Daraz aims at enabling learning for all communities through ‘Daraz Cares Igenumata Athwelak’

Daraz Head of Marketing Heshan Perera (left) and Daraz Cares and Social Impact Team Lead Cassandra Van-Heer

Commencing on 24 June, Daraz will be hosting the campaign ‘Daraz Cares Igenumata Athwelak’, with the aim of channelling donations to provide essential electronic devices required for online learning to deserving students. Daraz Head of Marketing Heshan Perera and Daraz Cares and Social Impact Team Lead Cassandra Van-Heer share details about how this initiative will be rolled out.

Q: What is ‘Daraz Cares Igenumata Athwelak’?

This is a new campaign that Daraz launched on 24 June, where we have opened the Daraz Cares platform to all our users to donate towards the worthy cause. Anyone who visits Daraz within the campaign period can purchase donation vouchers under the digital goods category. These donations range from Rs. 100, Rs. 500 all the way up to Rs. 25,000. Customers can even choose multiple donation values and it will be added to the Daraz Cares Igenumata Athwelak collection.

At the end of the campaign period, this collection will be used to purchase essential online tools including smart devices, printers, stationery and any other educational items. These will be donated to students from five selected schools in the Thunukkai Education Zone in the Mullaitivu district.

Q: What initiated this project?

Education is a basic right. Unfortunately, the transition to the online platform due to the pandemic situation has made it difficult for many students to continue their daily lessons because they do not have the necessary devices. 

The facilities that are needed for online education, whether its connectivity, devices, and technical knowledge, are not easily accessible to many students and teachers in Sri Lanka. This has caused children to lose out in their education at present. Our mission through Daraz Cares Igenumata Athwelak, is to provide the necessary devices that will give access to students to continue their education in the new way of learning.

Q: What will the donations entail? And will it be directed to students only, or will you also be considering the teachers?

Daraz will be working through our Daraz Cares partner Leads. As an organisation that works closely with students in rural areas, Leads will advise us on how best to utilise the donations for the benefit of the students. Together with Leads, Daraz will choose devices that will best suit the requirements of the students.

This particular campaign is focused on empowering students. In the meantime, we at Daraz understand the needs of the larger community. Within our theme of enabling ‘learning for all our communities’, we will be exploring further opportunities where we can collaborate with our partners and customers to extend similar support to the community. 

Q: Will Daraz be working only with Leads for this campaign? Are there any other ways that people can contribute, or any other partners that you work with?

Leads will be the partner for this particular education project and we will benefit from their on-ground expertise in deciding the best suited donation framework. In addition, if you wish to donate working devices for projects such as this, you can contact Daraz Cares by writing to [email protected] and you will be directly connected to a relevant partner. 

In a broader level, there are several other charities listed under Daraz Cares. 

These organizations work in a wide array of causes and Daraz customers can choose to support any of these causes on our platform. 

Q: This campaign in driven through your CSR arm, Daraz Cares. What is the overall mission of Daraz Cares, and how has it been integrated to the DNA of Daraz?

As the leading e-commerce platform with access to thousands of consumers, we need to take advantage of this position and work towards uplifting local communities through the power of e-commerce. So far Daraz Cares activities have centred around giving our charity partners a platform to access new channels of donations towards their activities, and giving our customers a platform to access a wide array of charities operating in the community. We have also actively supported the Government of Sri Lanka through donations of essential medical equipment, testing kits, and dry rations, and contributed towards the educational and hygiene requirements in rural communities hard-hit by the pandemic.

Daraz Cares strives to champion inclusivity and education to uplift communities and advance local capabilities. Under the theme of Education for All, Daraz Cares will bring these opportunities to our workforce and to our communities. 

In this regard, we will be piloting the ‘Daraz Rise Academy’, which is an interactive learning platform. 

The goal of the academy is to provide foundation courses in ICT, Digital Marketing, Coding and courses which would equip participants with the skills and education required to thrive in the e-commerce sector and access new job opportunities.