Saturday Nov 16, 2024
Saturday Nov 16, 2024
Thursday, 27 February 2014 00:31 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
On DreamCricket Day 2014, 110 Sri Lankan differently-abled children were exposed to a series of activities aimed at improving their cricket skills like catching, throwing, running and batting. Having intellectual and physical disabilities (for example, Down Syndrome and hearing-impairment) that prevent them from taking part in normal sports, the participants ended the day with a game of ‘Run-Out Cricket’.
Rotarians, Rotaractors, spouses of Rotarians, and many other well-wishers volunteered selflessly to ensure the success of DreamCricket 2014.
Commenting on DreamCricket 2014, RCCW President Rotarian Jerome Rajendram stated: “Rotary Club of Colombo West takes great pride in organising this event every year. In keeping with the Rotary International theme for this year ‘Engage Rotary, Change Lives,’ we partnered with many organisations to make this event a success: Bradman Foundation (Australia), Hyundai Lanka Ltd., NLDB, MediCalls Ltd., Abans Environmental Services, and six different homes of the differently-abled. Our vision in this Rotary year is to serve marginalised people of Sri Lanka. Therefore we take pride that we were able to offer a world-class cricket experience to a group of Sri Lanka’s differently-abled youngsters to engage in and benefit from an international sport like cricket.”
Dressed in cricket gear and declaring open DreamCricket 2014, the South Korean Ambassador mentioned that he was an ardent fan of cricket, having even adopted “Arjuna” as his Sri Lankan nickname. Four players of the visiting South Korean Cricket Team accompanied the Ambassador.
Agreeing with this sentiment, Rick McCarthy, Cricket Ambassador of Bradman Foundation, who conducted the cricketing events of the day, stated: “I am committed to this country and plan to visit Sri Lanka many times in the future to make a difference in the lives of the differently abled youngsters of this country.”
Elaborating on their second year of sponsorship of the event, Hyundai Lanka Ltd. Managing Director Heinz A. Reuter said: “We have a clear vision with regard to our responsibilities in terms of giving back to the communities in which we operate. We cannot possibly think of a better way of doing this than through an event that supports a marginalised group of Sri Lankan society: differently-abled children.”
DreamCricket Organising Committee Chairman Rotarian Yukthi Gunasekera said: “Rotary Club of Colombo West firmly believes, as did Sir Donald Bradman, that the game of cricket can be a powerful character-builder and we saw this truth unfold before our very eyes at DreamCricket 2014 when 110 differently-abled children savoured the spirit of cricket, had fun with each other, and took their self-esteem to the next level.”
