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Abu Dhabi hotel builds 'fun facility' for orphans

Abu Dhabi - A team of three employees from Sheraton Abu Dhabi Hotel will visit the children of Kalamusu Kadella Children's Home in Sri Lanka

Spending around Dh100,000, Sheraton Abu Dhabi Hotel and Resort has built a multi-purpose recreational facility for the children of Kalamusu Kadella Children's Home in Sri Lanka.
A team of three employees from the Sheraton were to board a flight to Sri Lanka to meet the boys and girls of the Kalamusu Kadella orphanage.
Rui Maroto, Director of Engineering Jorge Guisasola, Director of Guest Service and Judith Pasztor Duffy, Director of Marketing at Sheraton Abu Dhabi will spend a week at the orphanage, where the hotel has just built a new facility.
"The money we raised from our charity flea markets, around Dh100,000, we used to build a multi-purpose room for the orphanage, where the children can have good quality play time and eat together," Yves Tarabout, General Manager of Sheraton Abu Dhabi Hotel and Resort told Khaleej Times.
Home to 50 boys and girls between the ages of 5 to 17 years old, the Kalamusu Kadella orphanage was initially planned in 2005 to care of the children who lost their parents and homes in the 2004 tsunami that claimed 35,000 lives in Sri Lanka.
It took four years for the home to become operational and today it cares for children also affected by domestic violence, abuse and abandonment. "We set out to create a space where the children can spend time together, settle down in the evenings, where they can read, colour, play and come together as a family," said Duffy.
"Since the construction is now close to completion, we will travel to the Kalutara region from January 25 for a week to assist with the final touches," she added.
The team will not go empty-handed. Sheraton has set aside part of the cash from fundraising to buy gifts, food items, other necessity items like vitamins, which are not available in Sri Lanka.
Sheraton's flea markets, taking place once every three months, where Abu Dhabi residents can sell their unwanted household items, provide most of the needed funds for these charity projects.
"We are truly grateful to the capital's community. Everything we do is made possible by those generous residents, who partake in our charity bazaars as either exhibitors or visitors," said Duffy.
A country that emerged from a 26 years civil war in 2009, Sri Lanka still has nearly 90,000 internally displaced people. Many children have been battling poverty, human trafficking and homelessness since then.
silvia@khaleejtimes.com