SriLankan Cares, the community welfare arm of SriLankan Airlines, joined hands with Gymnasium Isernhagen, a school in Hannover, Germany, to donate a Drinking Water Filtration System to the Base Hospital in Kebithigollewa, an area which has a high rate of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD).

The newly installed filtration plant was officially handed over to the hospital authorities recently at a simple ceremony attended by the officials from Gymnasium Isernhagen, the Kebithigollewa Divisional Secretariat and SriLankan Airlines.

Pradeepa Kekulawala, Head of Human Resources at SriLankan Airlines, said: “We take this opportunity to thank the officials and students of Gymnasium Isernhagen for their generous and meaningful contribution.”

The donation of the Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water Filtration System was the second time that SriLankan Cares and Gymnasium Isernhagen have teamed up for a worthy cause. A similar donation was made to Kekuluwela Maha Vidyalaya in Aralaganvila last year.

Kebithigollewa Base Hospital is situated in the North Central province, where the number of CKD patients is at its highest in the country. CKD has become a major health problem in rural Sri Lanka and according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), more than 15 percent of the population aged 15–70 years in the North Central and Uva provinces are affected. Over 22,000 deaths from the disease have been recorded in the Anuradhapura district in the North Central Province from CKD since 1991.

A large number of people are expected to benefit from the new water filtration plant, including those who visit the out-patient department of the hospital and resident patients in the four main wards including paediatric, surgical and maternal sections.