(UDHAYAM, COLOMBO) – Sri Lankan community in Dubai and the Northern Emirates donated AED 58,150 (Approximately Rs.2, 500, 000) in cash in addition to four consignments of essential items for the flood affected people of Sri Lanka.
This initiative was mooted after a meeting convened in the Consulate General of Sri Lanka on 1st June 2017 with the presence of the representatives of the Sri Lankan Associations with regard to streamlining the donations routed to Sri Lanka in the aftermath of the floods, in line with the requirement of the Government.
The Sri Lankan community was able to deliver four consignments including a consignment of bed sheets and bath towels, a consignment of 866 of tarpaulin sheets weighing 2,838 kilograms each worth of AED 30 at the total cost of AED 26,000 (Approximately Rs.1,118,000) and a consignment of 95 of tents each worth AED 500 at the total cost of AED 45,000 (Approximately Rs. 1,935,000) and a consignment of Sanitary pads, baby diapers and canned fish, which were much needed at the time of disaster and insufficient in the local market.
In addition, Marks and Spencer/ Al Futtaim- Dubai offered over 9,000 pieces of clothes weighing over 4,300 kg and worth of AED 517,000 (Approximately Rs. 22,231,000) to be used by the flood victims which was immediately dispatched to Sri Lanka by air cargo.
The SriLankan, Emirates and Flydubai Airlines and their management based in Dubai rendered assistance to the Consulate General to air cargo the collected items from the Sri Lankan Community to the Ministry of Disaster Management at the earliest free of charge and the Middle East based Sri Lankan company Frico International LLC assisted in packing and freight forwarding all the items on Free of Charge basis to Sri Lanka.
The Consulate General of Sri Lanka in Dubai & the Northern Emirates wishes to convey its appreciation and gratitude to all Sri Lankan Associations, individual donors, well-wishers based in Dubai and the Northern Emirates for gathering together as one nation to help the fellow Sri Lankan citizens at the hour of need.