President to open Tellippalai Trail Cancer Hospital today

The fully-equipped, state-of-the-art Tellippalai Trail Cancer Hospital will be opened today by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, exemplifying a dream that former Thomian, Nathan Sivagananathan and ex-Royal wicket-keeper batsman Sarinda Unamboowe shared and fulfilling a nation's hope, a nation's unity and a testament of courage and a collective fight against cancer.

The success of the Trail has made that dream a reality today. It is two years, since Trail - A Journey by the Living - For Life, a walk from Devundera to Point Pedro ended in July 2011. The dream was to raise US $ 2 million to build a cancer hospital in the North.

An entire hospital ward of thirty beds and accommodation for medical and nursing staff comprising 15,000 square feet, part of the larger Tellippalai Trail Cancer Hospital complex will be named 'Ratna and Meropi Sivaratnam Ward'.

The most recent single largest donation towards the completion of the Tellippalai Trail Cancer Hospital was from Dr Dinesh Sivaratnam who contributed Rs. 45 million in memory of his parents Ratna and Meropi, in helping patients with cancer. This donation is in line with the philosophy with which they all lived in making a positive difference in people's lives. Other donations in the recent past include a grant of Rs. 12.6 million for state-of-the-art medical equipment to the paediatric unit at the Jaffna Teaching Hospital from Rotary Colombo East with the support of two matching grants from the Rotary Foundation and partnered by its international Rotary partners Rotary district 6920 Georgia, USA and Rotary District 3230 Chennai India who assisted in obtaining the equipment.

Trial which was co-founded by the Royal-Thomian combination of Sarinda and Nathan is a project in collaboration with the Colours of Courage Trust, a non-profit organisation founded in 2008, dedicated to uplifting treatment facilities at the National Cancer Institute, Maharagama.

To date the Colours of Courage Trust has carried out several successful fund raising events, the proceeds of which have been used to build the Medical and Surgical Intensive Care Units at the National Cancer Institute.

- Asian Tribune