Pears ‘Safe Hands’ embraces children of Welikanda

Saturday, 17 March 2012 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Pears, the most experienced baby toiletries brand in Sri Lanka handed over the renovated and refurbished maternity and children’s ward of the Welikanda Hospital to medical authorities recently, again confirming its commitment to the needy children of this country. The renovation was carried out as the 18th Pears ‘Safe Hands’ project, spending more than Rs. 3 million.

In addition to the renovation of wards and installation of much needed child-care equipment , a new children’s play area has been constructed and a complete face-lift has been given to the children’s section showing the efficiency of public - private partnerships that generate social wealth.

Welikanda Hospital Chief Medical Officer Dr. Pradeep Mendis said, “This is the only hospital in this area that serves a large number of people. The children’s ward of our hospital had many shortages. With the support of Pears it has now become a fully fledged, well equipped child-care unit.” He also stated that it is important to take care of both physical and psychological needs of a sick child to ensure his/her complete recovery and with the assistance of Pears, the hospital has received adequate facilities to attend to all of these requirements.

“We believe that small progressive actions can make a big difference in the society we operate in,” said Unilever Sri Lanka Director – Personal Care Ramani Samarasundera. “With this strong conviction, we have continued this journey for nearly 10 years and the hospitals we have renovated have touched the lives of more than two million Sri Lankan kids. Samarasundera further emphasised that, although Unilever Pears initiated this hospital development project, the entire nation has contributed towards this initiative, as this is a self-funded program where a certain contribution is channelled to the fund from every Pears item that is sold.

Pears Snr. Brand Manager Kasun Liyanage stated, “Pears is a brand dedicated in building a safe future for Sri Lankan babies and mothers. We have renovated 18 hospitals from Hambantota to Jaffna via the Pears Safe Hands Program. It is a great pleasure to support the health and well being of kids living in underprivileged areas.” Liyanage also stated that Pears will be revitalizing the ‘Pears Safe Hands’ program in the near future to further enhance its social wealth generations initiative.

Welikanda was a border village that excessively suffered during the ethnic conflict. “During the war we endured a lot of hardships. We did not have a proper way to receive treatment for our kids as the hospital did not have the required facilities. Now with the help of the Pears Safe Hands Project our children’s ward has improved and we sincerely thank Unilever,” said a contented mother, whose child is undergoing treatment at the newly renovated hospital.

The handing-over ceremony was conducted with the participation of villagers, Ven Thero of Welikanda Temple, Chairman – Provincial Council, Commander of the Security Forces in the East, Major General Lal Perera and Unilever Activation Manager Nilantha Swaris and other well-wishers.