Coca-Cola, Habitat for Humanity dedicate revitalised wells, schools in Batticaloa

Coca-Cola Sri Lanka and Habitat for Humanity Sri Lanka dedicated more than 1,700 wells and four play schools to the community members and students of Batticaloa recently, under a joint community revitalisation project.

The project began in 2011, after the devastating floods in the Eastern Province of the country, rendered one million people homeless, with 200,000 acres of paddy fields destroyed and 100,000 wells contaminated. The two partners have helped in clearing 1,783 wells and the rebuilding of four playschools, impacting more than 3,800 people in the region.

Divisional Secretary (MN) Batticaloa S. Giritharan dedicated the Navalar Pre-School in Batticaloa, in the presence of Coca-Cola India and South West Asia Business Unit South West Asia and Juice Business Vice President Neeraj Garg, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia Business Unit Finance Vice President Sanjeev Kumar, Habitat for Humanity Sri Lanka National Director Tony Senewiratne, SABCO Sri Lanka Country Managers Kapila Welmillage and Coca-Cola Far East Ltd Country Manager-Sri Lanka Abhishek Jugran.

Cleaning the contaminated wells in the affected areas was crucial, since the community depends almost exclusively on these wells for their daily supply of water. The project acquired a unique element when home-owners began providing unskilled labour to help the project teams in their work.

This reduced the overall time and the monetary benefits than what was initially planned. The support extended by the community enabled the project committee to complete 1,783 wells, versus the 1,600 that were initially budgeted for.

Neeraj Garg said: “The Coca-Cola Company has a world-wide focus on sustainability and undertakes a number of initiatives on water, climate protection and promoting healthy living in the community. We believe that sustainable businesses thrive only amidst sustainable communities. Therefore, it is crucial for us to support community initiatives across the world, including in Sri Lanka.

“We undertake various programs in partnership with organisations like Habitat for Humanity to improve sanitation, hygiene and water conditions. We are very happy that we have been able to make a positive difference to the lives of people in Batticaloa.”

Garg also added that, “We hope we can partner with more organisations in the future as well and impact the society and the environment in more positive, sustainable ways.”

Coca-Cola Sri Lanka and HFHSL not only ensured accessible clean water to people of the region, but also empowered the local community through training programs on water conservation, water preservation and critical, immediate disaster response techniques.

Tony Senewiratne commented: “Habitat for Humanity has been working in Sri Lanka for many years now, yet when we rebuild a school or clean a well, it is the same satisfaction we get, that we have made a difference to someone else’s life. We are very happy that we have brought about a change in the lives of the young children who can now gain access to education through these pre-schools.

“We are glad that Corporates like Coca-Cola are partnering with us and we hope that more and more companies join us in our endeavours.”

The teams also distributed posters to homes, schools and Government institutions on water filtration and conservation methods to ensure that the water used by people is not contaminated. A total of 20 training programs were held for community members in eight villages and 43 training programs were held in schools across the region.