Australian High Commissioner, Cathy Klugman donating 6.1 million rupees for several community based development projects in Sri Lanka, said it was one of her favourite duties to meet and extend the assistance of her government to organisations working at the grass root level. Addressing the representatives from the Community based organisations and members from the press, she said yesterday (10), that High Commission had supported 28 projects in Sri Lanka over the past twelve months. The total funding provided has been approximately 27 million rupees.

Last year’s funds had been utilised in resettlement of displaced persons in the North and East.

The funds issued yesterday morning under the Direct Aid Programme, were for projects initiated by five community based organisations. Naming the projects receiving funds, Klugman said that the Maharagama Youth Buddhist Association was given funds, for furnishing a transit home for cancer patients from the Maharagama Cancer Institute. The home would be able to provide shelter and comfort to seventy cancer patients.

Motivation for a training programme and distribution of wheelchairs for two hundred disadvantaged people in the North and East, a project initiated by Motivational Sri Lanka, a drinking water and sanitation project in Negombo initiated by the people to People Organization, a Health and Sanitation Project by Dimuthu Community Development Centre and another project for providing 45 prosthetics below the knee and another 45 above the knee to differently abled persons initiated by the Centre for Handicapped, were also among the recipients.

Funds were allocated for Handicapped International in the Maldives for Capacity building for the Maldivian Deaf Association, which is another ongoing project.