The Embassy of Sri Lanka in the Republic of Korea, in close coordination with the Sri Lankaramaya Temple in the City of Daegu, managed to convince the senior most officials and medical team of Gwanghye General Hospital in the City of Busan to gift over 100 medical beds, wheelchairs and other medically important material to the Embassy of Sri Lanka to be shipped to a select hospital in Sri Lanka. In this regard, the Ambassador of Sri Lanka, Dr. A. Saj U. Mendis, and Chief Incumbent of Sri Lankaramaya Temple, Most Venerable Katuwana Vijithawansha Thero, travelled to Gwanghye General Hospital in Busan, approximately 400 Km from Seoul, to receive the medical beds, wheelchairs and other medical material/accessories from the Hospital in a ceremonial ambiance. 

Ambassador Dr. Mendis and Most Venerable Vijithawansha Thero accepting the medical material from the senior medical staff of the Gwanghye General Hospital in Busan 

At the handing over ceremony at the Gwanghye General Hospital in the presence of the senior most medical and administrative officials of the Hospital, Ambassador Dr. Mendis, in his opening remarks, stated that gifting of these sparingly used medical beds, wheelchairs and new medical accessories would assist and facilitate a number of patients in hospitals in Sri Lanka. Dr. Mendis further enunciated and impressed the fact that just over four decades ago, the Republic of Korea was an aid-recipient nation and today it has evolutionized to one of the more generous aid-giving nations in the world. The Executive Director of the Gwanghye General Hospital, Dr. Lee Jae Won, stated in his address that it gives deep pleasure and privilege to gift the aforementioned  medical material to Sri Lanka. He further added that in the near future, the Hospital would be able to extend more assistance to the Embassy of Sri Lanka by gifting more medical material including medical beds. The Most Venerable Vijithawansha Priest, who was instrumental in connecting the Hospital with the Ambassador Dr. Mendis, stated that assisting the sick or unwell persons, either physically or mentally, is one of the noblest acts a person or an institution could fulfil or realize. 

Ambassador Dr. Mendis delivering the addresss at the handing over ceremony of the medical material in the presence of the senior most medical and administrative officials of Gwanghye General Hospital in Busan

Once the medical material including the medical beds were handed over to the Embassy, Sri Lankan well-wishers in the region were present to transport the medical material to a warehouse in Busan to be shipped to Sri Lanka. It may be highlighted that the Trico Cargo of South Korea and Sri Cargo, both operated and owned by Sri Lankan nationals, willingly volunteered to ship them to Sri Lanka at their own cost. The aforementioned medical material including the medical beds would be shipped to the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) since the SLA are constructing a hospital in the region of Kandy in Sri Lanka. Ambassador Dr. Mendis and Most Venerable Vijithawansha Thero assured the Sri Lankan community, who was present at the ceremony, that the Embassy, in close coordinaton with the Sri Lankaramaya Temple, would endeavor and strive, relentlessly and unremittingly, to provide particularly beds including medical beds to each and every hospital in Sri Lanka, thus facilitating and accommodating each and every patient in those hospitals to be secured with a comfortable bed, during their sicknesses or illnesses. On a separate note, another patron of the Embassy and Sri Lankaramaya Temple, Mr. Beung-gu Hur, a leading Korean business personality in the region of Busan, pledged to provide nearly 150 more medical beds to Sri Lankan hospitals, once this consignment is shipped to Sri Lanka.

Ambassador Dr. Mendis and Most Venerable Vijithawansha Thero accepting the medical beds from the senior medical staff of the Gwanghye General Hospital in Busan 

Seoul, Republic of Korea

19^th October 2020