The Courage, Compassion and Commitment (CCC) Foundation Inc. confirmed pledges amounting to Rs. 3 million on the very night it launched a fund raising campaign to build a transit home for cancer patients at the cancer hospital in Maharagama. The fund raising project was launched last Thursday in the presence of several representatives of corporate bodies among the attendees. "We received pledges amounting to Rs. 6.5 million out of which Rs. 3 million are already confirmed," Jetha Devapura, Chairman and Founder of CCC Foundation, said. The objective of the fund raiser is to build a transit home, which will be called CCC House, for cancer patients who require outpatient treatment such as radiotherapy and day chemotherapy and do not require intensive supervision. This will allow the cancer hospital to concentrate their stretched thin resources to serious cases. Currently the capacity of the National Cancer Institute, Maharagama, is 650 beds and inpatients amount to 800, so many patients occupy the floor along the corridors. Many of them come to the hospital from remote areas for one day treatment and have no way of reaching their homes. The condition of the hospital is not only painful to the patients, among them children, who suffer the most because their little bodies cannot take the painful treatment easily, but family members too become psychologically scared. Some parents have even committed suicide because they could not do any thing but look on, hopelessly, while their little ones suffered. "This is a very sad and depressing situation," Dr. Kanishka Karunaratne, Director, National Cancer Institute said, "Treatment for cancer is very expensive and the government cannot improve the infrastructure because it spends a lot on medicines." The hospital caters to the whole nation and according Dr. Karunaratne patients from the North and East found their way to Maharagama in shiploads through the ICRC even during the tense of times. Cancer is the fifth common cause of death in Sri Lanka. In 2003, the cure rate was 40 percent (which means that only four out of ten patients were cured). The CCC Foundation and the National Cancer Institute believe that it can improve to 80 percent by 2020 through the CCC House and other ongoing projects by the CCC to improve the lives of both patients and their families who suffer together in Maharagama. CCC Foundation was established in Australia and with its partners, the Royal Children’s Hospital and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre of Melbourne, is working closely with the National Cancer Institute to implement best practice oncology treatment and care for both children and adults through training visits of medical staff from Australia to Maharagama. The foundation has already raised funds for a paediatric ward in 2005 and a 14 bed children’s ward which was opened in 2006. The CCC House will be located at the rear of the Cancer Hospital and will provide accommodation for 140 outpatients. The estimated cost of the project is Rs. 175 million. How you can donate… Since the Cancer hospital opened its doors to the public, individuals and organisations have stepped in to dispense much needed aid and spend time with the patients. Many corporate organisations have even made a visit to the hospital an annual event in their CSR calendars, sharing some of their profits to improve conditions for the patients. For businesses, CSR is all about improving their corporate images no matter what they may say. But then again, intensions don’t matter when another human being is given a helping hand. Perhaps we should look through CSR projects ‘advertised in the press to boost PR’ and be grateful that someone is indeed doing something. After all, a corporate entity includes its human beings. Perhaps the greatest thing that comes out of a CSR project at the cancer hospital is when corporate employees spend time with the children, entertaining and playing with them. How happy they must be to laugh, or even smile, if only for a while? We can make a difference. So maybe you can ask your company to do something. Go ahead…try. Even if your company has other plans; there’s still you! Corporate establishments have the opportunity to sponsor a child’s room for Rs. 1 million, an adult cubicle for Rs. 0.6 million or even donate towards the expenses for furniture and fittings. Individuals can make their contributions with the option of volunteering to spend time with the children at the cancer hospital. For more information contact:CCC Foundation, 47 Alexandra Place, Colombo 7, 0777 675708, Email-info@cccfoundation.org.au, Web-www.cccfoundation.org.au |
