SLT and Mobitel support flood victims of north and east

Saturday, 7 May 2011 00:05 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sri Lanka Telecom and Mobitel, the nation’s leading integrated communications service providers handed over a cheque worth Rs. 5 million to aid flood victims in Sri Lanka’s Northern and Eastern Districts.

The cheque was presented by Chairman of SLT Nimal Welgama, the CEO of SLT Greg Young and CEO of Mobitel Suren Amarasekera to President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Also at the event were the Minister of Communication and IT Ranjith Siyambalapitiya and Nimal Athukorale, Secretary to the Ministry.

The funds were raised by the company, its employees and with the aid of the general public who all made contributions through SMS campaign to aid those affected by the floods. This donation follows a series of fundraising efforts by SLT and Mobitel to help assist those suffering most as a result of the rampant floods that took Sri Lanka by storm. SLT and Mobitel worked in close cooperation with the Ministry of Telecommunication and Information Technology to aid the flood victims.

The severe flooding of the northern and eastern regions has had a devastating impact on SLT employees and customers alike. In an effort to provide relief and support to fellow Sri Lankans in need, SLT worked closely with government officials to provide aid to areas in Sri Lanka most seriously affected by the floods. This donation follows prior efforts by SLT and Telecom to provide relief for flood victims.

The company also offered free-of-charge calls via its regional telecom centres and maintenance centres for those living in the affected regions and provided camps that housed the flood victims with CDMA phones with access to free-of-charge calls to enable communication between them and their loved ones.

Earlier this year, SLT called upon all employees to help raise money for dry rations to assist those dealing with the barrage of constant floods experienced in the north and east. The general public, employees of both SLT and Mobitel, joined together to raise Rs. 1 million worth of dry rations. In addition to this, SLT and Mobitel initiated an SMS campaign that matched every Rs. 10 donation made by the public.

Welgama said: “SLT and Mobitel have come together to support those affected by this year’s devastating floods. We are happy to see our customers and members of staff uniting in an effort to help fellow Sri Lankans through hardships brought on by the floods. We hope this donation serves to provide the necessary assistance to those suffering the most in the affected regions.”

Minister Siyambalapitiya said: “It is a wonderful testament to the spirit of Sri Lankans, to see large blue chip companies such as SLT and Mobitel and all their employees uniting to assist in the rehabilitation of flood victims. It is encouraging to see industry giants such as SLT and Mobitel stepping forward to assist members of the community who are facing great challenges due to the destruction caused by the recent floods.”