Etisalat salutes Sri Lanka’s Brave Hearts

The Sri Lanka Seva Vanitha Army Branch (SVAB) under the aegis of the Commander of the Army, Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya USP, ndu, psc has launched a project ‘Brave Hearts’ to build a resort type wellness center “Abhimansala” on the banks of the Nuwera Wewa in Anuradhapura to house and provide lifelong care for 52 totally disabled war heroes.

In a move to uplift the livelihood of those soldiers, Etisalat Lanka is involved in constructing a cottage at “Abhimansala”. Etisalat strongly supports, the SVAB’s main objective of providing welfare facilities to the next of kin of war heroes who sacrificed their lives for the Nation, war heroes missing in action, and those injured while in action.

Recent statistics show that there are more than 300 totally disabled soldiers with multiple injuries ranging from spinal cord, brain damage and many other disabilities such as amputations, impaired hearing, vision, speech defects, paralysis and so on. Most of these War Heroes are in the prime of their youth, although afflicted with permanent disabilities.

Majority of them are wheelchair or bed ridden or have impaired mobility, requiring a variety of assisting devices.

Therefore, post injury care is vital for their survival. However, most of them face difficulty once they go home, as the infrastructure is inadequate to accommodate their needs.

Most importantly, specialised nursing care needed by some, cannot be obtained at domestic level. Etisalat CEO, Dumindra Ratnayaka said that “we are aware that post war rehabilitation is a long and effortful process and as a company we want to do anything in the power to assist this recovery.

We want to show the appreciation and admiration to the soldiers and recognise the fact that now; it is our turn to help them and the country.

Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya said, this is a very “special community” in our country that has taken over a magnanimous burden in the name of the country and are now burdened with traumatic experiences.

He further said, “Today the Army is in a period of transition from a “fighting Army” to a ‘Peace time Army’.