Singer employees help needy elders

Fifty elders in remote areas are now able to lead a more comfortable life thanks to the generosity of the employees of Singer Group. Twenty of them are from remote areas in Moneragala, considered the poorest district in Sri Lanka, the company said. “When Singer joined hands with the National Secretariat for Elders to expand the programme to care for helpless elders, it did not anticipate such an enthusiastic response from the employees. Within a short space of time over half a million rupees was collected from employees at all levels which will help the 50 elders for the next three years,” the statement added.

A cheque for Rs 520,650 was handed over to the Minister of Social Welfare Douglas Devananda recently. Acknowledging the donation made by the Singer employees, Secretariat Director Geethamani Karunaratne has stated that the money will be sent in advance to the Divisional Secretariats to cover a four-month period. The Rights Protection officers will visit the selected elders personally and hand over the money.

Apart from the 20 elders from Monaragala, the others have been selected from Polonnaruwa (11), Nuwara Eliya (5), Galle (5), Kandy (5) and Anuradhapura (4).