ComBank donates IT lab to Mirihanegama school

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon presented its 100th IT laboratory to Mirihanegama Kanista Vidyalaya in the Kurunegala district. The school serves the 247-family community of Mirihanegama. The Bank also assisted the villagers to set up a milk collection project with the help of dairy companies and presented microfinance loans to several residents.

From left: Chairman of the CSR Trust of Commercial Bank, Lakshman Hulugalle, Managing Director and CEO, Ravi Dias and Chief Financial Officer Nandika Buddhipala at the new IT lab.

Synchronising its nationally-significant IT education project with a new CSR initiative, a sustainability-linked Village Development and Livelihood Diversification program, the Bank renewed its association with this village, to which it has extended support in the past.

"The full-equipped and furnished IT lab presented to the school will benefit 173 students, taking the total number of students country-wide served by the 100 IT Labs donated by the Commercial Bank to 100,000," a bank spokesman said.

The Bank will also assist the school to maintain the facility to ensure that it benefits many batches of students.

"We are happy to donate our 100th IT Lab to the Mirihanegama Kanishta Vidyalaya and also to start a village rehabilitation program. Mirihanegama is a typical Sri Lankan rural agrarian community, whose socio-economic outlook can be improved significantly with well-targeted interventions that empower people," Chairman of the CSR Trust of Commercial Bank, Lakshman Hulugalle said.

"As a Bank that has a country-wide presence and is involved with the masses at the grassroots level, Commercial Bank understands the needs of such communities and has the expertise and the commitment to help them," he said.

At the launch of the milk collection project, the Development Credit Department of Commercial Bank presented microfinance loans to seven Mirihanegama residents.