SriLankan Airlines, Rotary Club of Colombo Metropolitan launch ‘Child Friendly Police Station’ proje

SriLankan Airlines and the Rotary Club of Colombo Metropolitan have taken an important step forward in combating all forms of child abuse in Sri Lanka with the launch of the ‘Child Friendly Police Station’ project, aimed at protecting child victims and bringing justice for their grievances.

Ajith Dias, Chairman of SriLankan Airlines, said: “SriLankan Airlines believes that safeguarding children’s rights helps build strong, well-educated communities. There can be no matter of greater importance than the safety and welfare of our nation’s children. The National Carrier is proud to once again fulfill its duties as a pillar of the nation’s corporate sector by engaging with the Rotary Club of Colombo Metropolitan in this project to protect our children, though our CSR arm SriLankan Cares.”

The program envisages physically transforming police stations nationwide into centres of refuge where traumatised children would find a safe and comforting environment to go to and narrate their harrowing tales of abuse. A crucial element of the program will be the provision of comprehensive training of police officers in modern methodologies of caring for victims of all forms of child abuse including sexual assault and physical and psychological abuse.

Pradeepa Kekulawala, Head of Human Resources at SriLankan who leads the airline’s CSR efforts, added: “Although Sri Lanka has made progress in some areas of promoting the rights and care of children, we believe that much more needs to be done. By turning police stations into sanctuaries of refuge that children would turn towards when they are in need of comfort and succor, we will be achieving multiple goals, including creating awareness among the general public of the horrors of child abuse and ensuring more efficient investigations to bring justice to victims.”

The Child Friendly Police Station project is intended to assist the Sri Lankan Government in achieving its Agenda 2030 targets to end violence against children. The pilot project will commence with the Ragama Police Station in a suburb north of the capital Colombo and the program is envisaged to then be implemented in other police stations around the country. 

Past President and Chairman of Membership of Rotary Club of Colombo Metropolitan Kumar Mirchandani said: “The Rotary Club of Colombo Metropolitan is always looking at ways to improve our community, and the Child-Friendly Police Station based in Ragama is such an initiative. It is the first Child friendly Police Station of this nature in Sri Lanka, with the objective of providing children with a safe and private environment if the need to report a crime of any sort. The unstinting support and guidance received from the Ministry of Law and Order and the IGP and his team were crucial in getting this project going. We are very thankful to Sri Lankan Airlines for coming forward as one of our sponsors for this groundbreaking initiative by our Rotary Club. Our projects would be impossible if not for individuals and corporates such as SriLankan.”