Keells Super announced the completion of a fundraising campaign for the Little Hearts Project, with the donation of Rs. 2.5 million towards the treatment of children diagnosed with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) and critical illnesses.

Proceeds of the fundraising campaign will be utilized to improve high end facilities to treat children at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital (LRH), currently the sole medical institution in Sri Lanka that is able to offer such care. LRH is considered the largest children's hospital in the world with a bed-strength of over 900 and nearly 3,000 patients visiting for outpatient care daily. These funds will also be utilized to support the construction of 10-storey cardiac and critical care complex dedicated to treat children diagnosed with Congenital Heart Diseases.

It is estimated that over 3,000 children are born with CHD in Sri Lanka per year however the existing wing can only treat up to 1,700 children with CHD annually leading to over 40% of these children being waitlisted and over 60% of all critically ill children lacking immediate access to intensive care.

“We are truly grateful to the outpouring of generosity from Keells Super customers towards the Little Hearts Project. This vital act of kindness will contribute towards saving the lives of many patients at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital and help provide these young Sri Lankans with a chance to live a long and healthy life.

“Together with the invaluable support of the Little Hearts Project we hope to continue this important work and spark the changes necessary to ensure that all children in this country are always provided with access to the lifesaving medical care they require to have a happy, safe, and healthy childhood,” Consultant Pediatric Cardiologist at LRH, Dr. Duminda Samarasinghe stated.

Spearheaded by the Sri Lanka College of Paediatricians together with a few concerned citizens of Sri Lanka, the Little Hearts Project was established with the goal of combatting the deficiency of resources necessary to meet the growing and urgent need for cardiology and intensive care treatments for children.

Pledging its support to this worthy cause in December 2016, Keells Super established a payment method which enabled its customers to conveniently donate towards the Little Hearts Project as they engaged in their day-to-day shopping. Keells Super also pledged a percentage of revenue of an exclusive range of bakery products earlier this year. The campaign was further supported by collaborative customer awareness building campaigns organized by Keells Super and Little Hearts.

Photo captions: (from left) Sachith Wijesekara and Nilusha Fernando representing the Community & Sustainability team of Jaykay Marketing Services (Pvt) Ltd and Dr. Duminda Samarasinghe, Consultant Pediatric Cardiologist at LRH