Centre for Disabled Initiating Fund Raising Plan

Caritas Mannar – Valvudayam started the Centre For Disabled (CFD) a little over two decade ago to cater to the needs of the poor and marginalized people in the Diocese of Mannar on 31^st January 1999 under the abled leadership of visionary priest,  Rev. Fr.S.Emmanuspillai  . The main objective of setting up this specialized centre was to serve the people who have lost their limbs due to the ongoing civil war then.

At the initial stage, CFD served patients with “MUKTHI” and “Jaipur” associated technology mainly concerning Prosthetic services. The centre provided moluded artificial limbs to the victims who have lost their hands and legs.

Over the years more and more people approached the centre from all corners of Sri Lanka, looking for numerous services. On 07th April 2011, CFD went through a restructuring process and setup it services according to the ISPO (International Society of Prosthetics & Orthotics) standards. By 2014 CFD was equipped to provide services ranging from physical disability to physiotherapy and counseling requirements, free of charge to whomever approached the centre.

However as time went on, the cost of the raw materials for the moulding work, wheel chairs, stretchers and other maintenance skyrocketed and  the Centre was forced to charge a nominal fee from the people who sought services. As of now, CFD too has faced with limited donor funding and is exploring ways and means to sustain the services.

In this context, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) who is funding this centre for nearly a decade conducted the second fundraising workshop in Mannar from 22^nd to 23^rd of August 2019 for the staff members of the Centre for Disabled (CFD) and for Caritas Mannar – Valvuthayam. The objective of this workshop was to strengthen and streamline the focus of the staff who have already explored strategies in fundraising after the initial workshop held in February this year.

Mr. Vivek Antony, Programme Coordinator of Catholic Relief Services and Mr. Sajith Silva, Programme Manager, Caritas Sri Lanka – SEDEC facilitated the 2-day workshop.