Seylan opens 50th school library under ‘Seylan Pahasara’ CSR initiative

Saturday, 20 December 2014 00:03 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

St. Sebastian’s Navodhya College in Egodawella, Chilaw received a fully-fledged library including multimedia facilities from Seylan Bank as part of the bank’s ‘Seylan Pahasara’ Corporate Social Responsibility initiative aimed at establishing 100 fully-fledged school libraries by 2016.

Seylan Bank GM/CEO Kapila Ariyaratne ceremoniously opens the upgraded library of St. Sebastian’s Navodhya College, Egodawella, Chilaw The fully-fledged library, the 50th milestone of the ‘Seylan Pahasara’ journey was ceremoniously opened by General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Kapila Ariyaratne amid students, teachers and well-wishers on 1 December 2014. “We are delighted to mark the opening of the 50th library under our Corporate Social Responsibility initiative which focuses on establishing fully-fledged libraries at schools that are in need of better facilities. The Sustainability Committee at Seylan Bank decided to partner education because we believe we could play a vital role in creating an environment that enhances education and development of our student population. With upgraded libraries, students will have better access to books and learning opportunities in a conducive environment which will inculcate and encourage the reading habit.

St. Sebastian’s Navodhya College, Egodawella, Chilaw Principal H.M. Abesinghe receives a set of books from Seylan Bank GM/CEO Kapila Ariyaratne We are confident that this worthy effort will go a long way in inspiring a culture of reading and widening the quest for knowledge outside the school curriculum. This is a long term investment that would empower youth in rural communities and fostering economic growth,” Seylan Bank General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Kapila Ariyaratne said. The ‘Seylan Pahasara’ project was launched in 2013 to help 100 less privileged schools in the Island to set up new libraries or refurbish existing ones. Last year, Seylan Bank completed 12 libraries in 10 districts and during 2014, gifted another 38 libraries reaching the milestone of 50 libraries. Plans are underway to establish another 50 libraries in selected schools within the next one and a half years.