Pens and pencils to get those little hearts go ‘boom boody-boom boody-boom’
A pooja from pens and pencils. Pix by Indika Handuwala
Just buy a pen or a pencil and help swell the funds being collected to save the little hearts of Sri Lanka……..and it is not just an ordinary pen, but a first in the country, for its shape is triangular.
This was the heartfelt plea of Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Duminda Samarasinghe who is Chairperson of the Little Hearts Project, as all those seated at the podium raised high the simplest tools everyone uses daily.
Journalists who attended the media briefing in the auditorium of the Lady Ridgeway Hospital (LRH) for Children were earlier left wondering why at the registration table, instead of the usual pen and paper, three pens all in blue, black and red and two pencils with the ‘trademark’ of a tiny heart on them, were handed over. The reason why, of course, dawned as the briefing commenced, with the explanation flowing forth from Dr. Samarasinghe.
DSL Enterprises Founder Asitha Wijerathne (left) and Dr. Duminda Samarasinghe
“They are of good quality, so favour these pens and pencils,” he reiterated, adding that for each pen, a man, woman or child bought at Rs. 20, DSL Enterprises (Pvt.) Ltd., is set to donate or offer as pooja, Rs. 4 for the Little Hearts Project and from each pencil costing Rs. 20, there would be a channelling of Rs. 2.50.
The target of the company is to donate Rs. 50 million within the next three months, through the sale of ‘Speed Little Hearts pens’ and ‘Camlin Little Hearts pencils’.
“Since its inception DSL Enterprises (Pvt.) Ltd has focused on developing safe, innovative ideas. With the recent re-structuring process of the organization, the management wished to participate in a corporate social responsibility project, selecting the Little Hearts Project as we felt that it was the most deserving of our attention,” said Founder and Group Managing Director, Asitha Wijerathne.
Slow and steady has been the progress of the Little Hearts Project with a target of Rs. 2 billion, with everyone chipping in to ensure that this national need of a Cardiac and Critical Care Complex at the LRH sees the light of day.
While children queued up to donate their precious keta salli (money in tills) and women offered their hambili, prisoners sacrificed a meal to donate those funds and a group of doctors based in England teamed up with some locals to cycle from south to north, to collect funds for the Little Hearts Project.
College of Paediatricians President Dr. LakKumar Fernando
So far, rupee by rupee, the Little Hearts Project has collected Rs. 176 million and Dr. Samarasinghe says that all the monies go into the National Health Development Fund. All contributions are tax-free.
“Look out of the window from this floor and you will see the piling work being carried out by the Navy since April,” he says, adding how “blessings” come in different forms. The Navy which has undertaken the construction work on the instructions of President Maithripala Sirisena is ‘donating’ its labour absolutely free of charge, with funds being needed only for the building material, thus saving a lot of money for the Little Hearts Project, drastically cutting costs by about 50%.
The vision of the Little Hearts Project initiated by the Sri Lanka College of Paediatricians is a state-of-the-art 10-storey Cardiac and Critical Care Complex at the LRH for, the numbers are heart-rending.
Prof. Harendra de Silva is fully supportive
Aptly, the symbol of the Little Hearts Project is a bright red heart with a hole in it, depicting the plight of thousands of children living across Sri Lanka.
Every year, 3,000 babies are born with congenital heart disease and the LRH — the only tertiary-care referral centre for all those little patients ranging from newborns to 12-year-olds — performs 900 cardiac surgeries and 700 catheter-based interventions each year. With the envisioned Cardiac and Critical Care Complex, hopes are high of increasing the number of cardiac surgeries to 2,000 and catheter-based interventions to 1,000.
What is the need, is answered simply – if not, all these babies will not be able to blow out the candles on their next birthday cake.
“The expertise, skills and care, on par or even better than at centres across the world, are available in abundance, but the lacuna is a dedicated Cardiac and Critical Care Complex not only for children with heart trouble but also newborns and children suffering from other critical illnesses,” says Dr. Samarasinghe.
| President to lay foundation stone tomorrow | |
| President Maithripala Sirisena will lay the foundation stone for the Cardiothoracic and Critical Care Complex tomorrow (October 2) at 8.30 a.m. at the premises of the premier Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children in Colombo.
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| Please help in whatever way you can | |
| Every cent and every rupee count, is the plea of Little Hearts Project Chairperson Dr. Duminda Samarasinghe. So, please send whatever you can to the Bank of Ceylon Account No. 79738633 with the Account Name: ‘Little Hearts’ at the Borella branch. Secure online donations may also be made through the website: www.littlehearts.lk For more details, please contact the hotline: 0716441122
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