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Wednesday Dec 11, 2024
Saturday, 19 September 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
‘Sound of Hope’, a musical fundraiser organised by a group of volunteers and the Management Committee of the Boys Industrial Home, to uplift the current facility which is located at 490/4, Havelock Road, Colombo 6, will be held on Saturday, 26 September at 6:30 p.m. at the British School Auditorium.
This musical extravaganza will bring together choirs and artists, including Voice Print, the LG Singers, the British School Choir, the Methodist College Choir, the children’s choir of the Revelations Academy, and Shayami and Chadash, all of whom will be performing free of charge for this very worthy cause.
Tickets are priced at Rs. 5,000, Rs. 3,000, Rs. 2,000 and Rs. 1,000 and could be purchased at 108 A Maya Avenue, Colombo 6 between 8:45 a.m. – 5:45 p.m. on weekdays. Contact Melanie on 0717019747, Supun 0755341041 or Vasantha 0773012992.
Set up in March 1890, the Boys’ Industrial Home and Orphanage (BIH) is 125 years old. It is one of the oldest homes in Sri Lanka and is a haven for orphans and boys who have no home, or need to be removed from their present environment due to tragic family circumstances caused by various addictions, abuse or mere abject poverty.
The BIH is one of the homes under the umbrella of the Methodist Church, Sri Lanka and is run by a Management Committee, whose Chairman J.C.S. Rohitha De Silva is also the Chairman of the Central District of the Church. A Warden is resident on the premises and a dedicated and committed sub-committee, inclusive of a treasurer and secretary, guide the work of the home. The accounts of the BIH are audited by an independent firm of chartered accountants.
At present the BIH has 25 boys; 14 boys under the age of 12 and 11 between 13 and 19 years of age attending Wesley College. The BIH spends a sum of Rs. 6,000 per child per month on food, and clothes as well as their medical needs. This is in addition to the amount spent on their education and extra-curricular activities.
The dire need of providing better living conditions for the children, prompted the committee to embark on this fund raiser, as an initial effort. The proceeds of the musical will be donated towards uplifting the current facility which is over 125 years old. Plans have been drawn up for two new dormitories, a library, a computer laboratory and sick room.
It is also the intention of the committee to use part of the existing facility as a hostel for those who leave the BIH after their schooling and need accommodation in Colombo to pursue training/employment, as well as to rent out a section of the home so that the BIH can be sustained.
The BIH is not funded by any external or Sri Lankan funding agency and the necessary funds have been generated by donations of friends of the BIH.
“While raising funds for the new facility, we need to raise funds in tandem, for the day to day expenses as well,” said the committee.
