MAS Holdings supports Ayati, national centre for children with disabilities
The Sri Lanka Army handed over the fully constructed building that will house the country’s first ever national centre for children with disabilities to the funding Trustees recently.
The Ayati Centre, located within the Kelaniya Faculty of Medicine in Ragama is on schedule to be fully equipped and open to the public by December this year.
MAS Holdings and Hemas Holdings PLC led with the largest contributions of the Rs.550 million project, with the support of the Sri Lanka Army, Rotary International and a number of generous stakeholders.
Ayati - ‘Hope’ in Sanskrit - is a long-term national initiative set up to significantly improve the quality of life and independence for children with disabilities in Sri Lanka.
MAS Holdings together with Hemas Holdings PLC and the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Kelaniya incorporated the Ayati Trust in support of the initiative’s objectives.
Ranking high in this list was the construction of the national centre, undertaken by the Sri Lankan Army in 2018 which was carried out meticulously on schedule and successfully completed in under 13 months, contributing greatly towards expediting the opening of the centre.
With an estimated 20 percent of Sri Lankan children living with some form of disability, the Ayati Centre will be instrumental in early detection and intervention, developing their skill sets and conditioning them to integrate as capable members of society.
The centre will offer a range of services free of charge such as speech and language therapy, physiotherapy, family therapy, medical assistance and more, while addressing a range of disabilities such as autism spectrum disorder, behaviour and conduct disorders, learning disabilities including dyslexia, cerebral palsy, cognitive impairment, down syndrome as well as visual and hearing impairment.
Under the guidance of the Ayati Trust, the centre will be run by the medical experts and practitioners of Kelaniya University’s Department of Disability Studies.
“At MAS, empowerment goes beyond a management best practice,” expressed MAS Holdings Co-founder Ajay Amalean. “For us, it is a founding value and multifaceted process that helps not only our employees, but the communities in which we operate, enabling them the access to the most basic of needs and opportunities. We are exemplary in our approach towards inclusivity simply because it is the right thing to do and will continue working towards eliminating any stigma towards individuals with disabilities, promoting their acceptance in society. My vision is for Ayati to become a centre of excellence in the region and a benchmark for the medical, emotional and financial support these individuals truly deserve.”
Having been at the forefront of promoting diversity and inclusion through both financial support and exemplary business practices, MAS draws from its community engagement nurtured over the past few decades to contribute with unrivalled insight and understanding towards this publicprivate partnership.