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Seylan Bank will open five branches in the North on May 15 in an effort to uplift the lives of the people there and to strengthen the ongoing peace process, said Ceylinco Consolidated Chairman, Lalith Kotalawala.

He was addressing a media conference in Colombo last week to announce the setting up of the Ceylinco North-East Development Trust Fund and donation to build a Therapy Pool for disabled soldiers in the Kuruwita Army Camp.

Mr. Kotalawala said Seylan Bank was opened over a decade ago when there was political turmoil in the country with the intention of providing every Sri Lankan an equal share of service without considering racial, religious or class differences.

"Our aim was to provide the best possible service to people in all parts of the country, but the on-going war had made it difficult to set up branches in the North. Now after all the hard work our dream has come true and it will be a new beginning for us. The setting up of the Ceylinco North Development Trust Fund and the donation to build a Therapy Pool for the disabled soldiers in the Kuruwita Army camp is a gesture of goodwill towards the people in the North who had long suffered and the brave soldiers who have become disabled due to the ruthless war," Mr. Kotalawala said.

Seylan Bank has donated Rs. 5 million towards the uplift of the poor in the North East of the Country, said the Executive Director of the Grameen Credit Line, Victor Ratnayake.

"We have made significant inroads into alleviation of poverty in Sri Lanka since year 2000. Ceylinco Consolidated hopes to take Grameen Banking a step forward by making Ceylinco Grameen Credit services available through Seylan Bank to those deserving a helping hand.

"One of the earliest projects that Grameen participated in was at Kollupitiya. Over 2,500 children are living on the streets of Colombo and the suburbs as they can not look to their elders for food and shelter. We began this program at the Mosque Lane slums, Kollupitiya through the Grameen concept introduced by Prof. M. Yunus of Bangladesh. We set up the Ceylinco Grameen Credit Company for this purpose and up to now Rs. 50 million has been provide to 32,000 people who belong to the category of the poorest of the poor families in 46 areas in and around Colombo and the program has now become very successful," Mr. Ratnayake said.

Seylan Bank has also taken the initiative in making available adequate resources for disabled soldiers by donating Rs. 5 million for the rehabilitation of disabled soldiers.

The water therapeutic pool which is to be built in the Kuruwita Army Camp, with the Seylan Bank donation will benefit over one- thousand disabled soldiers who have to travel to Colombo for treatment.

The swimming pool to be designed exclusively for disabled soldiers will be in accordance with international therapeutic standards. The project would also include a bath-house, outdoor deck area, and filter room and pool equipment storage area. The pool systems feature a heating system, filter, freshwater distribution system and an outlet system.

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Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
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