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CHAPTER 18

A beacon of hope from AYATI

he Hambantota experience opened the eyes of the Hemas Group to the situation The need of the hour in 2016 was a national level, collaborative and sustainable centre
Tof children with disabilities and their families. These vulnerable children were for these children and this was what the Hemas Outreach Foundation set its sights on.
shunned and stigmatized and giving a part of the Hambantota Preschool at Alokapura The initial measure in September that year was the setting up of the AYATI Trust Sri
to them was just a drop in the ocean of the magnitude of troubles they were facing. Lanka by the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Kelaniya and Hemas Holdings
PLC with the aim of improving the quality of life of children with physical and mental
The Hemas team pondered over this burning issue and wondered what they could do disabilities. The public awareness campaigns about AYATI had been launched with a
about it. When expressing her views to the then Chief Executive Officer of the Hemas media briefing to explain the concept.
Group, Steven Enderby, the Executive Director of the Hemas Outreach Foundation,
Shiromi Masakorala, had been urged to “think big” and come up with a plan if they “AYATI,” explains Shiromi, “is the Sanskrit word for ‘hope’ with the proviso of
were considering some programme for these children. Manushathwaya Samanai (Equality of Humanity).”

Asking around, the Hemas team had found that the Faculty of Medicine of the The key objectives of the AYATI Trust Sri Lanka are:
University of Kelaniya had established a Disability Study Unit in 1995. But the 300 sq.ft • Construction of a National Centre for Children with Disabilities and
2-room clinic filling a long-felt lacuna with more than 3,000 children registered, was undertaking its operation and maintenance
facing many challenges for lack of facilities.
• Changing the mindset of the public to eliminate stigma and promote the
An estimated 20% of children in Sri Lanka not only have some form of disability but acceptance of children with disabilities
also suffer from prejudice and lack of access to specialized services. • Extending these services to the rural areas of Sri Lanka
A visit to the Disability Study Unit by the Chairman of the Hemas Outreach Foundation, Mobilizing the support of renowned architects Channa Daswatte and Murad Ismail,
Abbas Esufally, and Shiromi followed along with a meeting with the then Dean of the an elaborate plan had been drawn up at an estimated cost of Rs. 350 million which
Faculty of Medicine, Prof. Nilanthi de Silva. would ultimately hit Rs. 550 million. Before discussions with the architects, Shiromi,
Abbas and Yehali Sangakkara had flown to India to study models for this type of a
Initially, she had offered a 20-perch block but when Abbas urged that they be given project. Among them was a special school run by the TATA Group, which employed
a bigger piece of land, they had been shown a 5-acre katu-kelle (scrub jungle), a little those who passed out including in its kitchens.
distance behind the Faculty of Medicine.

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