‘Senehe Siyapatha’ initiative provides homes to Aranayaka landslide victims

Generous donations channelled from Dialog subscribers, tripled in value through a donation by Dialog Axiata and further supplemented by support in civil construction services from the tri-forces enabled the handing of the ‘Senehe Siyapatha’ Senehase Gammanaya consisting 30 houses to victims of the Aranayaka landslide, in the Kegalle District. 

The homes were ceremoniously handed over by Minister of Parliament Reforms and Mass Media Gayantha  Karunathilake, Minister of Disaster Management Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Minister of Power and Renewable Energy Ranjith Siyabalapitiya, State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardene, Deputy Minister of Parliament Reforms and Mass Media Karunarathna Paranawithana, Ministry of Defence Secretary Eng. Karunasena Hettiarachchi, Axiata Group Regional Chief Executive – South Asia Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, Dialog Axiata PLC Group Chief Executive Supun Weerasinghe, Kagalle District Secretariat District Secretary/GA Chandrasiri Bandara, Divisional Secretary of Aranayake Z.A.M. Faizal, Coordinating Committee, Aranayaka Joint Chairman Lalith Dissanayake and Coordinating Committee, Aranayaka Joint Chairman Nimal Jayasinghe.

‘Senehe Siyapatha’ is an initiative by the Ministry of Parliament Reforms and Mass Media, Ministry of Defence, Dialog Axiata PLC, Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation, Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation, Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd. and Disaster Management Centre. Work commenced on the third phase with the laying of the foundation stone for the ‘Senehe Siyapatha Gammanaya’ in Aranayake on 29 October last year, to house families displaced by the disaster. The Sri Lanka Army, Navy and Air Force provided civil construction services free of charge to build the 30 homes, and the construction was supervised by Sierra Construction, whilst the project was managed by Dialog Axiata PLC.    

The houses are constructed as per specifications given by the NBRO (National Building Research Organisation) under the aegis of the Ministry of Disaster Management, a leading research and development institution in the country and a reputed technical services provider in the fields of geotechnical engineering, landslide risk management, human settlements planning, environmental monitoring, building materials research, and engineering project management.

“We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to our customers for supporting families in Aranayaka during the challenging time the country faced last year. This donation is a true testament of the generosity of our subscribers, and we are pleased to have partnered with the Ministry of Parliament Reforms and Mass Media, Ministry of Defence and all other stakeholders to have initiated a programme to provide permanent homes to those affected from the disaster,” Dialog Axiata PLC Group Chief Executive Supun Weerasinghe said. 

On 20 May 2016, the ‘Senehe Siyapath’ program was launched by Sri Lanka’s premier connectivity provider, Dialog Axiata PLC, with an appeal to its subscribers to donate Rs. 50 for relief operations via SMS (Short Message Service), Star Points and eZ Cash following the natural disasters. Dialog tripled the donation by adding Rs. 100, thereby donating Rs. 150. Customers donated Rs. 15 million to the initiative, whilst Dialog Axiata added Rs. 35 million to raise the fund to Rs. 50 million. This was further topped up by Dialog Axiata with an allocation of Rs. 15 million to complete the construction of ‘Senehe Siyapatha’ Senehase Gammanaya.

Under the first phase of, the ‘Senehe Siyapatha’ initiative, 50 water pumps worth Rs. 1.6 million was donated to the Disaster Management Centre on 23 May 2016 to aid immediate flood relief efforts. Under the second phase of its activity, footwear worth over Rs. 11.4 million was distributed to over ten thousand children in 33 schools in Colombo and Gampaha districts.

The disbursement of funds and the actions of the ‘Senehe Siyapatha’ initiative are independently audited by PriceWaterHouseCoopers Sri Lanka, with the report published on sm.dialog.lk/relief/.