'Food Fest' to support Sunera Foundation
The Colombo School of Arts & Sciences (CSA) has organised a food festival to raise funds to support the differently-abled.
CSA students have chosen to better the lives of less privileged, differently- abled children and youth.
Accordingly, the CSA, an international, Cambridgeassociate school, has initiated a fundraiser to finance a year’s worth of free, weekly therapy wo rk s h o p s at Sunera Foundation’s Dehiwala centre.
The fundraiser will be a food festival titled ‘Food Fest’, down Green Path, Colombo 7, on Saturday, Jan.27, from 10 am to midnight.
Speaking of this initiative, CSA Principal Ms Shaleeka Jayalath said, “Encouraging our students to conduct annual social service projects to benefit the less privileged members of our society, is a part of our agenda at CSA."
“A holistic Education can only be complete if students are instilled with a sense of responsibility and encouraged to think beyond their own ambitions and make a contribution to society,” Ms Jayalath said.
Having worked with differently-abled children and youth since its inception in 2000, the Sunera Foundation has established itself as one of the leading social service organizations for differently-abled citizens of Sri Lanka.
The cornerstone of the Sunera Foundation programme is their Workshops, which is built on the notion of inclusion and sharing.
Sunera Foundation's team of Workshop leaders comprising 38 young men and women, have had extensive training in the Performing Arts to facilitate creative activities as a thera- peutic tool. The workshop space provides a sanctuary where individuals are allowed to express themselves without ridicule or prejudice.
These experienced and skilled trainers annually conduct 38 Workshops free- ofcharge islandwide for disabled young persons aged 12-30. Each Workshop is conducted on a weekly basis, and consists of an average of 25 participants.
Over the years, Sunera Foundation’s pioneering work has brought together over 2,500 young disabled people, who are given the opportunity to develop their creative talents in art, drama, dance and music.
In 2016, the Sunera Foundation received an award from the Ministry of Social Services for services rendered to the less privileged in society, by charitable organisations who receive nothing in return.
The CSA itself has been in the forefront of many social projects.
In 2015, CSA students focused on assisting the incapacitated inmates of the Leprosy Hospital in Hendala. With close to half- a- million in funds through a concert organized for the purpose, the students donated electronic wheelchairs to the inmates of the Leprosy Hospital.
In 2016, CSA students spent a week at T/ Seruwawila MV, Kav a n t i s s a p u r a (near Trincomalee), teaching English and IT to over 50 students in Grades 6-11, over a 7-day period, to equip students with better academic prospects.
They also organised a 1-Week Workshop in basic Hospitality functions for 20 Grade 12 students, to enhance their employability within the Hospitality industry in Trincomalee.
Welcome to Grade 6