Commercial Bank CSR Trust takes the gift of IT to 6,000 more children

Saturday, 31 December 2011 00:01 -     - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Thirteen fully-equipped computer training centres have been set up by the Commercial Bank of Ceylon in the past three months, as the bank’s CSR Trust stepped up the pace of its nationally-significant community initiative to take IT education to schools.

Commercial Bank contributes up to 1% of its post tax profits every year towards its CSR Trust. The Bank has to date donated IT labs to 22 schools across the island, and will continue the programme in the year ahead.

The latest donations have benefited more than 6,000 schoolchildren, including under privileged children and those with visual and hearing impairment with access to IT training. The Bank has donated IT labs complete with computers, chairs, tables, printers and necessary other facilities such as air conditioning.

The recipient schools were the Atchuvely Central College, the Kamburupitiya Maha Vidyalaya, the Karagoda – Uyangoda Navodya School – Kamburupitiya, the Sugathapala Godawaththa Junior School – Kamburupitiya, the Kolonvinna Junior School – Moneragala, the Ananda Vijaya Vidyalaya – Udugama, St. Mary’s Sinhala Mix Vidyalaya – Bambalapitiya, Hiriwadunna M.V – Kegalle, Hulugalla Kavisena M.V – Nikaweratiya and Lamamithuru Model School – Ruwanwella.

The school for children with visual and hearing impairments in Ratmalana, the HBE Children’s Home in Jaffna and the SOS Children’s Village in Jaffna, also received computer facilities from the Bank.

“Facilitating access to IT education to rural children is important to reduce the resources gap which puts them at a disadvantage when competing with peers from better equipped schools in the cities,” Commercial Bank Deputy General Manager Marketing Hasrath Munasinghe said. “The donation of IT equipment to support the education of visually and hearing impaired children is also most appropriate, as these children face many difficulties in their studies.”

Among the many schools in rural areas that have previously received donations of IT equipment from Commercial Bank are schools in Tangalle, Badulla, Nawalapitiya and Kataragama.

In addition to its commitment to provide IT education facilities, the other principal initiatives of the Bank’s CSR Trust are the grant of annual scholarships to undergraduates, supporting health projects around the country and conducting of programmes to upgrade English education.



 

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