Commercial Bank helps families displaced by conflict

Saturday, 26 February 2011 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Four families from the Chavakachecheri area in Jaffna have an opportunity to begin life anew, thanks to another community initiative of the Commercial Bank.

Two of these families have received houses built on their own lands and the other two will receive their new houses later this year.

Each house comprises of a living room, a large bedroom, a kitchen and a bathroom and has water supply and electricity.

The project is carried out in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Army – 52 Division, based in Varany North which provided free labour and the technical expertise to construct the houses.

Richard Rodrigo, Co-ordinator of Commercial Bank’s CSR Trust said: “This is an example of the bank’s commitment to the communities it serves. These families had to abandon their homes due to the conflict and we believe it is our duty to help them resume their lives in their own homes.”

“This is a joint project of the bank’s CSR Trust and the employees of the Commercial Bank who collectively contributed over Rs 2.5 million to assist the internally displaced at a time when the IDPs were facing many hardships. Monies collected were used to provide essential items to the internally displaced who were in various refugee camps at that time,” he said.

“With the easing of the security situation, the IDPs who were returning to their original villages often found their one time homes beyond repair and the Commercial Bank decided to use the balance remaining to construct four houses, two of which were handed over this time,” he added.

The Commercial Bank branch in Chavakachcheri together with Colonels S.H.M. Tilakaratne and Hemantha Bandara of the Sri Lanka Army co-ordinated the project, under the guidance of Major General Mahinda Haturusinghe, Security Forces Commander of Jaffna.

Among the other initiatives of the Commercial Bank’s CSR Trust are the grant of Annual Scholarships to undergraduates, setting up IT Labs in schools, conducting of programmes to upgrade English Education and assisting Children’s Homes.