Salman to help rehabilitate child soldiers in Sri Lanka

Mumbai (IANS): The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) will hold a charity match between Indian celebrities and Sri Lankan cricketers here in June to help rehabilitate former Tamil Tiger child soldiers.

The event will be held in conjunction with the Sri Lankan cricket board, NGO Habitat for Humanity and UNICEF. Bollywood star Salman Khan will be the brand ambassador for the initiative.

“We will help to invest to make homes in Jaffna. I love you guys and I will help you soon,” the actor said at a press meet here.

This year IIFA awards will be held June 3-5 in Colombo. The charity match will take place during the three-day event.

The proceeds from the match will be used to help rehabilitate children who once fought in the ranks of the now decimated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

IIFA, in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, also plans to adopt and rebuild a village populated by those displaced by the war.

Salman said he supported IIFA’s initiative that aims to help Sri Lankan people who have suffered on account of the long drawn out war that ended in a military victory for Colombo in May last year.

“I am happy to be an ‘Ambassador of Change’ and believe that it is crucial to make a difference and contribute to this worthy cause,” he said.

Sabbas Joseph, director of Wizcraft, told IANS: “We thought if we are holding IIFA in Sri Lanka, then we must partner with that country. We must see what we can do for the refugees.”