Dream Cricket Day: A memorable event for 89 differently-abled kids

The Rotaract Dream Cricket Committee (RDCC) announced the successful conclusion of Dream Cricket Day 2016 (Second Edition) at the Stanley Jansz Playground, Perahera Mawatha, Colombo 3 on Saturday 25 June.

Dream Cricket Day 2016 (Second Edition) for 89 differently-abled children was organised by five Rotaract Clubs sponsored by the Rotary Club of Colombo West: Rotaract Clubs of Alumni of University of Moratuwa, American National College (ANC), Colombo West, National School of Business Management (NSBM), and University of Moratuwa.

Dream Cricket Day (DCD) is a fun event for differently-abled children to experience the excitement of different aspects of the game of cricket: batting, bowling, catching and throwing. DCD is aimed at providing differently-abled children with a fun experience that would boost their self-confidence and self-worth.

Founded and supported by Dream Cricket Australia, Dream Cricket was introduced to Sri Lanka in 2012 by the Rotary Club Colombo West (RCCW), in partnership with the Sir Donald Bradman Foundation and the Movement Disorder Foundation in Australia. Up to date, RCCW has held a total of 9 Dream Cricket Days across Sri Lanka.

A total of 89 differently-abled children from five different homes participated in this time’s DCD: Chitra Lane School for the Special Child, Camilla School, Madiwela Home, Rehabilitation Centre for the Communication Impaired (RCCI), and Merill J. Fernando Charitable Foundation. Their teachers, caregivers and parents, who were pleased to watch the young ones in action, accompanied them. 

Following a morning snack, the children were divided into eight teams and they took part in five activities that improved different cricketing skills like batting, bowling, catching and throwing. The children used cricket equipment especially designed for differently-abled kids. The eight teams rotated among the different activities every 15 minutes to experience the various components of the game of cricket. After lunch, the children took part in the awards ceremony, each one receiving a gold medal. The children accepted their gold medals with immense excitement, happiness, and gratitude. Some even ran, leapt, and danced in joy when they received their medal. The awards ceremony was followed by baila music for dancing: needless to say, the children took to dancing in sheer glee.

Rtn. Jit Seneviratne, Chief Guest at the event and President of the Rotary Club of Colombo West, stated: “Dream Cricket Day 2016 (Second Edition) was carried out for the first time by the Rotaract Dream Cricket Committee (RDCC), which is made up of the five Rotaract Clubs sponsored by my Rotary Club. I am pleased to see that the Rotaractors have shown their capability to work in unison as one team to organise this event. Since future Dream Cricket Days will be organised by Rotaract Clubs spread across Sri Lanka, this bodes well for the future of Dream Cricket in Sri Lanka.” Rtn Yukthi Gunasekera, Youth Service Director of the Rotary Club of Colombo West commented, “This project was made possible by many people and organisations. Our Rotaractors did a splendid job in organising this event: I am truly proud of them. We also deeply appreciate the instrumental and generous role played by Dream Cricket Ambassador in Sri Lanka Rtn Sebastian Karunakaran and the solid remote-support provided by Rick McCarthy, Dream Cricket Ambassador for Australia. As the organisers, we are also grateful to our sponsors Perera & Sons, Medi-Calls, Colombo Municipal Council, PanAudio, and others for their enthusiastic support that made Dream Cricket Day 2016 (Second Edition) such a joyful, heart-warming, and outstanding event.”