Australian team donates $45000 prize money to support crisis-hit Sri lanka children and family
Follow Us
Sri Lanka's economic crisis
Australia recently toured Sri Lanka amid the island country’s worst economic crisis. Now, the Australian team have donated their prize money from the tour to Sri Lanka for supporting children and families.
Food prices have gone upto 80 per cent, school days were reduced to just three days per week because travel was disrupted due to fuel prices. Thousands of peaceful protesters had surrounded the Gale stadium while people could be seen standing in a long queue for petrol. The Lankan citizen even entered the President’s home which forced him to flee from the country.
Australia captain Pat Cummins, who is also a United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Australian ambassador, and his team will donate USD 45,000 to the UNICEF Sri Lanka’s appeal.
“Last year Australian cricketers got behind India in its time of crisis during the peak of the COVID-19 Delta wave and we thank them for again giving generously to help Sri Lankans impacted by the current crisis. Australia has a strong bond with Sri Lanka that goes beyond the match days and this donation is gratefully received to support the long-term wellbeing of Sri Lanka’s families,”said UNICEF Australia CEO Tony Stuart.
Previously, when India witnessed high surge in COVID-19 crisis in 2021, Australia donated USD 50,000 for oxygen supplies. Even the Indian Premier League got postponed due to the pandemic.
“It was very clear to us how much day-to-day life for Sri Lankans is being impacted”- Pat Cummins
The Australian cricketers have got a first-hand experience of the island nation’s economic crisis when they toured the country in June-July this year. The series saw some incrdible cricket from both sides. Australia won the T20I series 2-1 while the Lankans clinched the ODI series 3-2. The Test ended in a tie.
“It was very clear to us how much day-to-day life for Sri Lankans is being impacted. When the team saw what was happening it was an easy decision to donate our prize money to UNICEF, who have been in Sri Lanka for more than 50 years supporting the needs of children and families,” cricket.com.au quoted Cummins as saying.
“It was truly moving and something we had not experienced anywhere else in the world,” white-ball captain Aaron Finch had said. “It really brough home how much it meant to them to host us at such a difficult time. We felt so warmly welcomed by the Sri Lankan people so hopefully we helped lift their spirits in some small way.”
Do follow us on: Google News | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Stay Updated!
Gouri Das
(4697 Articles Published)