• SAARC WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION – SRI LANKA CHAPTER IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

THE BRITISH SCHOOL IN COLOMBO PRESENTS

 ‘SAARC BRIDGES OF FRIENDSHIP’

On 28^th& 29^th February 2020 @ British School Auditorium

A PULSATING EXTRAVAGANZA

OF MUSICAL TALENT OF THE UPPER SCHOOL

IN AID OF THE 198 BED

CCC CANCER TRANSIT HOME IN MAHARAGAMA

                                                     A SILVER LINING DURING TROUBLED TIMES

SAARC Women’s Association – Sri Lanka Chapter is what it is today due to our diversity in leadership and accumulation of experiences year on year for over two decades. Our programmes are well received and accepted as events to look forward to informed Roshnie de Saram Immediate Past President whose dream was to raise funds for Cancer in collaboration with a school.

Formed in 1996 we are an NGO for the promotion of strong cultural integration, friendship and better understanding between countries of the SAARC region she said.  There are active sister chapters in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.  We are now in the process of extending to Nepal Afghanistan and Maldives. Sri Lanka is the only Chapter to gain the status of a ‘SAARC RECOGNISED BODY’ since 2005.  Membership consists of ladies of the SAARC region, resident in Sri Lanka and wives of the region’s Diplomatic Corps who are patron members.  The Association is recognised for its generosity to worthy causes through well received and accepted yearly fund raisers. In acknowledgement, we have now been appointed as the SWA Headquarters for the region by the SAARC Secretariat in Kathmandu.

We hold a charity event each year, proceeds of which are donated to a worthy cause. Having commenced with Cultural programmes recognizing women authors, writers etc. we moved on to benevolent causes as required by an NGO, assisting school children to further their studies, made the life of women prisoners more comfortable, built a home for a Tsunami affected family etc., whilst not forgetting the neglected senior citizens of the wider community.  We have also had health camps, helped Women in Need and those affected with Cancer and Alzheimer’s, among others.

This fund raiser will be an integrated performance with other schools. Dr. John Scarth, Principal of the British School and their Music Director, Shamistha de Silva are committed to making this an exciting and vibrant event, with notes, beats, strings and moves. This was scheduled for the latter half of last year but had to be postponed due to the blasts in and around Colombo.  Proceeds will be utilized to commence an investment fund which would continue to yield a regular income to support the running expenses of CCC House presently amounting to over Rs.1,200,000/- (Rupees One Million Two Hundred Thousand Only) per month.

Cancer is a curse. No one is immune to it and we never know if we are the next in line. When cancer strikes, life stalls, what was important yesterday is no longer a priority.  Hope of overcoming the dreaded situation, seeking the best possible treatment available becomes priority. Majority of the Sri Lankans seek support at the “Apeksha” hospital in Maharagama. But do you realise some who arrive travel long distances just to reach the hospital, with the only hope that they can battle the situation successfully? Be it kids or adults, the gravity of the situation dawns slowly.  For most of them it becomes their first trip to the Western Province and they have no relatives or friends to support them here. When they need the most support they struggle to go through the reality.

During treatment, most patients are expected to visit the hospital daily for their treatment.  Having no place to stayadds to their trauma. A decade ago these patients, who are referred to as “Day” patients stayed within the hospital in any space they could find. It was a chair, the floor in a ward, the corridor or sometimes even the garden.  This situation created issues for the clinicians as space was congested and was detrimental to the patients whose immunity was low.

CCC House was constructed by the CCC Foundation to become a Transit home for the “Day” Patients. It was a project which was conceptualized with learning from the developed countries and offers the promise of a Safe, Clean, Comfortable abode for patients during their treatment completely free of charge. For a decade many patients have benefited from this facility, which is completely managed with funds donated by Corporates and individuals who wanted to support these patients

This is the story of Menike was from Anuradhapura.  She is a mature woman with grown children. ”When I was told I had cancer, my world crashed. Coming to Maharagama for the first time was such a difficult journey. I knew no one here. Upon hearing my plight I was directed to the CCC House to stay during the treatment. I share a ward bed with many more like me. We relate to each other as we face a similar situation. The staff is kind and compassionate.  They take care of us always. We have more comforts than we had at home. They need to be blessed for this service.”

To help many such patients, it is important to maintain the CCC House in the high standards it is managed.  Continuous funds are needed for that. Many fundraising activities are conducted to support these needs. You can help too, be there for those who need your support.

For more information please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Om2mBS1O6bU and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jr_jh7QAZHU  and   http://lakfreedom.info/video/153630-pethikada-28-09-201  https://youtu.be/VsLlQ8Pgwsc and CCCFoundation.org.au

Our Association is indebted to The Wijeya Newspaper Group for coming aboard as our Exclusive Print Media partner to assist this worthy cause.  Our other Exclusive Partners are Imagine Entertainment, Softwave Printing BookMyShow, Lin Asia Holdings, Yamaha Music Centre and Unique Sounds. We also thank our other sponsors and donors who have understood this urgent need and assisted in numerous ways.

If this has pulled your heart-strings we invite your participation to donate to make a difference to this fund-raiser by the SAARC Women’s Association, Sri Lanka Chapter in partnership with the British School. All donations will be issued official receipts. Please call 0777 340 699 for further details.

“Please help us to help them” said Roshnie.