A charity ride
View(s):By Smriti Daniel
Growing up, Rohan and Ishan De Lanerolle remember celebrating some birthdays at the Ceylon School for the Deaf and the Blind (CSDB). It was part of a tradition of supporting the school that their parents first began. It’s a relationship that’s lasted and the brothers will soon take to the stage with cricketer Kumar Sangakkara to raise funds for CSDB and the estimated 700 hearing and sight impaired children who rely on its three residential schools in Jaffna and Ratmalana.
Ishan, Kumar and Rohan: Uniting for a charitable cause.Pic by Indika Handuwala
The children receive empowering educations and vocational training at the pioneering institute, which is governed by the Diocese of Colombo and managed by a Board of Trustees of which the Bishop of Colombo is the Chairperson. “It’s good for us to do something again for them,” Ishan says of CSDB. “They’re something special.” He sees the differently abled children who attend the school as very talented in their own right.
While Ishan and Rohan are excited about the funds they can contribute to CSDB, they’re also pleased to find themselves allied with Kumar’s Bikes for Life initiative. “For us, it’s about supporting each other’s charities as well.”
“Rohan and I do a lot of charity work but the reason we wanted to do this was because it was a very special project,” Ishan told the Sunday Times “We believe in empowering people,” he said, pointing that encouraging access to education was one of the most reliable ways to go about it. For him, their charity work is inextricably linked with what it means to be a good citizen. “I believe that a thirty year war, the devastation it has caused in the lives of people, cannot be made right overnight by anyone,” said the singer, sharing his hope that the combined efforts of the people all over the country will be key to making progress.
Fans of the brothers and cricketing icon Kumar will have a chance to pose with them for pictures but Ishan say there will be exclusive merchandise for sale as well, the proceeds of which will be directed to the charities. A highlight will be a limited edition of the tea that the De Lanerolles supplied for Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee. It was served in Westminster Hall at a royal luncheon, attended by the Queen herself and other dignitaries, including President Mahinda Rajapakse.
In terms of music, Ishan promised a string of 60s and 70s hits from their repertoire. However for Ishan, sharing the stage with Kumar might just be the highlight of the evening. “Apart from being the best in cricket in the world, currently ranked number 1, he’s also a wonderful human being and a wonderful ambassador for Sri Lanka,” he says, adding that “I’m sure our country will use him in an even better way in the future.”
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