NDB employee volunteerism programme

As a responsible corporate citizen NDB strives to foster sustainability across all its business decisions and strategies. As part of this endeavour, NDB has made ‘Responsible Behaviour’ an integral element of the Bank by promoting employee volunteerism within the organization. This has encouraged employees of NDB to passionately dedicate themselves to walk that extra mile to offer a positive benefit towards the society and contribute to the Bank’s broader objective of being a responsible corporate citizen.

In a successful effort of volunteering, employees of the Finance and Information Technology departments of NDB joined forces to restore the Bauddhaloka Maha Vidyalaya at Panadura. The school which belongs to the educational secretariat of Western Province was found in a derelict state as the administration was unable to meet the expenses for restoration and repair. Panadura Bauddhaloka Maha Vidyalaya is a government school attended by over 1500 students and the majority of them of hail from destitute households around the area.

Identifying the dire state of the school and its implications on students, employees of Finance and IT departments of NDB initiated a programme to improve the learning atmosphere of the students. This programme was conducted in several phases and focused on making improvements insignificant and timely components that would deliver long term value to the school as well as the students.

The first phase of the programme was the restoration of a building that housed over 120 students. The building which was found in a dilapidated state was completely reinstated to provide students with a more appropriate atmosphere to conduct their studies. Although the school was equipped with its own computer lab, the students were unable to make use of this facility as most of the computers were out of order and had become obsolete. Therefore the second phase of this programme saw the renovation of these computers to bring them back to functional state. The revived computer lab is undoubtedly a source of motivation and inspiration to the students of Bauddhaloka Maha Vidyalaya.

The third phase of the programme focused on enhancing the computer skills of the students so that they would be able to make the best use of the re-established computer lab. Hence, the Bank collaborated with Microsoft to conduct a two day workshop on basic computer skills for 30 selected senior students, where these students were able to gain practical exposure and training on the effective use of Microsoft packages and other relevant applications. To add further value to the exercise, the participants were presented with a certificate validated by Microsoft at the conclusion of this workshop.

In another phase of the programme, staff volunteers of NDB together with the administration of Bauddhaloka Maha Vidyalaya identified 25 most deserving students within the school and provided them with schooling equipment such as school bags, shoes, books as well as stationery items. The donations were an act to encourage and support the effort of these students who have still made learning a priority despite the many financial challenges within their households.

NDB’s wider approach to sustainability is categorised on the basis of strategic, philanthropic and operational initiatives; out of which, the strategic initiatives are built on entrepreneurship and education. NDB continues its efforts to empower the youth of the nation through its multiple projects that place emphasis on issues that are critical for sustainable economic growth and the future success of the nation as a whole.