Hemas Piyawara clinches Gold award

Piyawara, the flagship CSR initiative of the Hemas Group clinched the overall Gold Award at the JASTECA CSR Awards 2014.

Organised by the Japan-Sri Lanka Technical and Cultural Association, the JASTECA Awards are organised to encourage public and private sector business entities to adopt and embed Corporate

Social Responsibility (CSR) as a part of its 'business policy', which goes beyond statutory and stakeholder obligations and recognising and rewarding it for it efforts and commitment.

The award was presented to Hemas Holdings PLC in recognition of its pioneering service to Sri Lankan children through the Piyawara Early Childhood Development initiative.

Three months ago, in November last year, Piyawara emerged overall winner in two categories

- 'Top Community Care Companies in Asia 2014' and 'Best CSR Campaign - Community Care' at the Asia Corporate Excellence and Sustainability Awards 2014 (ACES) Singapore.

Launched 13 years ago, Piyawara is the key Corporate Social Responsibility project of Hemas Holdings PLC in partnership with the Children's Secretariat of the Ministry of Child Development and Women's Affairs.

It has a holistic approach and focuses on promoting Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) through the establishment of child-friendly pre-schools across Sri Lanka.

"We're now re-evaluating Piyawara with all our key stakeholders including the Children's Secretariat of the Ministry of Child Development and Women's Affairs to take this initiative to the next level and provide an even greater service to the children of this country", said Executive Director, Hemas Outreach Foundation Shiromi Masakorala.