BOC promotes family protection via savings on Children’s Day
Saturday, 5 October 2013 00:00
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A child’s world is delightful with the loving care and protection of the child’s family that surrounds the child and of other adults who protect and guide the child through life. This year’s theme for World Children’s Day is, ‘The family protects you’. Today’s children have to be protected as never before. This is because the development of a child’s physical and mental health begins with the family. A child’s basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter and health requirements for the future are provided by adults. As we observe World Children’s Day today commemorating World Adults Day at the same time is opportune, when considering these factors.
A family unit is a community of people who live together. All tasks which devolve on the family have a bearing on its members. The responsibility lies with the adults. Adults move outside the family unit to engage in activities with society and other groups to better their children’s future. These actions are motivated by love and kindness and are directed towards a child’s education, to develop a healthy body and mind and to secure their future well-being.
Over the past 75 years Bank of Ceylon has incorporated the development of the entire family from children to adults into its product and service offerings. In accordance with the theme, ‘The family protects you’, the Bank of Ceylon has paved the way to ease this burden of responsibility for all adults, who have to nurture their young.
Ran Kekulu is a children’s savings account from Bank of Ceylon which is focused in improving a child’s current and future security. It offers the widest range of benefits among children’s accounts. Parents can get a number of financial and non-financial benefits through Ran Kekulu accounts, which can be operated without any risk. This account presents an additional 1% interest and offers the account holder hospitalisation/medical insurance charges up to Rs. 100,000 that covers 10 critical illnesses. A further insurance cover is available for the depositor who opens the account up to a maximum of Rs. 500,000. The depositor becomes eligible for an insurance cover maximum of Rs. 1 million if he/she maintains multiple Ran Kekulu accounts depending on the account balance. Furthermore, 2,000 scholarships worth Rs. 10,000 each are granted annually to Ran Kekulu account holders that emerge successful at the grade 5 scholarship examination. A minimum balance of Rs. 5,000 maintained in a Ran Kekulu account qualifies the account holder for most of the privileges mentioned here.
Bank of Ceylon also maintains students’ savings units at schools. Ran Kekulu Sansada, BOC’s school savings units help students to save their pocket money at school level. Ran Kekulu Sansada is a bank’s mini model branch at school. Ran Kekulu Sansada helps students by exposing them to banking experiences from their childhood while establishing the savings habit in their mindset. BOC operates over 3,500 school savings units at present.
BOC has been conducting ‘Ran Kekulu Hapana’ grade 5 scholarship seminars from year 2000 with the purpose of supporting students who are preparing themselves for the grade 5 scholarship examination. These seminars are conducted by a panel of well-experienced professional teachers specially trained for the grade 5 scholarship examination. BOC has conducted more than 950 seminars island-wide up to now. Also, they are conducting a psychosomatic seminar for parents of the same students to educate them as to how they can facilitate their children for the grade 5 scholarship examination.
