‘Hope for a breath’: Community Fundraiser

A humanitarian initiative organized by Adelaide Sri Lanka Buddhist Vihara and Sri Lankan Community Organisations in South Australia

Dear Friends,

The purpose of this project is to establish an oxygen generating plant at the National Hospital, Kandy, Sri Lanka, considering the massive demand for oxygen supply due to the current COVID-19 situation in the island nation. Medical oxygen is considered the single most important medicine for treating patients with COVID-19 and many other health conditions. A continuous supply of medical oxygen to the healthcare system is crucially important; therefore, this project intends to donate a fully equipped oxygen generating plant (Australian made) that uses the Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) process to generate enriched oxygen gas from ambient air. PSA is at the forefront of gas separation technology.

National Hospital Kandy, which is located in the Central Province, is Sri Lanka’s second-largest tertiary care medical institution, managed by the Ministry of Health Care and Nutrition. The National Hospital Kandy is accountable for providing comprehensive secondary and tertiary specialist care and medical rehabilitation. Major surgeries, including renal transplants, brain surgeries, and cardiac surgeries, are performed regularly at the hospital. For inpatient services, the hospital has 78 wards and 13 special units. Aside from that, it has ten intensive care units (ICUs) and 29 operating rooms. The hospital also has outpatient services, specialised clinics, and an emergency treatment unit. Also, this hospital has advanced medical imaging capabilities, including CT scanning, MRI scanning, interventional radiography, coronary angiography, cerebral angiography, and facilities for chemical microbiological and histopathological investigations. Like many hospitals in Sri Lanka, National Hospital Kandy faces a massive challenge in managing COVID- 19 patients, mainly due to inadequate oxygen supply.

This project costs approximately AU$110,000 and meets the oxygen cylinders requirement of the National Hospital, Kandy, Sri Lanka, saving LKR 719,000 per month (approximately AU$ 4950). We seek your generous contribution to this noble cause!

Please access https://asbvihara.org.au/community/hope-for-a-breath to see the detailed project report.

Project Team