On 01 November 2019 Mr. E.M.H.B. Moragaswewa and Mr. Wijitha Manamperi representing the Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society received an award from Rehabilitation International (RI) for Outstanding Achievements, in Moscow.
Ambassador Jayatilleka participated as one of the presenters of RI 2019 Award to Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society for Outstanding Achievements in Rehabilitation and for “bringing light to many in need”. Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society is a non-governmental organization founded by the inaugural president of the society Dr. Hudson Silva who launched the first campaign to collect corneas in Sri Lanka in 1958. Today the Eye Donation Society maintains the Sri Lanka International Eye Bank and Sri Lanka Model Human Tissue Bank, which is one of the largest in the world and donates human eyes and tissues for transplantation both in Sri Lanka and around the world.
The Ceremony took place in Metropol Hotel, Moscow and gathered representatives of international communities including UN agencies, government departments, international disability organizations as well as private sectors who are committed to disability affairs. The official part was followed by the Gala dinner and performance of China Disabled People’s Art Troupe of visually impaired musicians and hearing impaired dancers.
Ambassador Jayatilleka attended the Awarding Ceremony of the Rehabilitation International 2019 Award at the invitation of the President of the Rehabilitation International Zhang Haidi, China Disabled Persons' Federation, All-Russia Society of the Disabled and Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Russia.
Founded in 1922, Rehabilitation International has become a global organization that empowers people with disabilities, advances their rights across the world and provides sustainable solutions towards achieving a more inclusive society for them.
The 2019 RI Award was also presented for Outstanding Achievements in Innovation to Ms. Maria Fernanda Espinosa, an Ecuadorian politician and diplomat, former President of the United Nations General Assembly for the 73rd session, Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the United Nations, Minister of National Defense and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador “for her innovative work in advancing the rights of persons with disabilities globally”.
The Ethiopian Alpha Special School for the Deaf was awarded for Outstanding Achievements in Humanitarianism “for composing symphony in the world without sound”. The school was founded in 1966 and now successfully helps deaf children to develop the practical social skills.
