Fund raiser for war heroes

Rafik Jalaldeen and Ganga Pradeepa

The Seva Vanitha Unit of the Ministry of Defence, Law and Order will hold a musical show Virudana Gee Sara on May 26 at the BMICH to raise funds for the welfare of disabled servicemen and those in active service.

Addressing a press conference yesterday, Head of the Seva Vanitha Unit of the Ministry of Defence Ayoma Rajapaksa said targeting Rs.15 million, a musical show will be launched for the welfare of families of the Security Forces, those who sacrificed their lives on the battle front and disabled servicemen .

“We have already collected part of this sum from the sponsors and are expecting to collect the balance from the musical show which will be held on May 26”, she added.

“Our main objective is to improve the quality of life of the families of soldiers who are fighting the terrorists and to protect the country from terrorism. Their children and family members are in need of assistance such as housing, education, healthcare etc”, Rajapaksa said.

She asserted that the Seva Vanitha Unit of the Ministry of Defence had contributed in various ways to support the children of members of the Security Forces and their families without any donation or help from outside.

“The family of a Corporal who had sacrificed his life when the LTTE attempted to assassinate the Defence Secretary had been given a fully furnished house.

A child of a soldier who was infected by leukaemia had been financed for cure and on many other occasions children of the Security Forces who sought support for education were offered scholarships.

All support provided by the Seva Vanitha Unit were from the Defence Ministry funds without depending on outside donations “, she said.

Ayoma Rajapaksa said the Ministry of Defence planned to build 50,000 houses for the families of the Security Forces killed in battle and the disabled, as well as soldiers on the war front. “Each housing unit will be built at a cost of Rs.1.4 million and handed over to the families of the Security Forces for Rs.800,000”, she added.

She said considering the welfare of the Security Forces and their grievances, the Ministry of Defence launched a new interest free loan.

“Initially Rs.300,000 will be released as a loan without interest under this project”, she added.

“We hope that the Virudana Gee Sara will bring more benefits for the Security Forces welfare fund as it will be the first such fund raising programme”, Rajapaksa said.