This Children’s Day was a day to remember for the children of SOS Children’s Village in Monaragala as AkzoNobel -producer of Dulux paints in Sri Lanka- marked the occasion with a day filled with fun, games, laughter, and plenty of paint.
This year AkzoNobel employee volunteers visited the SOS Monaragala village, and together with the children created a life-size mural to brighten up their community. The children were also given the opportunity to take part in art competitions as well as motivational and mentoring sessions, with music and entertainment bringing in additional good cheer. Each child also received a special gift at the end of the day.
This event -only one of many- serves as testament to the long-standing relationship between the two organisations; a partnership inked in 2019 as part of AkzoNobel’s global Let’s Colour community initiative.
Being a member of the Global YouthCan! network, AkzoNobel works together with SOS Children’s Villages with the aim to use renovation and education to drive a positive impact on youth unemployment. In line with this mission, AkzoNobel offers young people training and practical experience, as well as the opportunity to develop other professional and personal skills. This program provides participants with both the knowledge and capacity to become highly employable individuals so that, in the long term, they will be able to find respectable and stable employment that in turn will help them make a positive change in their own lives as well as their communities.
As part of the larger goal of creating safe and conducive environments for these children to thrive, this Children’s Day, AkzoNobel ensured that the walls of SOS Children’s Village in Monaragala was filled with colour; a step towards contributing towards their growth and well-being.
“Today was all about bringing smiles to the children’s faces, and hopefully brightening their lives just that little bit more,” said Upendra Gunawardhana, Head of Marketing at AkzoNobel Sri Lanka. “We truly value our partnership with SOS Children’s Villages, and we hope to continue endeavouring together to transform lives of young people for the betterment of themselves and society as a whole.”