Commercial Bank continues supporting war heroes by assisting ‘Abhimansala 3’

Saturday, 3 May 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The CSR Trust of the Commercial Bank of Ceylon has constructed and furnished a Villa at ‘Abhimansala 3’ – the Life Long Care Centre for disabled war heroes in Pangolla, Kurunegala, which was ceremonially declared open by His Excellency President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday, 25 April.

The villa, which is one of eight such villas at the centre, comprises of two bedrooms, a living room cum TV lounge and bathrooms custom designed and equipped for the use of disabled military personnel. It will cater to the needs of four occupants. In all, Abhimansala 3 will accommodate 52 disabled war heroes, 32 of them in eight villas donated by corporate entities including Commercial Bank, and 20 in a hospital within the complex. The centre also has a therapy swimming pool and other facilities including a gym and an Ayurveda therapy centre and several cottages for visiting families of resident war heroes. Abhimansala projects are managed by the Brave Heart Foundation which is affiliated to the Army Branch of the Seva Vanitha Foundation. “Commercial Bank considers it a duty to support war heroes as part of its responsibility to the community,” Ravi Dias, Managing Director and CEO of the Bank said. “It is our honour to help construct a villa at Abhimansala 3 that provides life-long professional medical care to these soldiers in recognition of their sacrifices in the service of their country.” The Commercial Bank’s support to this facility is part of its long-standing commitment to the welfare of disabled war heroes. The bank also donated a villa to the first Abhimansala facility at Anuradhapura, which is home to 52 disabled military personnel, has supported the ‘Mihindu Seth Medura,’ at Attidiya, another facility which houses seriously injured war heroes, and has sponsored the annual ‘Avurudu’ celebrations of ‘Ranaviru Sevana,’ the rehabilitation centre in Ragama for disabled war heroes, for the past five years. All centrally-funded Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives come under the purview of the Commercial Bank CSR Trust, established in 2004. The bank contributes a percentage of its post tax profits annually to the Trust, and defines the overall goal of its CSR policy as ‘to generate measurable and sustainable social dividends for different segments of society, in particular those which require empowerment and enrichment’.