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Lak Roo on PEO TV

SLT VisionCom, a fully owned subsidiary of Sri Lanka Telecom PLC launched the historic Lak Roo television channel, which reignite the heritage of Sri Lanka on April 5, as part of a collaborative effort with the Government Film Unit (GFU) at Temple Trees under the patronage of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The President inaugurated the first transmission of the Lak Roo television channel. Director General of Government Information, Anusha Palpita, Chairperson, Sri Lanka Telecom PLC Mrs. Leisha de Silva Chandrasena, and CEO, SLT VisionCom Thusha Weerasooriya were also present, along with a ministers as well as artistes from the film industry. This was held to coincide with the 90th birthday of Dr. Lester James Peries, whose first documentary 'Conquest in the Dry Zone' was aired as the first program on the Lak Roo channel.

Lak Roo will be available on PEO TV, a new medium of television entertainment and will feature news, documentaries and special events related to Sri Lankan culture, politics and society derived from the archives of the Government Film Unit.

CEO, SLT VisionCom, Thusha Weerasooriya said, "The launch of the 24hour Lak Roo channel is truly a historic event, as it will showcase a full spectrum of programs that will promote Sri Lanka's national, cultural and social identity. The channel will be exclusively available on PEO TV, which is a medium that has transformed tele-viewing experience in the country. This is part of our steadfast commitment to bring timely, engaging and educationally rich programs as well as helping us to stand apart from the rest, via the superior content that we air to our loyal viewers."

From Arpico privilege card members:

Donation for underprivileged patients at leprosy hospital

Arpico Privilege Cardholders could contribute 50 points they wish to redeem, to a charity. Recently Richard Pieris and Company donated medicines including eye drops, wound cleaning solutions, catheters, gloves, bandages and mackintoshes to the Leprosy Hospital in Wattala, from the Rs. 45,000 worth of points collected since the launch of the Privilege card less than two years ago.

Customer Relationship Manager, Richard Pieris Distributors Ltd., Anil Senewiratne said: "Privilege card shoppers enjoy a benefit-driven shopping experience and many have opted to donate their points to charity and it is indeed a great gesture."

The Leprosy Hospital in Hendala Wattala is the oldest hospital in Sri Lanka built by the Dutch in 1708 and is the first Leprosy hospital in South East Asia according to Dr. Darshana Mohotty, the Medical Officer. Today, the hospital is a rehabilitation centre for the 58 patients, 16 of them female, who were unfortunate enough to get the disease and the deformities it brings at a time when there was no cure. Segregation of the patient to protect the society was the solution at that time.

The patients have languished in this dilapidated hospital with such historic significance for years. One patient came when he was eight and is now 80 years old. Many of the patients do not have kith and kin.

"I have taken this as a challenge because we as a society have a duty to rehabilitate these patients," said Dr. Mohotty, who with his Assistant Medical Officer, Dr. Champu Udugama are doing their utmost to help the inmates who lack even basic medication but lead contented lives. Privilege cardholders therefore have gone a long way to help the patients.

DFCC Vardhana Bank sponsors Sri Lankan Masterminds 2009

DFCC Vardhana Bank [DVB] of the DFCC Bank was the main sponsor of Sri Lankan Masterminds which was held on March 22. Held for the 15th consecutive year, the competition was organized by the Lions Club of Moratuwa-Ratmalana.

Over thirty teams participated, representing the corporate sector, financial institutions and schools as well.

The Royal College 'A' team emerged as winners of Sri Lankan Masterminds 2009, while Soft Tec, Seylan Bank and Commercial Bank 'A' team were close behind.

The winning team also won the top spot in the 'Schools' category, while Seylan Bank won in the 'Banks and Finance Organizations' category and Soft Tec in the 'Mercantile' category.

The 'brain teaser' brought together the best 'think tanks' in Sri Lanka on one platform, testing them on varied subjects ranging from general knowledge, current affairs and many more.

DFCC Vardhana Bank's CEO and Managing Director L.G. Perera said, "With the present global economic situation and the crisis in the local financial sector, DFCC Vardhana will continue to build trust amongst the people, while continuously working towards service excellence."

Whilst congratulating the winning teams, he said, "We are proud to sponsor an event of this nature. Sri Lankan Masterminds has proven to be a very successful event year-on-year. DFCC Vardhana Bank takes great pride in supporting this event as well as community service projects conducted by the Lions Club of Moratuwa-Ratmalana."

Funds raised through the event will be channelled towards community service projects focusing on the development of educational institutions and school children as well. Previous projects include assisting schools in remote areas, conducting health camps and eye camps.

PAB continues to invest in Human Capital

The Pan Asia Bank (PAB) maintains consistent policy in developing its Human Resources through continued staff development programs and believes that it is crucial to invest in training during challenging times.

Towards achieving its objectives in developing its Human Resources, the most valuable assets of an organization, the Bank in co-ordination with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants Sri Lanka (CIMA) division conducted a Master Course "Financial Aspects of Selling" as part of an ongoing program to develop the skills and uplift service standards of its young and enterprising outfit. The program was conducted by Prasanna Perera one of Sri Lanka's leading Marketing and Management Consultant's and Senior Lecturers in Marketing.

The session covered various aspects connected to staff development, mainly focused with special emphasis on various aspects of selling the banks innovative Financial Products and customer service of which the bank boast of "first class banking", the two essential ingredients in today's

context of competitiveness and excellence in service.

First Master Business Continuity Planner in Sri Lanka

Director, Somaratna Consultants (Pvt) Ltd. Arjuna Somaratna, has been accepted for the award of Master Business Continuity Planner membership by the Disaster Recovery Institute International of USA.

He becomes the first MBCP in Sri Lanka and probably the first in South Asia as well.

Arjuna Somaratna got interested in Business Continuity Planning when he was studying for his Master of Science in Environmental Engineering at the National University of Singapore and as a result of that interest he studied Emergency Response Planning as one complete module of the M.Sc. curriculum.

For this module he had to study the systems adopted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency of USA and sophisticated software modules such as ALOHA (acronym for Aerial Locations of Hazardous Atmospheres).

While still studying at NUS he attended the seminar on Enterprise Business Continuance conducted by BCP Asia and subsequently the Business Continuity Planning Certification program conducted by Disaster Recovery Institute International and passed the examination with 87 marks thus becoming the first and the only associate Business Continuity Planner in Sri Lanka.

In June last year, he went to Chicago, USA to sit the Master Business Continuity Planner Case Study Examination along with seven others from other countries and passed the examination.

The MBCP is awarded based on the results of this examination and his professional development achievements during the last nine years.

After returning to Sri Lanka from NUS in 1999 he organized seminars to create awareness on Business Continuity Planning and Union Assurance is one company which got a program conducted by him in early 2000 for its Senior Management team. Subsequently, he provided Business Continuity Planning consultancy services to Thomas de La Rue and NDB Bank. He brought scientific methodology based on the world-class DRII Road Map to prepare Business Continuity Plans in Sri Lanka.

Mobitel felicitates a hero

Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel, the official sponsor for the National cricket team, paid tribute to Pakistani Meher Khalil, the courageous driver who ensured the safety of Sri Lanka’s cricket team during the recent terror attack in Lahore, Pakistan. Sports and Recreation Minister Gamini Lokuge, the Sri Lanka cricket board and the national cricket team with Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel thanked to Khalil for his selflessness and bravery on that fateful day. Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel Chairperson Leisha de Silva Chandrasena expressed her deep gratitude to Khalil for his heroic act. As a gesture of appreciation, Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel awarded Khalil, USD 5,000 and expressed deep gratitude for saving the lives of the country’s national cricket team. Here Brand Ambassador for Mobitel, Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel, Suren J. Amarasekera CEO, Chairperson of Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel, Leisha De Silva Chandrasena, Meher Khalil and former cricket captain and Brand Ambassador for Mobitel Mahela Jayawardena at the event.