Brandix and HSBC partner to help parched villages

Top apparel exporter Brandix partnered with banking giant HSBC to assist more than 600 families facing severe hardship in Sri Lanka’s dry zone due to the prevailing drought.

Working with local councils and officials of ‘Grama Niladhari’ Divisions, the two corporate entities have funded the transport of water to needy families in six villages in Vavuniya and four villages in the Anamaduwa area in a humanitarian project carried out over several days.

“Water is the central theme of many on-going community initiatives at Brandix, and the group has extensive experience in working with local authorities and communities at the grassroots level,” said Anusha Alles, the Group’s Head of CSR. “Families in these areas covered by this project are in desperate need of clean water, and we welcome HSBC’s support to our disaster relief programme, which enabled a speedy response to the crisis.”

Sriyan Cooray, Acting Chief Executive Officer for HSBC Sri Lanka and Maldives, said: “We are happy to partner Brandix in this timely initiative that fits well within our global CS strategy that places great importance on the preservation and sustenance of water. The HSBC Group recently launched a USD 100 million five‐year partnership with WWF, WaterAid and Earthwatch to tackle water risks in river basins and bring safe water and improved sanitation to over a million people. We hope this endeavour will help us in our drive of helping local communities with the most essential natural resource ‘Water’ that is vital for healthy living.”

Staff of Brandix and HSBC visited three villages, Mahakumbakkadawala, Karugalicholi and Karuwalabadda to distribute water to 300 families over the weekend of 28 July.

In Anamaduwa, Brandix and HSBC are working with the Anamaduwa Water Board and the Pradheshiya Sabha to hire water bowsers to deliver water to 30 families not connected to the Water Board.

In Vavuniya, the supply of water to another 300 families in the villages of Piramankulam (26 families), Vadakadu (24 families), Koolankulam (19 families), Nileyammoddai (57 families), Kanesapuram (124 families) and Kannady (50 families) will be carried out with the support of the Rural Development Foundation.  The HSBC Jaffna branch staff will be visiting Vavuniya to distribute water to the families on 4 August 2012.

The Brandix Group’s principal CSR efforts are driven by the central corporate theme of ‘Care for Water: Care for Women’ and constitute a long term commitment to increasing the availability of water and the provision of safe drinking water to those most in need. The Group’s community outreach initiatives also include providing wells and pipe-borne water to communities in and around its manufacturing plants and the improvement of sanitation facilities in needy areas.