Like other expatriate community clubs in the sultanate, the Sri Lankan Community Social Club (SLCSC) is doing what it can to help its countrymen during the coronavirus pandemic. It’s helping people by distributing dry rations, providing medical assistance and assisting in COVID-19 contact tracing.
The club has delivered over 1,400 dry ration parcels to those who could not arrange their daily needs following the lockdown and social distancing procedures during the crisis. In a second round of delivery assistance to the needy, the club is now reaching out to people in Nizwa, Buraimi, Sohar, Salalah and also some parts of Muscat.
As per Roy Lasantha, president of SLCSC, the club also organised several awareness seminars and programmes to educate the Sri Lankan community members in the sultanate about the COVID-19.
“Safeguarding fellow Sri Lankans is at the forefront of our efforts. We are operating a hotline to register Sri Lankans who are either affected by the virus or had any known contact with a patient or exposure to such cases. We provide them with all the necessary advice, guidance and assistance,” he said.
SLCSC has also established a COVID 19 Medical Assistance Programme with the voluntary services of a group of Sri Lankan doctors to help, advise and monitor the Sri Lankans in Oman who are either affected with the virus or are in isolation due to close contacts.
“We are using pulse oximeters to monitor the recorded cases remotely. There is also a COVID-19 contact tracing group with Sri Lankan volunteers to track, trace and monitor those Sri Lankans with first layer and second layer of close contacts to avoid the spread of the virus within our community.”
The club is also maintaining a welfare facility in Wadi Kabir for Sri Lankan men who have lost jobs and means of income. Food is provided to them at no cost.
In a bid to help stranded Sri Lankans who were eager to return home, the club also organised a repatriation charter flight on August 14, Lasantha said.
It will be arranging another flight on September 15 to repatriate those who can afford tickets of the charter flight with related costs.
“This was initiated to reduce the burden on the embassy owing to the large number of repatriation requests. SLCSC is facilitating flights for community members who can afford charter flights and paid quarantine facilties back home.”
He added that the club is a success because of team work.
“I would like to mention the whole BoD of SLCSC. It is important to mention the support and cooperation received from the Sri Lankan Embassy in Muscat, H E Ameer Ajwad, the Ambassador, and the staff,” Lasantha said.
SLCSC is a charitable and non-profit organisation approved by the Ministry of Social Development, Sultanate of Oman.
Established in 1997, the main objectives of SLCSC is to organise social, cultural and sports
activities for the benefit of all Sri Lankans residing in Oman.
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