VACD September 2019 News Flash!!!
The VACD Australia Annual General Meeting held yesterday (Thursday, 12th) reviewed all ongoing projects and programs and unanimously decided that our immediate attention should be focused on our Family Assistance Program (FAP).
The Sri Lanka leadership team have also communicated to us the urgent need for this program to be enhanced due to accelerating requests for assistance from parents of children with disabilities from rural, impoverished, low skilled labour or subsistence farming communities.
These parents endure severe financial distress and hardship due to the lack of or diminishing household incomes because close to 95% of them are single parents since their spouses abandon the family no sooner a child with disabilities is born, leaving the mother or ageing maternal grandparents to care for the child.
The Sri Lanka team inform us of some children bringing a meagre lunch of plain bread on some days (they are given a nutritious meal on two days of the week at the centres) as a result of their poverty.
In implementing the FAP initiative, the Sri Lanka leadership team at the Board and Committee levels will evaluate the household income position of each family seeking assistance by applying a series of strict criteria with regard to income, number of family members, medical and other expenses, etc and determine their eligibility to receive a monthly allowance. Progress of each family benefiting from FAP will be monitored and reported to us on a quarterly basis.
Please kindly consider supporting our FAP initiative by donating A$25 (or equivalent) per month/per family. Should you decide to make payments direct to the VACD account (details given below) please give your name and ‘Family Assistance Program’ in the details field to enable us to identify each payment.
In Australia:
Through the website: https://www.vacd.org.au
Or Account:
Volunteers to Assist Children with Disabilities Limited
Commonwealth Bank of Australia,
Liverpool & Castlereagh Streets Branch,
Cnr of Liverpool & Castlereagh Streets,
Sydney NSW 2000 Australia
Account No: 1130 2156
BSB: 062-016
BIC/SWIFT Code: CTBAAU2S
In USA:
Through the website: https://www.vacdusa.org
In Sri Lanka:
Volunteers to Assist Children with Disabilities Private Limited
Seylan Bank, 240, Badulla Road, Bandarawela, Sri Lanka
Account Number: 046035439722001
* SWIFT Code: SEYBLKLX
* Remittances from Sri Lankan bank accounts can be made using SLIPS or CEFT payment systems or transfer funds directly from any Seylan bank account.
* You may also use any Seylan Bank counter to deposit cash to this account.
Please reach out to Mrs. Yasmin Stephen – Administrative & Communications Secretary VACD Australia via E-mail on fstephen@bigpond.net.au should you decide to support our FAP initiative.
Please join us on this benevolent journey:
Please reach out to us at: fstephen@bigpond.net.au and support our initiatives. Please also do share this newsletter with your family, friends, loved ones and colleagues so that together we can make a difference in the lives of children with disabilities, one by one!!!
Our sincere thanks to all of you for your continued invaluable support, guidance, counselling and assistance and for being part of this incredible, challenging, immensely rewarding and fulfilling journey.
Many thanks, best wishes and warm regards…. Felix
Felix Stephen
Chairman of the Board of Directors – VACD Ltd. Sydney – Australia – http://www.vacd.org.au/
Member of the Advisory Board – VACD USA – http://www.vacdusa.org/
Member of the Advisory Board – VACD Sri Lanka
Senior Associate – Cognoscenti Group – Sydney – Australia- http://www.cognoscenti.global/
Consultant – Investment Committee – Lonsec – Sydney – Australia – https://www.lonsec.com.au/
Member of Investment Committee – Arrive Wealth Management – Brisbane – Australia – http://brisbane.arrivewealthmanagement.com.au/
Consultant – Global Financial Market Investment Research & Investment Strategy
E-mail: felixswstephen@gmail.com / fstephen@bigpond.net.au