NDB takes action towards prevention of child abuse

Hans Billimoria conducting the training program

Some of the participants at the two day residential training

NDB, through its Trust for Prevention of Child Abuse (PCAT) recently held a residential skills development and road map program for 30 Child Rights Promotion Officers (CRPOs) attached to the Department of Probation and Child Care Services of the Ministry of Children’s Affairs.

The training was funded by the bank through the Prevention of Child Abuse Trust. Prevention of Child Abuse Trust (PCAT), funded by NDB is one of the most significant efforts by the bank towards fulfilling its social responsibility.  Established in December 1997, the Trust has been conducting awareness programs sponsored by the bank on the theme of preventing child abuse amongst relevant stakeholder groups, both in urban and rural communities around the island. 

Conducted in collaboration with the Department of Probation and Child Care, these programs aim to educate children, parents and school administrators on the prevention of child abuse, an issue that is not adequately and openly addressed in local communities.  

The CRPOs were specially selected from a resource pool of over 300 CRPOs across the country, based on an assessment conducted by the Department. Objectives for the program were identified through a need analysis conducted by the department and further discussion between department officials and the resource team. 

The key objectives of the program included, identifying challenges faced by CRPOs in preventing child abuse and child sexual abuse, updating knowledge on information related to gender, sexuality etc., sharing knowledge on HIV and other health issues related to child abuse, updating knowledge on online risk taking behaviour patterns of young people and cyber exploitation and violence prevention education, and identifying potential solutions to challenges faced by CRPOs in preventing child abuse and child sexual abuse.

At the conclusion of the program six CRPOs from the pool of 30 participants were selected (three female, three male) to further develop a road map in consultation with the officials of the Probation Department. This bottom-up approach is expected to ensure that the department will be able to create overarching strategies to overcome the challenges faced by CRPOs, thereby preventing and reducing the incidents of child abuse and child sexual abuse in Sri Lanka.

The program held at the Chinthana Centre in Nainamadama was conducted by Hans Billimoria and Paba Deshapriya, Directors of the Grassrooted Trust. The Grassrooted Trust is part of a National Task Force battling Cyber Exploitation of young people, which is a project spearheaded by the National Child Protection Authority. 

The Prevention of Child Abuse Trust is yet another progressive effort by the bank to give back meaningfully to the society. NDB’s social responsibility reaches far beyond philanthropy and seeks to uplift and empower the underserved communities in the country. The bank has transformed the lives of many through a variety of CSR projects conducted with special focus on youth development, community empowerment, education and social well-being. Entrepreneurship and sustainable livelihood development, prevention of the chronic kidney disease, nurturing the reading habit and improving English language skills in the rural youth, reaching out to the emerging entrepreneurs and cottage industrialists through financial inclusion are few other CSR initiatives of NDB; that stand witness for the bank’s commitment towards exemplary corporate citizenship. More information of the bank’s corporate sustainability activity can be viewed on its corporate website via http://www.ndbbank.com/pages/english/csr/.