The Cyril Dharmawardana Foundation stands out as Sri Lanka’s first and only non-emergency patient transport service, provided free of charge to the terminally ill in impoverished communities. This unique initiative, led by Binara Dharmawardhana and his dedicated CDF team, is a testament to their commitment to serving those in need.
Binara was one of the SLF’s 2024 Outstanding Performance by a Young Professional Award Winners. He described how, in the last ten years, the CDF’s services were provided to over 37,000 patients, which saved 25,000 lives in rural and remote areas. This invaluable charity project was created in 2014, primarily focusing on assisting terminally ill patients with transportation requirements between the hospital and their homes during treatment. He also mentioned that CDF might be the only state-of-the-art ambulance service dedicated to cancer in the developing world.
The CDF operates in the Southern, Northern Central, and Northeast regions of Sri Lanka and transports patients to the primary cancer hospital in the Western Province of Colombo. The CDF charity is seeking support to confront rising fuel costs, increased wages, maintenance of the ambulance fleet, and other challenges to sustain their existing services.
The CDF offers its generous donors the opportunity to contribute towards sponsoring an ambulance. The ambulance will carry the name of the sponsor and a special message.
There are two ways to sponsor a CDF ambulance:
- Donors can sponsor an ambulance from the current fleet for $20,000. This covers all expenses, including the driver’s wages, patient care, maintenance, and fuel for two years.
- Alternatively, donors can sponsor the purchase of a new, fully equipped ambulance for $50,000, and CDF will carry the donor’s name on the vehicle for its lifetime.
For more information visit: www.cdfcharity.org
