Much-needed chairs bring smiles to mothers at SJH children’s ward
Dr. Nihal Jayathilaka presents a ‘thank you’ letter to Saroja, while Umesh, Dr. Rathnasiri Hewage (far left) and Dr. Mihira Manamperi look on
The aluth avuruddu dawned for Ward 1, the Paediatric Ward of the Sri Jayewardenepura General Hospital, Kotte, with auspicious tidings this week.
While there was no fanfare, only the avurudu table organized by the staff of Ward 1 headed by Consultant Paediatrician Dr. Mihira Manamperi and a beautiful bouquet of flowers, the appreciation of everyone including the hospital’s top brass and the little patients’ mothers was obvious.
The very vibes in the air said it all, as newly-weds Saroja Gunatilleke and Umesh Tennakoon shyly and with much humility made a much-awaited donation which would go a long way in easing the weariness and discomfort of mothers who are compelled to have long stays in the ward with their ill children.
Six blue recliner chairs were the offering of Saroja and Umesh to Ward 1’s High Dependency Unit (HDU) where critically-ill children get healing.
It was also not just any donation, but one of love – with the tale of generosity blossoming in September last year (2023) when the Sunday Times in an article headlined ‘Turning a children’s ward into a home away from home’ appealed for ‘Help to get comfy chairs for the mothers’.
Amidst the excitement and multitude of things to be organized, bride-to-be Saroja had seen the article and made contact with the ward. The couple’s decision was unanimous – no wedding tamasha but a simple lunch for family and friends and whatever funds saved to be channelled to charity work including some chairs for this Paediatric Ward. (Incidentally, Saroja was the first Sri Lankan insurance professional back in 2012 to qualify as a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, the chartered professional body for actuaries in the United Kingdom.)
Saroja hands over a chair as a mother smiles in gratitude. Pix by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
……And so it was that Saroja and Umesh who tied the knot in March, were at the Paediatric Ward on April 16 to present the chairs worth Rs. 360,000.
When they intimated to their friends that they valued their ‘presence’ rather than their ‘presents’ at the wedding, some of them too had chipped in towards this worthy cause, they said, while Dr. Manamperi detailed how the staff prevailed on the willing manufacturer to get the chair design right. The design includes four lockable wheels, leg-rests, arm-rests, cushioned seat and back-rest with the material being washable rexine to prevent soiling as opposed to cloth.
Expressing his heart-felt appreciation of the donation, hospital Chairperson Dr. Nihal Jayathilaka hoped that this young couple’s initiative would set a trend among others.
Hospital Director Dr. Rathnasiri A. Hewage added that the donation was a good and blessed start to the couple’s wedded life.
As the plastic chairs in the HDU were put aside and the donated chairs were wheeled into place, no words were needed – the smiles on the faces of the six mothers, from far and near, said it all.
A comfort zone in the form of a chair to rest their weary bodies and have a catnap when their little ones, wracked by fever, cough or headache, fell asleep for a brief spell.
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