First Lady endorses Nestlé’s Healthy Kids Programme

Saturday, 8 January 2011 00:02 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Madam Shiranthi Rakapaksa, Sri Lanka’s First Lady, takes keen interest in the development and nurturing of children in the country and is founder of exemplary pre-schools in Sri Lanka.

Presented with Nestlé Lanka’s Healthy Kids Programme recently by Alois Hofbauer, Managing Director, she endorsed and commended the company’s Nutrition Awareness Programme – a part of the Nestlé Healthy Kids Global programme – for school children.

Sri Lanka’s First Lady is involved in a number of significant, philanthropic projects. Being a professional in the field of child psychology and pre-school education, she has established six pre-schools in Colombo and in the southern regions of Sri Lanka.

Each year, over 600 young children are enrolled and 25 teachers are currently employed in these pre-schools. As Founder of the Carlton Pre-schools of Sri Lanka, her aim is to provide future generations with a strong foundation to further their knowledge in a well-disciplined, balanced environment.

Alois Hofbauer, Managing Director for Nestlé Lanka, said: “The First Lady, Madam Shiranthi Rajapaksa, is a role model in driving the education, empowerment and nurturing of children in the country. Like her, Nestlé also believes that children are our future. Close to our heart are the many projects catering to children such as our clean drinking water facilities, water education programmes and sanitation facilities in schools across the Island. The Healthy Kids ‘Nutrition Awareness’ Programme is yet another testament of our strong commitment towards the nation’s children.”

The Nestlé Lanka Healthy Kids Programme is a modern and easy-to-understand Nutrition Awareness Programme of the highest quality launched together with the Ministry of Education and the country’s premier higher education institution, the University of Peradeniya, in September 2010.

The first phase of the programme was successfully completed in seven schools, reaching out to over a thousand children in rural areas. The second roll out of the programme in 2011 will educate many thousands of school children across the country on nutrition issues, healthy eating and living a healthy lifestyle.

Nestlé is widely recognised as the leading nutrition, health & wellness company, where nutrition is one of the three focus areas of the Creating Shared Value (CSV) philosophy.

The Nestlé Healthy Kids Global Programme is an initiative by the Nestlé Group worldwide to create awareness around good nutrition practices and increased physical activity.