Hyundai bats for Dream Cricket

Hyundai Lanka Ltd. announced the sponsorship of Dream Cricket Day 2018 series in Sri Lanka. Dream Cricket Days (DCDs) will be held this month in Colombo, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Jaffna. 

Spearheaded by the Rotary Club of Colombo West (RCCW), Dream Cricket Day Colombo will see 100 differently-abled children enjoying the game of cricket on Saturday 20 October at Hyde Park, Colombo.

In the forthcoming 4 Dream Cricket Days, hundreds of differently able children will be able to enjoy different aspects of the game of cricket, in a welcoming social setting. The children will be exposed to a series of activities aimed at improving their cricket skills like catching, throwing, running and batting.

Having intellectual and physical disabilities (e.g. autism) that prevent them from taking part in normal sports, the participants will end the day with a game of ‘Run-Out Cricket’. Participants and organisers at the event will include national players, Rotarians, Rotaractors, and the general public.

Commenting on the four DCDs lined up for this month, Dream Cricket Ambassador in Sri Lanka Rotarian Sebastian Karunakaran stated: “As the Dream Cricket Ambassador in Sri Lanka, I am proud to say that we have held Dream Cricket Days (DCDs) eight times in the past six years – sometimes holding two DCDs in the same year. This would not have been possible if not for the generous funding we received from Hyundai Lanka – for so many years. I also wish to thank Dream Cricket Ambassador from Australia Rick McCarthy for his passion, support of, and deep commitment to hold Dream Cricket Days in Sri Lanka through his very presence at most of the DCDs we have held in the past – including the 4 to follow.”

Rotarian Rohina Macan Markar, President of the Rotary Club of Colombo West, stated: “Dream Cricket Day is a heart-warming experience. The unbroken record of DCDs we have organised in the past six years bears witness to our commitment to this event which provides fun, entertainment, and learning for marginalised youngsters of our land.”

Hyundai Lanka Managing Director Rotarian Heinz Reuter stated: “We take great pride in supporting Dream Cricket in Sri Lanka for so many years. We firmly believe, as did Sir Donald Bradman, that the game of cricket can be a powerful character-builder – and we are certain that Dream Cricket Days in Sri Lanka are a great opportunity for differently able children to participate in sports and build their self-esteem.”

Dream Cricket was conceived by Doctor Ronald Bigg, after witnessing first-hand the positive transformation of differently able children who participated in American Miracle League Baseball. Not finding a similar movement in Australia, Bigg, in association with the Movement Disorder Foundation, Rotary Club of Southern Highlands, and the Bradman Foundation, created Dream Cricket for differently able children.

Dream Cricket activities include table cricket, batting drills, target throwing, and bowl-offs: activities of varying difficulty that ensure a wide range of differently able children can benefit and grow from the experience.

The objective of Dream Cricket Day is to maximise the quality of the sporting experience for differently able children. Dream Cricket provides a model for schools and communities to follow by arranging similar activities in their own areas and thereby raising the standard of citizenship and behaviour through education, exposure, discipline, and enjoyment.

The Rotary Club of Colombo West is part of Rotary International District 3220, encompassing Sri Lanka and the Maldives. The club was chartered in 1961, and has engaged in many community service projects to contribute to Sri Lanka’s progress and well-being, including provision of life-saving medical equipment, teaching English to children, performing cataract operations for the indigent, and sponsoring the highest number of youth service clubs (10 Interact and Rotaract clubs) that serve more than 1,000 youngsters every year. The club’s membership includes several illustrious citizens of the land, including three past District Governors of Rotary International District 3220.