Pancha Maha Balavegaya donates over Rs 1m for heart surgery

The heart fund organised by Nawaloka Hospitals, the Bank of Ceylon and Dr Mrs Soma Edirisinghe, received over Rs 1 million in donations from the Pancha Maha Balavegaya in Ratnapura (Sanga Veda Guru Govi and Kamkaru) at a ceremony organised recently at the Ratnapura Mudduwa Sirisumana Temple Hall.

The Mahanayake of Ekneligoda Sector Chief, Ven. Madalagama Vajira Buddhi and Chief Priest of Millapitiya Vidyabiwardana Pirivena, Scholar Ven.Kongasthanne Ananda, Prof. of the Sinhala section at the Ruhunu University and Chief Priest of Mudduwa Sri Sumana Pirivena Vageeswara Pandith Keerthi Sri Abeyraja, Ven. Denagama Piyadassi, Ratnapura and District Chief Adikarana Sanganayaka were also present.

Minister of Youth Affairs Pavithra Devi Wanniarachchi, Founder of the Dr.Soma Edirisinghe Punarjeewa Fund Dr. Mrs. Soma Edirisinghe, staff of Nawaloka Hospital and over two-thousand residents of the Ratnapura District participated.

Over 33,000 heart patients are in imminent need of heart surgery in Sri Lanka and due to the long waiting lists at the National hospitals, Nawaloka Hospitals together with the Punarjeewa Fund decided to launch a fund for urgent heart surgeries on World Heart Day.

Of the temples and pirivenas of the Ratnapura District, the Viharadhipathi of the Ratnapura Saddammalankara Pirivena, Ven. Denagama Piyadassi and Viharadhipathi of the Mulamahawihara Vidyabignani, Ven. Ahuliyadde Athula made a special contribution to this fund.

Dr. W.M. Podimenike, owner of the Ketawala Danwanthari Medical Centre in Opatha and the principal and students of Ferguson Girls' High School, Ratnapura also made donations. A street drama too was staged.