HSBC partners with three local charities to mark 150 year anniversary

From left: International Union for Conservation of Nature Sri Lanka Country Representative Dr. Ananda Mallawatantri, HSBC Sri Lanka and Maldives Chief Executive Officer Patrick Gallagher, Lanka Jathika Sarvodaya Shramadana Sangamaya General Secretary Dr. Vinya S. Ariyaratne and The School Relief Initiative Co Founder Mark Bucknall

HSBC Sri Lanka is partnering with Sarvodaya-Fusion, The Schools Relief Initiative (SRI) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to further its community support towards education and the environment. 

To mark its 150th anniversary, HSBC is making an additional global fund of $ 150 million over three years (2015-2017) available to local charities around the world. In Sri Lanka, Sarvodaya-Fusion, SRI and IUCN will receive a grant from this fund to deliver and implement their respective programs.

Sarvodaya-Fusion: HSBC’s joint partnership with Sarvodaya-Fusion will aim to enhance the information technology, communication and English language skills of over 1,500 youths aged 16 to 18 years throughout the country, with a diploma course in Computer Application (DICA) and subsequent certificate courses in English language. On completion students will have the option to follow the Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) course, Linux Essentials or to complete an entrepreneurship program. This project will be undertaken through a series of educational programs conducted by Fusion – education in association with Microsoft and CISCO.

School Relief Initiative (SRI): HSBC will partner with The Schools Relief Initiative to provide 120 students in the Hambantota district with monthly payments to fund their education. In total 45 students aged 8 to11 years, 50 students aged 12 to 13 years and 90 undergraduates will stand to receive scholarships to fund their education for the next four years.

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN):  HSBC’s partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature will  develop a visitor management plan with interpretation materials (descriptive guides, tour guides and nature trails, posters and brochures) targeting local visitors, international  visitors and other stakeholders of the three components of the World Heritage serial property Central Highlands in Sri Lanka namely Horton Plains National Park (HPNP) and Peak Wilderness Protected Area and Knuckles Conservation Forest.

HSBC Sri Lanka and Maldives CEO Patrick Gallagher said, “How we do business is as important as what we do. Every year, thousands of HSBC employees around the world give their time and skills to local projects. We are delighted to build on this long standing commitment by partnering with Sarvodaya-Fusion, The Schools Relief Initiative and the International Union for Conservation of Nature who share a common vision to promote youth education through IT and English language skills as well as protect the environment through conservation programmes that benefit society at large.”

Sarvodaya Fusion is the ICT for Development (ICT4D) arm of Sarvodaya movement with a mission ‘e- empowerment of rural and semi urban communities’. In its scope of social engagement it has successfully developed and deployed projects on ICT Education, Technology stimulation and Capacity Building.

SRI was founded after the Tsunami of December 2004 and is registered as a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) in Sri Lanka, a Charitable Trust in Hong Kong and a Charity in the UK.

Its initial mission was to dispense aid to Tsunami-affected areas but over time this has evolved into the provision of long-term educational resources and opportunities for disadvantaged children.

IUCN in Sri Lanka has been conceptualised within the overall context of the Union’s mission and the environmental concerns identified in the successive National Environmental Action Plans (NEAP) of the Government of Sri Lanka.

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd. is the founding member of the HSBC Group, which serves around 48 million customers through four global businesses: Retail Banking and Wealth Management, Commercial Banking, Global Banking and Markets, and Global Private Banking. The Group serves customers worldwide from over 6,100 offices in 72 countries and territories in Asia, Europe, North and Latin America, and the Middle East and North Africa. With assets of $ 2,572 billion at 30 June, HSBC is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations. 

HSBC marks its 150th anniversary in 2015. As part of this, HSBC has made a $ 150 million fund available to community projects over three years (2015-2017). More than 140 charities worldwide have been selected by HSBC’s management team, based on votes from HSBC employees, to receive funds. The $ 150 million fund is in addition to the $ 114 million HSBC makes available to community investment programs globally each year.