The ‘Brave Hearts’ project was initiated by the former President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa and also the former Secretary of Defence and former President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces His Excellency Gotabaya Rajapaksa with the prime objective of looking after battle-injured valiant War Heroes during the remainder of their precious lives since they need therapeutic recuperation and rehabilitation. This noble concept turned to be a reality on 17th September 2009 with the inaugural cornerstone-laying in a 5 acre land patch, adjoining ‘Nuwarawewa’ banks in Anuradhapura after cutting the first sod. Named as ‘Abhimansala - 1’, this state-of-the-art wellness resort, equipped with all medical needs of disabled War Heroes was accordingly vested in them during a special ceremony on 26th July 2011 as a symbol of the Nation’s gratitude to those warriors who sacrificed their ‘tomorrow’ for our ‘today’. The ‘Abhimansala - 1’, a healing centre and a second home to those War Heroes houses 52 differently able warriors who need continuous therapy and rehabilitation until the end of their lives because their home fronts would not be able to provide the same sophisticated facility, similar to the one in the ‘Abhimansala - I’ at Anuradhapura.
The Army Seva Vanitha Unit took the lead in the construction of this national responsibility further and built the ‘Abhimansala - II’ at Kamburupitiya, Matara on 10th November 2012, providing an identical healing resort for 48 more critically injured War Heroes who need life-time attention. Undeterred, steps were then adopted through the ‘Brave Hearts’ project to erect the third of the same facility, ‘Abhimansala - III’ at Pangolla, Ibbagamuwa on 25th April 2014 enabling 52 more brave soldiers of the Army who sustained injuries during the peak of the war for peace. The ‘Brave Hearts’ project in addition was at the forefront of providing new houses for the families of those War Heroes and also the ones who defended the country from terrorism and separation.
