Villa group donates USD 100,000 for Sri Lanka relief efforts

The Villa Group, a major tourism business in the Maldives, has donated USD 100,000 (over MVR 1.5 million) today to aid Sri Lanka in recovering from the damages caused by the recent cyclone.

Cyclone Ditwah caused massive flooding across a large area of Sri Lanka, leading to many deaths and leaving thousands displaced and in distress. In response, a broad relief campaign is underway in the Maldives to assist the nation.

The symbolic cheque for the USD 100,000 donation from the Villa Group was presented today by Siyad Qasim, son of the company's Chairman, Qasim Ibrahim, and the current CEO of the company. The cheque was accepted by the Sri Lankan Ambassador to the Maldives, Mohamed Rizvi Hassen.

Other major donors to the relief efforts include:

A media telethon, led by the Public Service Media (PSM), was conducted to gather aid from Maldivians for Sri Lanka, a close ally and home to a large number of Maldivians.

The telethon, which ran from 9:00 AM yesterday until 2:00 PM this afternoon, raised MVR 11 million plus USD 43,631.31 (over MVR 600,000). Many Maldivian companies and resorts also made financial contributions during this event.

The largest donation in the media telethon was made by the Maldives Police Service (MPS), which contributed MVR 2.4 million. The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) donated MVR 1 million to the fund.

Furthermore, the Maldivian Government had previously announced a donation of USD 50,000 (MVR 770,000) and 25,000 cases of canned fish to Sri Lanka.

The catastrophic events caused by Cyclone Ditwah have resulted in over 300 deaths and over 300 people currently missing. Sri Lanka has declared a state of emergency, marking this as the country's most significant natural disaster since the 2004 Tsunami.