Army Contributes Lavishly to Save Dying ‘Little Ones’

Concerned members of the Army under the guidance of the Commander of the Army, Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake, in another well-earned gesture of generosity and appreciation of efforts this morning (10) donated a sum of Rs 70 million towards the 'Little Hearts' fund-raising project, initiated by the government.

Lieutenant General Senanayake after meeting HE the President Maithripala Sirisena at the Presidential Secretariat Office presented the well-deserved donation, offered voluntarily by all members in the Army as their half day's salary.

The Army, now fast transforming into a capacity-based one has been working hand in hand with other nation-building tasks taking place across the country. Realizing the gravity of the danger, faced by our little ones due to incidence of Congenital Heart Disease (CHD), more popularly known as the 'hole in the heart' disease, the Commander of the Army in coordination with government authorities pledged the Army's financial support for construction of the proposed 10 storied hospital wing, called the Cardiac and Critical Care Complex (CCCC) in the LRH Hospital premises in Borella.

The Commander maintains that the Army after restoration of peace has the moral obligation of developing the country in whatever the way possible and requested all Army members to cooperate with the project which would feature Cardiac Operating Theatres, increased numbers of Cardiac ICU beds, 100 more medical and neonatal intensive care beds, etc upon completion.

Nearly 10 out of 1000 infants of the country die before they reach their first birth day due to CHD which is the main cause of infant deaths in Sri Lanka.

President Sirisena, in turn, handed the cheque to Dr. Duminda Samarasighe and the member, Sumedha Ranasighe of the ‘Little Hearts Fund’.

Major General (Dr) Sanjeewa Munasinghe, Director General Army Health Services (DGAHS) was also present at the occasion. Several representatives of the Army were also there.