Toccata Musical Productions UK/Wizard Entertainment donate Medical Equipment to the Tellipalai Trail Cancer Hospital

The Tellipalai Trail Cancer Hospital received a generous donation of medical equipment to the value of GBP 319,550 from Toccata Musical Productions UK currently touring Sri Lanka. Toccata is presented by Wizard Entertainment P/L and will be performing the Best of West End & Broadway and Sounds of Nostalgia shows in August at the BMICH.

The partners and sponsors of this event whose great support made this tour and donation possible are DIMO – Principal Sponsor; Hotel Sponsor – Hilton Colombo; Gold Sponsor – Richardson Group; Print Media – Daily Mirror, Sunday Times & Hi; Print Partner – Printcare.A special mention also to NDB Bank whose magnanimous support also contributed to making this tour and donation a reality.

Toccata comprises professional and semi-professional UK based musicians, united in the mission to use their collective talents to support charities the world over.  Based in the UK, Toccata travels far and wide to perform, particularly to developing nations, with the aim of addressing issues of poverty and deprivation. Toccata is a non-profit organization and over the years, has been supported by celebrity musicians from London’s West End, all of whom give their talents to further Toccata’s cause. Toccata seeks to facilitate the development of musicians and musical talent around the world, particularly in developing countries.

Toccata was founded by Dr Sunil Paulraj, a neonatal specialist working at Neonatal Intensive Care at The Royal Hospital in Belfast. An acclaimed tenor, Sunil combines his love for medicine with a passion for music and has trained under some of Britain’s finest vocal coaches. Sunil has been designated as the Cultural Ambassador of Northern Ireland for his work with Toccata, and recently accepted "The Golden Rule Award” from the United Nations for Toccata's service to humanity and social causes.

Sunil’s close medical links in Belfast is the basis for Toccata’s capacity to procure used, but excellent quality and expensive medical equipment for donating to worthy institutions. In identifying recipients for their tour of Sri Lanka, they sought the advice of David Colin-Thome, Managing Director of Wizard Entertainment,who recommended the newly constructed Tellipalai Trail Cancer Hospital as the principal beneficiary. Accordingly, the equipment that is being handed over by Toccata includes mobile imaging systems, ultra sounds, scanners, monitors and electric beds.

The Tellipalai Trail Cancer Hospital was declared open by His Excellency the President in January this year, facilitating a much needed state-of-the-art cancer treatment unit including two new wards for males and females, a paediatric high dependency ward and a radiation oncology unit. The hospital was built by the Colours of Courage Trust from funds collected through Trail - A journey by the living, for life, a 670 km walk from Dondra in the South of Sri Lanka to Point Pedro in the North with the aim of raising US$ 2mn to build a cancer hospital in the North.  The journey saw over 30,000 Sri Lankans join hands to walk for a cause that gives hope to those afflicted by cancer and achieve a goal which as individuals would have been unachievable. A nation’s collective fight against cancer.

Trail was an initiative by Sarinda Unamboowe and Nathan Sivagananathan in collaboration with the Colours of Courage Trust.  This project was made possible due to Trail and the various fund raising activities of the Colours of Courage Trust and the support of the Government and Ministry of Health.

The Colours of Courage Trust (COC), a non-profit organization dedicated to uplifting treatment facilities at the National Cancer Institute, Maharagama was founded in 2008. To-date the Colours of Courage Trust has carried out several fund raising initiatives the likes of which include the annual COC Six-A-Side Cricket Tournament and Leadership Seminar amongst others, the funds of which have been utilized to build the Medical and Surgical Intensive Care Units at the National Cancer Institute.  The Board of Trustees of the COC comprise Mr. Dian Gomes, Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, Mr.R. Theagarajah, Mr. Nathan Sivagananathan, Mr. Mahela Jayawardene, Mr. Ranjan Seevaratnam, Ms. Amila Fernando and Mr. Anushman Rajaratnam.

For more information on the Colours of Courage Trust and Trail visit http://www.coloursofcourage.com and http://www.trailsl.com.