A LIFE-CHANGING scheme for children and families affected by terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka has been put together by a group of Hertfordshire opticians.
The initiative comes after Easter Sunday 2019 changed the lives of many families in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, following the violent assault by terrorists on multiple churches and hotels – leaving many children orphaned, with some suffering terrible injuries.
Charity founder and Specsavers North West London Regional Relationship Manager, Sujith Weerasinghe, himself a Sri Lankan, decided that he wanted to offer support to those most in need.
Sujith says: ‘I have been fundraising for a variety of causes, mainly to support underprivileged children in Sri Lanka for over 25 years, so when this terrible tragedy occurred, I really wanted to help in some way.
‘I met up with David Brett-Williams, ophthalmic director from the Luton store, and had an initial chat, exploring ideas and what we could do in terms of fundraising. We then discussed our ideas with the regional Hertfordshire chair, Pragna Raghwani, and vice chair Ali Hashim.
‘Following discussion with store partners across Hertfordshire, a fundraising initiative was launched. For two weeks every store agreed to donate £1 from a sight test, which resulted in a total of £13,843 being raised.’
Sujith adds: ‘Everything came together pretty quickly, and with the support of David, Pragna and Ali, plus the store partners, we managed to raise a significant sum in such a short space of time, which was amazing.’
During 2019, contact was made with the head of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka and Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, with the aim of discussing setting up a scholarship programme whereby individuals would be nominated to receive a bursary for them to study and upskill in order to support themselves and family members.
Sujith and David Brett-Williams were originally due to visit Colombo during 2020, but the visit was postponed due to the pandemic.
Finally, Sujith flew to Colombo in October 2024 and met with the Archbishop and the Reverend Father Fernando to discuss how the contributions could be used, and to organise co-ordination of the funds. The charity Pathway to my Hope was founded, based on the same principle embraced by Specsavers, offering all staff the opportunity to add to their skill set and study for industry-related qualifications via the Specsavers Career Pathway.
The contributions raised in 2019 will be used to sponsor monthly scholarships to those most in need, with the overall aim of supporting their education. In addition, the bursary will be used to assist those families and individuals who require support to enable them to gain new skills and qualifications to help them earn a living, providing hope for a better future.
The Pathway to My Hope Scholarship Programme will launch on 1 May. Charity Trustees Sujith and David Brett-Williams said they are excited that an initial idea discussed in 2019 will hopefully offer invaluable support to many children and families affected by the Sri Lankan Easter terrorist attack.
It is planned that Sujith Weerasinghe will send regular updates detailing the outcome of the scholarship programme to the regional store partners, with further initiatives being considered.
