MAS Holdings donates Rs. 130 m in support of ‘Little Hearts Fund’

The construction of the Cardiac and Critical Care Complex 

• Extends support to project by Lady Ridgeway Hospital

MAS Holdings and its associates, honoured their pledge to support the ‘Little Hearts’ project of the Lady Ridgeway Hospital, one of the largest children’s hospitals in the world, by raising funds to upgrade its infrastructure in cardiac care, towards their ongoing national healthcare efforts.

In 2019, at the request of the Sri Lanka College of Paediatricians, MAS embarked on internally raising funds for the ‘Little Hearts’ project, where the hospital requested the company’s assistance to raise Rs. 100 million towards the construction of a Cardiac and Critical Care Complex in aid of children with heart diseases and critical illnesses, with construction being carried out by the Civil Engineering Division of the Sri Lanka Navy. The company was able to successfully raise in excess of Rs. 130 million through donations by both MAS employees and an equal-value contribution from the company. 

The hospital superstructure construction commenced in 2020, with funding from the Little Hearts project, alongside the Sri Lankan Government’s backing. The Cardiac and Critical Care Complex is a 12-storey hospital wing with nine floors of the structure having been completed to date. The building will feature a cath lab, cardiac operating theatres and will increase the number of cardiac ICU beds from 18 to 36. It will also include over 70 medical and neonatal intensive care beds, a fully-fledged bone marrow transplant unit, as well as specialised zones for advanced cardiac investigations and staff-training facilities, allowing for the optimal provision of care for all children.

Lady Ridgeway Hospital further requested support from MAS towards the purchase of a high-end echocardiography machine which costs Rs. 18 million. The hospital currently owns two echocardiography machines that are over 12 years old, with both machines performing over 20,000 echocardiograms annually. The accuracy of these echocardiograms is of paramount importance as it is a key component of determining how a child’s heart condition is to be managed for the rest of their lives. By leveraging the interest from the initial fundraising, MAS was able to provide the additional finances required to procure the machine. 

Commenting on their efforts, MAS Holdings Director Ajay Amalean said: “We are honoured to be able to support the Little Hearts project. Social stewardship is part of our core corporate ethos, and this further showcases the importance MAS places on supporting our nation and our people. We encourage local companies to step forward in supporting the Little Hearts project, ensuring that this shared effort creates significant value for the nation and enhances the quality of our healthcare for children.”

Commenting on the project, Consultant Paediatric Cardiologist and the project director of Little Hearts, Dr. Duminda Samarasinghe said: “We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to MAS Holdings for their efforts towards supporting us. Every day, we lose around eight children in Sri Lanka due to Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) or critical illnesses and most of them can be saved with the improvement of facilities. If all other corporations in Sri Lanka could think like MAS and support us to complete this building and help us purchase the best possible equipment like the Echocardiography machine, we can make most of these children live. This will help thousands of helpless families see their children live to become fruitful citizens of the country. MAS management and employees have shown how they care about the children of Sri Lanka and have set the stage for other corporations to follow.”   

This is one of the many ongoing Social and Environmental Sustainability initiatives of MAS Holdings, who currently have numerous other projects underway targeted at enhancing the healthcare infrastructure needed to cater to the ongoing pandemic. With additional funds still being required to complete the facility, the Lady Ridgeway Hospital humbly seeks more donors for the project to step forward and contribute towards the national battle against Congenital Heart Disease.