CDB gifts IT lab to Swarna Pradeepa Vidyalaya

Citizens Development Business Finance PLC (CDB) recently donated an IT lab to Swarna Pradeepa Vidyalaya, Thorayaya, Kurunegala. It will benefit over 200 students. The school has classes up to the GCE Ordinary Level.

This state-of-the-art IT lab has been equipped with HP computers, LCD monitors, printers, stationery, scanners, computer tables, chairs and other infrastructure.

A CDB official explains a point to school schildren

Telecom ADSL internet facilities was gifted to the school as part of CDB's islandwide CSR initiative.

CDB's Director and Chief Marketing Officer Malcom Weerasuriya and senior members of CDB handed over the IT lab to the school.

School Principal W.H.M Jayathilaka said, "Education today is interconnected with technology which has become part and parcel of our lives. Our children were deprived of an IT education and access to the internet for a long time.

This gift by CDB has opened our community to the marvels of IT skills."

"This is indeed an important milestone in the history of our school. We are grateful to the CDB for this initiative. Not only will it enrich our school but also our entire community in Thorayaya," he said.

CDB's Director and Chief Marketing Officer Malcolm Weerasuriya said, "We have been conducting IT lab projects for the past four years as part of our CSR to enhance IT education among rural youth."

"The world is becoming increasingly interconnected and competitive. In this context, young people must keep up with the competition and build networks to strengthen their employability. With IT skills being pre-requisites for education and employment, this project at the Swarna Pradeepa Vidyalaya will spur these students to see their future in a positive light," he said. As part of its national drive to increase IT literacy, the CDB plans to launch more projects of this nature in other parts of the country.

Weerasuriya said, "The country's long-term economic progress is invariably connected to the opportunities available to its future generation. In view of this, our CSR strategy focuses on taking a practical approach to improve IT literacy among young children in rural areas."

"The project is implemented under the CSR theme of CDB Pariganaka Piyasa (CDB Technology Centre)," he said.