“Their Future in Our Hands”

VACD Australia October/ November 2023 Newsletter

“When we give alms with our hearts, we give well”

Dear friends, colleagues, supporters, and collaborative partners,
Greetings to you, your families, loved ones, and colleagues from all of us at VACD.

We Warmly Welcome Our New VACD Australia Leadership Team Member – Ms Aloyna Taylor to our VACD Family:
We are delighted that Aloyna has joined our team as VACD Australia’s ‘Head of Digital Communication’. Her role is to assist VACD develop our social media presence.

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Aloyna is a specialist in digital communication, a Neuro Change Practitioner, Business Specialist, and National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Provider. She has substantial practical experience in connecting and collaborating with people using up-to-date digital technology as her mode of communication and is dedicated to helping women rebuild their lives through education while also inspiring and motivating the younger generation to create positive changes for a better future. Aloyna presently serves as a coordinator at “We Rise Networking” https://werisenetworking.com/ and “Women Making it Work” https://wmiw.com.au/ where her main goal is to foster connections and collaborations among businesses and associations, empowering women to achieve their maximum potential.

VACD/MJFCF Health & Rehabilitation Clinic – November 2023
VACD and Merrill J Fernando Charitable foundation (MJFCF) collaborated to conduct a two-day workshop for children with disabilities and their parents in the Uva province, at the Bandarawela Town Hall on Tuesday, 14^th and Wednesday, 15^th November. A total of 500+ (children and parents) joined these sessions over the two days.

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The MJFCF team of therapists was led by Mr. Rajkaran Mahendran (Physiotherapist). The physiotherapy team were Dhanushka Malith Bandara, R. M. V .S. Rathnayake, M. K. T. R. S. Bandara, S.D Praneeth, Madhava Siriwardana, Charith Kandambi and Thilini Fernando, and speech therapy team were Thathsarani Jayatissa, Maleesha Wijesinghe, Sakuni Chanika and E.K Harshani Ishara (VACD and MJFCF teams seen below).
We wish to congratulate Mr. Rajkaran Mahendran and his youthful team for examining children with a range of disabilities with tender care, love and compassion while treating their parents and family members with respect, gentleness, and patience.

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A very special “thank you” to our dynamic and committed VACD Sri Lanka Secretary, Retd. Col. Kumarasinghe who meticulously and efficiently planned, oversaw, and ensured that this event would be an outstanding success. Our deep appreciation and thanks also to our VACD Sri Lanka Board members, VACD Sri Lanka staff, VACD Sri Lanka parent committee members and the local public for their support for this initiative. The photo below shows some of the joint team who worked tirelessly at this event. Thank you all!

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Parents, Children and Specialists at the Clinic

We plan to conduct these Health & Rehabilitation clinics every quarter in Bandarawela in March, June, and September 2024 in collaboration with MJFCF under our collaborative partnership agreement established between our two philanthropic institutions.

These regular clinics will assist us to reach out to families with children with congenital disabilities and developmental disorders across the Uva province, particularly in remote impoverished areas where parents and children need our assistance the most.

We intend reaching out to and assisting children with disabilities aged 0-4 years as these clinic gain popularity and traction to introduce our “Supported Playgroups for Parents and Children” program at our VACD centres.

VACD’s Team, Projects, Programs & Newsletters:
Please visit our VACD Webpages to find details of our team, projects, programs, and newsletters.

Multiple donation options to support our mission:
The following hyperlink will enable you to find all donation options that are available to you on our webpage: https://www.vacd.org.au/donate/
Donations to VACD Australia by Australian Taxpayers are tax deductible.

Multicurrency Benevity Causes Portal for International Donations:
International donors who wish to support our mission can do so through the Benevity Causes portal via the hyperlink below for all your multi-currency donation options:
https://mygoodness.benevity.org/community/search?query=vacd&country=036

A big “Thank You” to all of you…
Our journey is bound to be long and challenging. The official and unofficial number of children and families who need our support are sizeable. We look forward to your continued generosity, active support for our undertaking and you being partners with us in this most fulfilling and worthwhile 12+ years journey that we traverse together.

Please visit us at: https://www.vacd.org.au/ and reach out to us at: fstephen@bigpond.net.au should you choose to support our mission. Please share this newsletter with your network! Together, we certainly can make a difference in the lives of children with disabilities, one by one!!!

Many thanks, best wishes, and warmest regards…. Felix

Felix Stephen
Chairman of the Board of Directors – VACD Ltd. Sydney – Australia – https://www.vacd.org.au/
Member of the Advisory Board – VACD Sri Lanka
Member of the Advisory Board – Two Leaves Foundation Sri Lanka
Senior Associate – Cognoscenti Group – Sydney – Australia- http://www.cognoscenti.global/
Member of Investment Committee – Arrive Wealth Management – Brisbane – Australia – https://www.arrivewealthmanagement.com.au/