CDB fosters IT literacy in remote Jaffna school

Monday, 16 May 2011 02:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Citizens Development Business Finance PLC (CDB) recently changed the lives of the students of the J/ Navatkuli Maha Vidyalayam in Thenmaratchi with the donation of a much-needed IT lab.

CDB’s Director/ Chief Operations Officer Roshan Abeygoonawardena and Principal of the Navatkuli Maha Vidyalayam Mrs. Mahalingam watch on as one of the students experiments with a computer

Thenmaratchi in the Jaffna District has a population of 50,000 out of which 650 children attend the Navatkuli Maha Vidyalayam.

This state-of-the-art IT lab, with its new furniture, latest HP branded computers, LCD monitors, printers, stationery, scanners and internet facilities were gifted to the school as part of CDB’s island-wide CSR initiative. It was unveiled by CDB’s Director / Chief Operations Officer Roshan Abeygoonawardena, along with the senior members of CDB, School Principal Ms. Mahalingam, students and well-wishers in Navatkuli.

Expressing her gratitude, the School’s Principal Ms. Mahalingam said, “Education today is interconnected with technology which has become part and parcel of our lives. Our children were deprived of an IT education and access to the internet for a very long time. We had to travel long distances, without proper transportation, to access email and the internet. This gift by CDB has opened out our community to the marvels of IT skills. This is indeed a very important milestone in the history of our school. We are deeply grateful to CDB for this initiative. Not only will it enrich our school but also our entire community here in Thenmaratchi.”

Speaking on the occasion, CDB’s Director / Chief Operations Officer Roshan Abeygoonawardena said, “We have been conducting IT lab projects for the past three years as part of strategic CSR to enhance IT education among rural youth. We know that in the global village we live in today, it is the “Word of Mouse” rather than “Word of Mouth” that is more important. The prime objective of this initiative is to give rural youth access to information technology and thereby address the balance of inequality in IT education. With IT skills being key pre-requisites for education and employment, this project at the Navatkuli Maha Vidyalayam will spur these students to see their future in a positive light.”

As part of its national drive to increase IT literacy, CDB plans to carry out more projects of this nature in other parts of the country. Situating the project in the context of CDB’s ethos Abeygoonawardena said, “Bringing a smile of hope to the community we operate in is as important to us as the responsibility we have towards our stakeholders. Subscribing to a more holistic view of business, we place inestimable value on the wellbeing of our communities and have developed a strategic CSR framework in which all our projects of corporate social responsibility are undertaken. The framework is buttressed by our vision of uplifting the living standards of all citizens in Sri Lanka. In keeping with this vision, one of our flagship CSR projects includes enhancing the IT literacy of children attending rural schools. The project is implemented under the CSR theme of CDB Pariganaka Piyasa (CDB Technology Centre).”