GSK helps empower 722 disabled people with Rs 39 mln project
More than 700 people with disabilities have been empowered to lead more productive lives as a result of a three-year, Rs 39 million-project in the south by Glaxosmithkline Pharmaceuticals (GSK).
The project, which concluded in December 2011, was executed on behalf of GSK by the Leonard Cheshire Disability Resource Centre (LCDRC) at Habaraduwa in Galle, GSK said in a press release.
Comprising of a series of multi-faceted programmes, the project has over the three years also benefitted more than 2,200 family members of the principal beneficiaries, and resulted in the Habaraduwa Divisional Secretary's Division receiving praise as one of most inclusive and barrier-free di- visions in the country for persons with disabilities. At its conclusion last month, the project had enabled 131 persons with loco-motor impairment to improve their mobility, helped 62 persons with hearing and speech impairment to improve their communication abilities, developed the living skills of 51 children with disabilities and donated 81 assis- tive devices to persons with disabilities.
GSK and its predecessors have been doing business in Sri Lanka since the late 1930s. GSK also spent Rs. 29 million to help restore healthcare systems and improve service capacity in areas devastated by the 2004 tsunami and donated essential medications for those affected in the disaster.