Shangri-La partners Dialog Foundation to provide relief to Easter Sunday victims

• Shangri-La’s donation to enable long-term educational support for children affected by tragic incidents of Easter Sunday

Following the tragic incidents of Easter Sunday, Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo, made a generous donation towards the Rally to Care initiative by Dialog Foundation, which will enable long-term educational support to a segment of affected children until the age of 19.

Dialog Axiata Group Chief Executive Supun Weerasinghe presents a Certificate of Appreciation to Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo Vice President and General Manager Timothy Wright, recognising Shangri-La’s generous contribution towards the Rally to Care initiative by Dialog Foundation

Additionally, Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo, will also host an educational and psychosocial program filled with entertaining activities at its premises for the children affected by the tragic events of Kochchikade during Easter Sunday. Close to 90 children are expected to attend this program conducted jointly with St. Anthony’s Church, Kochchikade.

Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo Vice President and General Manager Timothy Wright commented, “Our heartfelt sympathies and support continue to be with the families and loved ones of those affected by the incidents in Sri Lanka on 21 April. Shangri-La stands united with the Sri Lankan community and we are glad to be a part of the Rally to Care initiative that will help provide long-term educational support in aid of affected families and school-going children.”

Dialog Axiata PLC Group Chief Executive Supun Weerasinghe said, “We are grateful to Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo, for their generous contribution towards the Rally to Care initiative, which has further supplemented our fund in providing long-term educational support to affected children.”

Relief efforts are already underway through the fund, which was initiated with the setup of the Life Healing Centre in Katuwapitiya to provide psychosocial rehabilitation support to affected families and the entire community. With its team of 20 professional counsellors, 10 psychotherapists and 17 psychiatrists, over 770 children, young adults and adults have been counselled and treated at the Life Healing Centre, and 200 house visits have been conducted for affected families to help recover and cope with the tragic incidents. EDMR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing), a type of specialised individual/interactive psychotherapy has been conducted for 85 people, and ‘Healing Wounds of Trauma’ group therapy sessions (34 five-day sessions) have been carried out, to date.

As an aid to the healing process, radio units were provided to affected families to listen to CDs containing counselling programs. Additionally, Rally to Care began airing counselling and spiritual programs on Seth FM 103.1 in Katuwapitiya and surrounding cities from mid-May 2019 for a period of three months. A medical screening camp was also conducted for those in need in Katuwapitiya, and vouchers to purchase prescribed medication were provided as required. In Batticaloa, the relief disbursement activities to provide long-term educational support to 71 students were initiated. Furthermore, school bags with stationery were provided for affected children in Katuwapitiya and Batticaloa. Complete eye check-ups were also conducted, after which required spectacles were subsequently provided to those in need in Katuwapitiya and Batticaloa.  The Rally to Care initiative, together with its partners World Vision Lanka, Sarvodaya, My Doctor, Vision Care and the Ratmalana Audiology Centre, will continue relief efforts to support families that were affected by the tragic incidents of 21 April.  Visit http://dialogfoundation.org/rallytocare for more information and further updates on the Rally to Care initiative.