Sun Match illuminating 200th life with prosthetic limb

Sun Match Chairman and Managing Director Deshamanya Suri Rajan, Director/Chief Marketing Officer Gowri Rajan, and the Sun Match team at the event

The household company in Kundasale, Sun Match Company, recently lighted up the 200th life by providing another batch of needy amputees with limbs, giving them the ability to walk again. 

This event held on 31 January, coincides with the 20th death anniversary of the Sun Match Company Founder and late Chairman T.R.R. Rajan, who was instrumental in introducing the safety wax matches to Sri Lanka.

Jaan, a recipient of a limb at the event said, “Everybody is planning to celebrate freedom on 4 February but no one knows that the most fundamental celebration of freedom is when a blind man can see and when a person like me can walk again.”

The Kundasale based company in the Kandy district, drives the most amazing philanthropy operation which helps people walk again, branded ‘Nawatha Avidemu’, from the Centre for Handicapped in Kandy. The late T.R.R. Rajan who was a respected philanthropist, was also the Chairman of the Centre for Handicapped. Due to his leadership and his team’s credibility in Sri Lanka, globally reputed agencies such as USAID and NORAD have partnered the Centre for Handicap in the project. 

“Nawatha Avidemu has been acknowledged not only by global humanitarian organisations but also the Central Government Sri Lanka,” said Gowri Rajan the founder’s daughter who is the Director/Chief Marketing Officer of the company. 

The selection of beneficiaries are identified prior to the event, where specifications are obtained to ensure that each of the prosthetics are custom made. This helps to mimic the natural movement of their real limbs and provide a high level of comfort, mobility and stability. The significance of this event in Kundasale was the numerous testimonials from Sri Lankans, who have been able to improve their quality of life as a result of receiving a donated limb. This has resulted in getting access to employment opportunities and wiping away the stigma associated with the handicap.

“This initiative therefore is a shining example of what can be achieved when an organisation prioritises in giving back to the community, making a positive difference in the lives of those in need and helping to create a more inclusive and accessible,” said Gowri Rajan who is also the first woman to serve as Rotary Governor for Sri Lanka and Maldives. 

Deshamanya Suri Rajan, brother of T.R.R. Rajan and Chairman and Managing Director of Sun Match Company addressing event said, “The greatest reward of supporting amputees through limb donation, is the satisfaction of helping someone regain their ability of walking, which is why we have branded the project as ‘Nawatha Avidimu’. To be honest, the joy it spreads is not only to the recipient but also the donor,” he added.

The Sun Match Company celebrates its founder’s passion with the Nawatha Avidemu project which has been in existence for three decades and amplifies the character of the founder’s ethos to running a company with market power brands like Soorya , the first wax manufacturer in Sri Lanka which has now ventured out to other illumination category products such as incense sticks, candles, recently launching the Sun hygiene products and Sun online E commerce platform which was done to link the requirement of people.