombo School of Arts, Ms.Shaleeka Jayalath stated that this initiative was a part of their mission to assist in improv- ing the quality of life of the leprosy patients as well as raise public awareness on earlydetection and prevention of this disease that is easily available. She added. “We are grateful for the opportunity to assist with this important cause and we will continue in our efforts by partnering with the hospital and related associations to help erase the stigma associated with this disease as well as help raise awareness and knowledge of the importance of early detection and treatment.”
Dr,Nilanthi Fernando ,Director Anti-Leprosy Campaign said “There are about 40 disabled patients taking in house treatment at the Hendala Leprosy Hospital for a very long time without the facility of electric wheel chairs for easy mobilization for their daily activities This gesture by the students of the Colombo School of Arts is a noteworthy deed which sets a fine example for young students “.
The Colombo School of Arts is an international Cambridgeassociated school that specializes in senior school study programmes. They are affiliated to the Imperial Institute of Higher Education (IIHE), Sri Lanka’s only institute which is directly associated with the prestigious University of Wales (UK) and the University of Salford, The Awards’ (UK) BusinessSchool of the Year.