22nd February 2022 09:17:38 Hours
A mega community-oriented project that provided spectacles, solar panels, farming and school accessories and coconut saplings to deserving communities in Mullaittivu and Kilinochchi areas got underway on Saturday (12) with sponsorships provided by own Army troops, ‘Manusath Derana’ programme and the Suwa Shanthi Hospital at Anuradhapura.
Over 550 visually-impaired civilians living in Mullaittivu and Kilinochchi areas were examined in the mobile eye-clinic, held in both areas and spectacles were distributed free of charge in an attempt to alleviate their economic hardships and due to their inability to afford the cost of those medical needs.
The multifaceted project, initiated by Major General Sanjaya Wanasingha, Commander, Security Forces - Mullaittivu to be in line with the ongoing “Army Way Forward Strategy 2020-2025” of the Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army, General Shavendra Silva, in which enhancement of public welfare projects has been recommended in order to demonstrate the Army's magnanimity towards the welfare of deserving people as an organization with a ‘Heart’.
Similarly, the ‘Manusath Derana’ of the ‘Derana’ TV joined the troops and donated a stock of solar panels, power generators and pesticide spray tanks for distribution among needy families in the area who are without electricity in remote areas.
During the full-day project, Brigadier Nishantha Muthumala, Commander, 572 Brigade with his troops meanwhile pocketed out their own money and donated school accessories to 100 deserving students. At the same occasion, 50 coconut saplings were also given away to the civilians in the area in order to encourage them for cultivation of coconut saplings.
Major General Priyantha Jayawardena, General Officer Commanding, 57 Division, together with Brigadier Nishantha Muthumala, Commander, 572 Brigade were associated with the chain of those welfare measures considering the poverty-factor in the areas.
6 Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment and 14 Sri Lanka National Guard troops of the 57 Division were instrumental in organizing those community projects with the intention of further promoting civil-military cooperation and helping them to overcome their economic difficulties.
All facilities and transport arrangements, related to those projects were provided by Army troops in those respective areas, inclusive of refreshments.
