Colours of Courage Trust together with Ministry of Health and Sri Lanka Army resumes construction of Karapitiya Trail Cancer Hospital Project on track for 2026 completion

The Colours of Courage Trust -in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Sri Lanka Army- has announced the resumption of construction of the Karapitiya Trail Cancer Hospital Project, following a Phase Two commencement ceremony to be held on Thursday 30th of January.

Proposed as an auxiliary unit of the existing Cancer Unit at the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital, this groundbreaking new 10-storey cancer treatment facility, when complete in its entirety, will be equipped with a state-of-the-art Radiology Unit, Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, Paediatric Ward, Surgical ICU, Chemotherapy Unit, Operating Theatres, and 160-bed Oncology wards – providing much-needed relief and medical care for the increasing influx of patients who travel from the surrounding provinces to seek treatment. 

The Colours of Courage Trust (COC) - a non-profit organisation dedicated to uplifting treatment facilities at the National Cancer Institute, Maharagama - was founded in 2008 by Nathan Sivagananathan and Mahela Jayawardena. Following several successful fund-raising initiatives by the Trust, fully equipped Medical and Surgical Intensive Care Units at the National Cancer Institute were completed.

Trail -after which the hospital project is named- is an initiative of COC, founded in 2011 by Nathan Sivagananathan and Sarinda Unamboowe to reframe issues surrounding ethnic division and bring people together for the shared purpose of developing the country’s cancer-care landscape. The Karapitiya Trail Cancer Hospital Project is a collaborative effort between COC, the Ministry of Health (MOH), and the Nutrition & Indigenous Medicine of Sri Lanka, to create increased access to cancer care for the entire Southern province and its neighbouring districts.

In July 2011, Trail initiated a walk across Sri Lanka with the aim to raise funds to develop an alternative cancer treatment facility in the North. The largest crowdfunding initiative in the country at the time, ‘Trail 2011’ had over 30,000 participants walk the 670kms path from Dondra Head to Point Pedro in 27 days, which raised the 2.6 million USD needed to build the Tellipalai Trail Cancer Hospital in Jaffna by January 2014. As of today, the hospital has treated close to 800,000 patients. 

Additionally, ever since its opening, COC has constructed, developed, and provided equipment worth 10 million USD to the Tellippalai Trail Cancer Hospital, treating over 4000 patients a month. The Trust also continues to maintain the hospital through the provision of janitorial services, renovations, and overall hospital upkeep together with some of its long-term corporate sponsors.

Buoyed by the success of Trail 2011, and the fact that in 2015 the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital recorded its highest number of cancer-related deaths at the time, COC decided that there was now a pressing need for high-quality cancer care in the South of Sri Lanka as well. With the intention to expand the cancer treatment facility at the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital in Galle, Trail 2016 – The Walk Back was initiated -this time a walk from Point Pedro to Dondra Head from the 6th of October to the 2nd of November-, and achieved its goal of solidarity with over 250,000 people joining along the course and receiving the support of over 2.5 million people from various communities across Sri Lanka to raise a staggering LKR 750 million for the cause. 

Unfortunately, a multitude of unprecedented factors has since stalled the project from moving forward to meet its initial completion date of 2018.

Phase I: Foundation - Following lengthy negotiations, the involved parties entered an MoU on 11th June 2018 with the MOH committing to fund the construction of the foundation of the project, and COC funding the remainder. Although the Trust commenced construction in 2016, owing to delays in approval processes by the different cabinet ministries, this phase of the project took a longer time to complete than anticipated.

Phase II: Building Construction - Despite expectations of progressing without interruption, the project experienced several other roadblocks:

- The government stated that it initially lacked the funds to start the project, and eventually when commencement was scheduled, the project came to a halt due to COVID-19 and the army was unable to commit during this time.

- Post-COVID-19, the country was hit by the economic crisis and anti-government protests, and again the project was de-prioritized by the army, and construction could not move forward as stipulated according to the MoU. 

- Impacts of the economic crisis such as unprecedented cost escalations, fluctuation of the exchange rate, and difficulties in importing raw materials to manufacture construction materials held up the project further.

However, COC has now confirmed that following the commencement ceremony for Phase 2 on Thursday the 30th of January, construction for the specialty Karapitiya Trail Cancer Hospital will be well on track to meet the new completion date of 2026.

“We are excited that this project is now officially resuming after unavoidable construction delays forced us to push the original opening date by a few years,” commented Nathan Sivagananathan, co-founder of Trail. “In addition to support from the Ministry of Health, we are extremely grateful to the Ministry of Defence and Sri Lanka Army for pledging their full support through voluntary labour and technical assistance.”

However, despite downsizing the scope of the project in light of recent events, construction costs remain to be an overwhelming financial undertaking. The LKR 750 million raised thus far has been utilized for the construction involved in Phase I, and given the current cost escalations, the COC has had to reevaluate its finances and now requires a further LKR 2.2 billion. As a result- as COC continues to strive to achieve its goal of providing increased and equitable access to cancer care, the Trust has opened up for donations towards the project once again. 

Cash contributions towards the construction of the Karapitiya Trail Cancer Hospital Project can be made either directly to COC’s bank account or the Trust’s website but is also accepting donations of construction materials and hospital equipment.

Colours of Courage Trust (Guarantee) Ltd

Account No: 003010491671

Bank: Hatton National Bank

Branch: Head office branch,

TB Jaya Mawatha, Colombo 10

Swift Code: HBLILKLX

Caption(L-R)

CoCT 1 - Colours of Courage Trust Directors Nathan Sivagananathan and Mahela Jayawardena