SUROL organises fundraiser to renew lives of leprosy patients

SUROL (Society for Upliftment and Rehabilitation of Leprosy Affected Persons) is organising a fundraiser dinner event on 2 June from 7 p.m. onwards at the Grand Ballroom, Water’s Edge.  The evening promises to be an entertaining one with a special demonstration from Australian Master Chef Kumar Pereira and a four-course dinner with live music. All proceeds from the event will be used for the further development and upliftment of leprosy affected persons. 

SUROL is a registered charity organisation which is committed and dedicated towards rehabilitating leprosy affected disabled individuals with the intention of helping them return to their communities and rebuild their lives with dignity and self-respect whilst building public awareness to removes the stigma that is often associated with leprosy. 

Founded and set up in 1971 the organisation was nurtured and brought to what it is today due to the exemplary and admirable work of the Redemptorist priest, late Rev. Fr. Glen Fernando. SUROL works with the strong aim of reducing the number of leprosy sufferers and has adopted a non-religious, non-sectarian and non-partisan strategy for the society which has been crucial in establishing harmonious relationships with other relief organisations and members worldwide. 

SUROL has rapidly expanded into many key provinces around the island and is currently supporting over 260 leprosy affected individuals and 54 children. The field staff regularly visit the affected persons to ease their feelings of rejection or ostracisation while promoting acceptance among the communities. The most recent project was the gifting of over 300 hampers during the Sinhala and Tamil New year.

“As a society, we need to support these individuals and ensure that they lead a normal life just like any other person. SUROL is working diligently towards achieving this goal and our fundraiser event will help us take our service one step further. There is a lot of unseen and unheard pain that these patients and their families experience. It is our duty as responsible citizens to ensure they have a better life,” commented Hony. General Secretary, Rev. Fr. Neil Dias Karunaratne.