Baby Cheremy ‘Big Heart Project’ reaches out to Kivullawa

Baby Cheramy, under the Big Heart Project, a corporate social responsibility initiative to mark the brand’s 50th year in Sri Lanka, donated supplies, books and stationary to students of the S. Mahinda Prathamika Vidyalaya in Kivullawa Ballala in the North Central Province recently.   

The S. Mahinda Prathamika Vidyalaya has been straining to remain open despite a steady drop in students over the years due to poverty, resulting hardships faced by families in the village. On the verge of closing down, the school requested for support to sustain and continue providing education to the children of village.

Identifying and responding to the need of the school, Baby Cheramy in partnership with Cargills Food City made the donation of supplies to the students to reduce the financial burden on the parents and support their continuous education. Under the Big Heart Project, a collection drive was launched in over 14 key outlets of Cargills Food City, the largest retail supermarket chain in Sri Lanka.  

Speaking on the initiative Hemas Consumer Brands Marketing Manager Derrick Anthony said: “The Big Heart Project was launched in 2012, with the sole aim of supporting the education of children in Sri Lanka. Poverty and lack of importance education receives as a result of family hardships, deprives children of this basic right.

“The Big Heart Project is designed to provide support during the most crucial years of a child’s life, relieving a family from this financial burden. We have initiated various endeavours under the Big Heart Project with the support of likeminded partners from both the state and private sector. We are proud to partner with Cargills Food City and receive their assistance in promoting education in Sri Lanka.”              

Cargills (Ceylon) PLC General Manager Retail Marketing Sanjeewa Fernando, commenting on the partnership said: “Both Cargills and Baby Cheramy have a firm foot print in Sri Lanka. With a collective history spanning nearly one and a half centuries, both Baby Cheramy and Cargills have a strong responsibility towards the country and its development.

“As a company with a business module that focuses on uplifting the rural communities in Sri Lanka, Cargills Food City is pleased to partner with the Big Heart Project, to support and promote the education of our children.”  

Baby Cheramy, a trusted brand of leading Sri Lankan conglomerate Hemas Holdings, celebrated 50 years in Sri Lanka by launching the Big Heart Project, to promote the importance of education among children in Sri Lanka.

Baby Cheramy partnering with the department of probation and childcare services of the Ministry of Child Development and Women Affairs, facilitated a fund to support the education of disadvantaged children from across the country during the crucial first five years of schooling.

The project specifically funds children that are ‘at-risk’, or in danger of being institutionalised due to the financial inability of their families’ to care for them. Baby Cheramy will fund the education of these children by contributing 50 cents from every Baby Cheramy product sold.

Under the project, other initiatives were also launched under the guidance of the Big Heart Project Ambassador Roshan Mahanama. Such activities included a historical fund raiser match that saw the 1996 Cricket World Cup winning team lead by then team skipper Arjuna Ranatunga on the field after 17 years and periodic donations of much needed supplies and stationary to schools in need across the country.