‘Munchee Samaga Gamata Sarana’ programme completes four more community service projects

The foremost CSR initiative of Munchee, the flagship brand of Ceylon Biscuits Limited has reached out to four more remote villages under its ‘Munchee Samaga Gamata Sarana’ programme. The four villages that benefited under this programme are Katuwana in Hambantota, Yayapara in Eheliyagoda, Kumbuka in Horana and Diyagaha in Matara.

‘Munchee Samaga Gamata Sarana,’ the CSR programme for village rehabilitation and development, was launched mid last year with the objective of generating social incentives to needy rural communities. This programme has now flourished into a well structured social value generation and community integration programme and the latest initiatives bear witness to same.

In Katuwana, which is a very remote village situated in Hambantota District, Munchee constructed a 40 ft well that supports a purified pipe-borne drinking water system to Katuwana Primary School. The project was completed with the financial support of Munchee and technical and resource inputs of Munchee field sales staff and villages.

The next CSR initiative was also targeted at a school in Kumbuka (in Horana electorate) where a fully equipped library was constructed with Munchee’s contribution. Kumbuka Primary School is considered as a progressive school in the area where the Year 1 admissions have seen a 60% increase during the last few years.

The third school that benefited under the ‘Gamata Sarana’ initiative is Diyagaha Primary School in Matara. Munchee donated a fully-equipped computer lab to this school along with a building.

More than 1,000 primary school students have benefited across all these three projects. Apart from the educational and infrastructural support that has been extended, Munchee has also granted scholarships to students of three schools under the ‘Munchee Tikiri Shishyadara’ programme.

This is an extension of the already existing Munchee Tikiri Scholarship initiative that supports talented yet underprivileged children. Through this programme more than 2,000 student across the country have already been benefited.

Yayapara is another remote village in Eheliyagoda electorate that got benefited under the ‘Gamata Sarana’ initiative. This village consists of more than 50 families but finding water for their day-to-day use was a challenge. As such, under the ‘Munchee Gamata Sarana’ initiative, the field sales force of Munchee along with the villagers, renovated a 90-year-old well and handed it over to the villagers for their use.  

Speaking about the Gamata Sarana initiative, Nandana Wickramage, Group Director & Head of Marketing & Sales, CBL said: “We have observed that social incentives can greatly improve the economic dynamics of rural societies and if we could integrate the under-privileged rural communities with the adjacent larger society, a fundamental improvement could be made in their lifestyles.

“The launch of the ‘Gamata Sarana’ initiative, with a collaborative approach between the company, its sales force and village communities, has helped reinstate traditional values of the village culture such as unity, cooperation, mutual support, etc., which we think are important for the collective development of these villages.”

The ‘Gamata Sarana’ initiative is not only an infrastructure development programme, but also a social integration and value addition programme according to I.M. Khan, General Manager Sales of CBL.

He said: “Identifying, leading and participating in ‘Gamata Sarana’ initiatives has brought out the hidden aptitudes of the Munchee sales force where they are encouraged to use their skills in creative planning, material sourcing, cost effective practices, team working and community outreach. These initiatives help the sales force blend-in with the communities they are catering to and become part and parcel of their development process.”

Through the ‘Gamata Sarana’ programme, Munchee will extend its corporate goodwill to most needy villages by improving the village infrastructure, initiating livelihood development programs and supporting the education of school children. The end objective of the ‘Gamata Sarana’ initiative is to enhance and improve the overall social capital of the selected communities

Munchee is planning to carry out development activities in 100 needy villages throughout the island and by end of March, 25 such projects will be completed. Village community representatives who wish to sought assistance through the ‘Gamata Sarana’ initiative is encouraged to contact Munchee field sales personnel with their requests.

Once these requests are collected, a committee will evaluate each application and shortlist the neediest ones for execution. In addition the Munchee field sales force will also get involved in identifying ‘Gamata Sarana’ opportunities in their respective regions.