Seylan Bank lives up to its brand promise of being a ‘Bank with a Heart’ by touching the lives of millions through its far-reaching CSR initiatives. ‘Seylan Pahasara’ commenced a decade ago in tandem with the Bank’s 25th Anniversary celebrations with the objective of establishing libraries at deserving schools across the island. Bringing the project to successful completion, the 225th library was declared open at Dharmashoka Primary College in Maharagama, parallel to the commemoration of the Bank’s 35th Anniversary.
The opening of the library was attended by the Management of Seylan Bank headed by Kapila Ariyarathne – Director/CEO of Seylan Bank, Ramesh Jayasekere – Deputy CEO and Champika Dodamwala – Chief Financial Officer, together with Dineshika Gunarathne – Divisional Director of Education. Chintha Perera – Principal of Dharmashoka Primary College was joined by the Vice Principals and Assistant Principal. The donation of the library incidentally took place on the 110th anniversary of the school.
Seylan Pahasara was established to transform young minds and empower their lives by elevating the standard of the overall quality of education aligned with the curriculum and co-curriculum. The initiative also promotes the habit of reading among the young, and influences them to shape their education, with a better focus to face future challenges with courage and confidence. By conceptualizing sustainable development goals in the dimension of Quality Education (Goal No 4) and fulfilling 225 libraries as promised at the outset, the bank has successfully delivered the necessary infrastructure – including personal computers and multimedia projectors based on the infrastructure requirement, enhanced the learning content with books, and further facilitated access to virtual books, all of which are aligned to the overarching curriculum and co-curriculum, equipping students with access to quality education.
The Chief Financial Officer of Seylan Bank PLC, Ms. Champika Dodanwela who has been instrumental in championing the sustainability initiatives of the bank, commented: “Seylan Bank has entrenched itself in the hearts and minds of the people as a trusted and respected corporate entity. Our dreams for the next generation spurred us on to launch “Seylan Pahasara”, a project that would enhance literacy and encourage students to dream big and be equipped to fulfill those dreams in a pragmatic way. The project has nurtured thousands of school children across 225 schools, developing the habit of reading from a young age. We believe that literacy is at the heart of future progress, and we are proud to play such a role in equipping tomorrow’s leaders with the tools of education and learning, and also acting as a catalyst in unlocking the potential of further generations. This project is all the more special as it has brought together our staff and the officials of the beneficiary schools for a truly realized community endeavor”.
The staff of Seylan Bank have immersed themselves in the project since its inception. The project has also engaged school authorities, parents, students, Directors and higher authorities from the Education Department. As a purpose-driven CSR initiative, Seylan Pahasara has been managed prudently with continuous review and stringent directions of the Board, to ensure that the ultimate benefit is bestowed upon students.
The project is structured in such a way, that the bank donates books to existing libraries and restores libraries that are in a run-down condition in less-privileged schools island wide. When selecting schools for this project, the bank consults education officials, principals, teachers and other stakeholders to obtain qualitative and rational feedback, based on their real needs at the time. In addition, this initiative provides more opportunities for students to interact closely with the bank and augment their learning experience and familiarize themselves with banking as a future prospect.
Launching the project in the year 2013, as a gift of hope for children for a better tomorrow, whilst commemorating the 25th anniversary of the bank, the target was to open 100 libraries over a period of 4 years: The first library was opened at the Swarnapali Balika Maha Vidyalaya in Anuradhapura, the 25th library at Dambulla Primary School, the 50th library at St. Sebastian’s Navodhya Vidyalaya in Chilaw, 75th library at Nelliyadi Methodist Mission Tamil Mixed School in Karaveddy, 100th library at Weerapuran Appu Model School in Moratuwa, 150th library at C W W Kannangara Vidyalaya in Borella, 175th library at St. John’s college in Kalubowila and 200th library at Wijayaba Maha Vidyalaya in Grandpass. The project has ensured a fair distribution of libraries across every district of the island.
‘Seylan Pahasara’ has been able to reach out to hundreds of students over the past 10 years, nurturing them to be well-balanced and visionary citizens of the country.