Brandix ‘Model Village’ programme provides water supply and sanitation facilities
View(s):The ancient Sri Lankan concept of village life revolving around the tank, the temple and the school has inspired Brandix to adopt a ‘model village’ approach to empowering communities in areas where the Group has a manufacturing presence, the company said.
A programme to identify and address water-related issues facing people resident within a five kilometre radius of the Group’s factories is implemented by providing water supply facilities to or upgrading existing infrastructure in schools, hospitals, places of worship, police stations and similar community locations.
Brandix said in a media release that it plans to allocate Rs. 5 million per model village project, through which its factories, usually one of the biggest employers in each community, become an intrinsic part of the social fabric of the village through their role as benefactors.
In a second phase, the Group said it envisages extending its reach to an area within a 10 km radius of its factories to empower people further afield. The pilot project for this new model of community empowerment focussed on Polonnaruwa and has to date benefitted students and staff of nine schools in the district and the Kaduruwela police station.
These projects directly benefit more than 6,000 school children and about 750 adults working in the institutions assisted, and help create greater affinity between the factory and the community, Anusha Alles, Head of CSR of the Brandix Group said.