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HNB helping rural poor:

Sustainability Foundation launched

Suraj BANDARA

Hatton National Bank PLC under the new CSR project - HNB sustainability Foundation, donated passbooks, valued at Rs. 10,000 each to students who passed the Year Five Scholarship Examination 2009 at a school in Eppawala.

"This foundation caters to many welfare programs to all segments of the community," said, HNB PLC Managing Director/CEO R. Theagarajah.

When most of the economic activities are concentrated in and around the main cities, HNB took the initiative to expand this to rural areas where even basic facilities are minimal.

At present, the bank helps to develop entrepreneurship, health and education. The Nena Pubuduwa educational scheme has set up 150 libraries and computer centres in needy schools in many villages to improve the village literacy level.

The bank set up the first counselling centre in 2007 to support cancer patients at the National Cancer Institute, Maharagama. The training for doctors and nurses will be done at the Royal Marsden Hospital, UK with the sponsorship of the bank. Cancer patients who are in need of financial assistance will be helped through this HNB sustainability Foundation. The MoU in the connection was signed with the HNB PLC MD/CEO R. Theagarajah and National Cancer Hospitals Counsellor/surgeon Dr. Indrani Amarasingha on Tuesday.

'Middlesex University, UK to introduce three programs

Middlesex University, will introduce three new programs in Sri Lanka at the ICBT Campus. At present Middlesex University offers a range of programs world over.

The ICBT Campus has been delivering the BSc (Hons) in Information Technology program since 2006. With every year, the grades of the students following the BSc (Hons) in Information Technology program have improved with the last batch to graduate, producing three first class students. Impressed with the results Middlesex University awarded a full Masters scholarship to the best student of the 2008 cohort to follow the master's program in the UK.

To further strengthen the relationship with ICBT Campus, Middlesex University has decided to introduce three new programs in Sri Lanka.

The three new programs to be introduced in January 2010 include BA (Hons) in Business and Management, BSc. (Hons) in Business Information Systems Management and MSc in Business Information Systems Management. The validation for this event was held at the ICBT Campus with a delegation of academics from Middlesex University attending the event. Two verifiers from the University of Greenwich and University of Hertfordshire were also present.

These programs will be internal qualifications thus providing the students with many benefits enjoyed by the students following the same programs at Middlesex University UK. Students will also have the opportunity to attend the graduation ceremony in UK or for the annual graduation ceremony of ICBT Campus held in Sri Lanka. The quality of the programs will be monitored by Middlesex University, UK with continuous Board of Studies meetings with effective feedback methods.

The Middlesex University programs delivered at the ICBT Campus will be the ideal option for a student who wants to obtain an internationally recognized qualification at a fraction of the cost without least compromising on quality.

SriLankan honours long-serving employees

SriLankan Airlines honoured more than 500 employees for their service to the national carrier over its three-decade existence.

Chairman Nishantha Wickremasinghe, said, "The true measure of the success is the loyalty of its employees over the years. SriLankan Airlines has been in existence for three decades now, and there are many employees who have been with this airline for those 30 years. This, I believe, is the greatest tribute that our airline can ever have," he said.

The airline commenced operations on September 1, 1979, and has a network of 44 destinations today in 29 countries worldwide. Mementoes and certificates were presented at the ceremony at the Waters' Edge to 503 employees who completed 25 years, 20 years, 15 years and 10 years during 2008/09. Those who reached these milestones earlier were honoured in previous years.

The staff ranged from pilots to aircraft engineers, cabin crew, ticket office staff, and accountants. They included a number of staff from the airline's many overseas stations.

Head of Human Resources Pradeepa Dahanayake, said: "SriLankan Airlines values its employees more than any other asset in our company. At a time when companies in many industries worldwide have been laying off staff, SriLankan Airlines has zealously safeguarded the livelihoods of every member of its staff. We do not consider our employees as numbers.

Our staff are our family, whether they have been with the company for more than two decades as some of you have, or have just a few years of service," he said.