Lions Club Colombo supports ‘Hope for Children’ initiative | Sunday Observer

Lions Club Colombo supports ‘Hope for Children’ initiative

4 March, 2018
(From left) : Lion Lady Hiranya Jayalath (Project Chairperson), Lion Sepala Amarasuriya, Lion Sisira Jayalath, Dr. Lasika Seneviratne (President SLMANA), Dr. Sirima Hethumuni (SLMANA) and Dr.Lareef Idroos (SLMANA)
(From left) : Lion Lady Hiranya Jayalath (Project Chairperson), Lion Sepala Amarasuriya, Lion Sisira Jayalath, Dr. Lasika Seneviratne (President SLMANA), Dr. Sirima Hethumuni (SLMANA) and Dr.Lareef Idroos (SLMANA)

The Lions Club of Colombo (host) with the Sri Lanka Medical Association of North America (West Coast) (SLMANA) supports the ‘Hope for Children’, initiative aimed at providing access to lifesaving medication for children battling cancer.

Children who survive cancer are often left with debilitating effects that can impact their physical development and ability to learn. Given its drastically debilitating impact, Paediatric Cancer is one of five key service areas for Lions and Leos worldwide, which Lions Clubs International has rallied around internationally to expand access to life-saving treatment, and support children and families who need the most help, and give children with cancer a second chance in life.

The Hope for Children project was initiated in 2016 when the Club developed a comprehensive proposal for evaluation by the SLMANA, following discussions with local doctors in charge of Paediatric Oncology Units.

SLMANA in California partnered with the Lions Club of Colombo, to host a fund raiser on October 1 2017, to illustrate challenges facing children diagnosed with cancer. It included interviews, with the head of a major Pediatric Oncology Unit as well as the mother of a child receiving treatment at the hospital, and enabled SLMANA to triple the expected amount of funding for the project.

The first donation of medicines was made in January 2017 to a value exceeding Rs.7 million.

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