Jetwing training brings a smile to Bellhop Banda and his wife
JYDP Graduates
SIGIRIYA – His wife is full of smiles these days. And this makes Karunasinghe Banda a happy man. Gone are the days when she would nag and scold him for having the gumption to forsake the old ways of life and tread a new path in the shadows of Sigiriya. “I clearly remember how she reacted when I told her I was going to join a programme to learn English and a new trade in the hotel industry,” recalls Mr. Banda. “She was very angry and asked if I was mad. She said as a father of one, I should take more responsibility and not go and follow some silly training programme.” That training programme – the Jetwing Youth Development Programme (JYDP) – has transformed his life as well as hundreds of others since its inception in 2006.
Now a bellman at the plush Jetwing Vil Uyana, Mr. Banda thanks his stars every night that he stuck to his guns despite a bitter better-half, for today he is on the threshold of opening his own 2-room inn which will offer tourists a home-stay experience as they delve into history and learn why King Kasyapa built a citadel fortress from where he reigned fearfully. “If I hadn’t taken that decision 10 years ago, I would never have been in this position where I’m now on the verge of opening my own little guesthouse. I will continue to work for Jetwing as I owe them a lot but I will also devote my free time to my own enterprise.”
“I’m in the process of setting up the website for ‘KarunaHomeStay’. My wife is smiling these days and is very happy,” laughs the 36-year-old bellhop or bellboy (as it is commonly called in Sri Lanka) as he dexterously drives a golf cart which transport guests to the plush escape from city life. Jetwing was shrewd and had learned their lessons well from a neighbouring hotel chain which had faced issues during the construction of the hotel from the chief prelate at the ancient Dambulla temple. This was during the days of another more recent ‘King’ of Sri Lanka – Ranasinghe Premadasa.
Gunasekera Swarnawathie
Integration with local communities
“It was extremely important to integrate the local community,” says Hiran Cooray, Jetwing Chairman. “It was not an easy feat to change the negative perceptions regarding the tourism industry and educate the locals about the potential and benefits of tourism.” “From the very beginning, we approached the main religious centres of the area through the monks and the priests. We spread word that a completely free programme would commence at the site of Jetwing Vil Uyana and it would be open to those willing to learn. We told them it would give them opportunities to change their future in a budding industry,” Mr. Cooray added.
At 65, Kirama Dhammananda is a Buddhist monk with a worldly and open mind. He is the chief monk at the Rotawewa temple whose influence touches all the villages in and around Vil Uyana. Originally from Matara, the graduate of Kelaniya University arrived in Sigiriya in the mid-80s to join the seminary at the Dambulla Rock Temple. He moved to his present place in 1987 and two years later, politics forced him to open up a shelter for orphans from the war. “There were a lot of refugees from the North after the Indo-Sri Lanka agreement of 1989. I wanted to help them, especially those children who had lost their parents,” relates the 65-year-old monk.
Time passed. One day while preaching on his favourite topic – Buddhism and Tourism – he was approached by the general manager of nearby Sigiriya Village, a hotel managed by Jetwing then, who was impressed with what he had heard. “One of the first precepts of Buddhism is ‘Dana’. It doesn’t only mean giving food but also shelter to the needy. This is hospitality,” explains Ven. Dhammananda. A strong relationship was born. The founder of Jetwing, the late Herbert Cooray, opened a building for the orphans in 1994, and today it is a home for the elderly.
In return, the monk spread the word that a new force was in the area and it was one which would help uplift the people. The first JYDP programme was housed in the temple precincts as Vil Uyana was still under construction. Gunesekera Swarnawathie, 51, and Ashoka Withanage, 61, both work in the linen room at Vil Uyana. They ensure that the guests have all their needs taken care of in the rooms while the staff is neatly attired. They both heard of an opportunity to work at the hotel through their links to the temple and like the bellman were part of the first intake of the JYDP programme in 2006.
Karunasinghe Banda
Window thro’ the ‘Daham Pasala’
“I got to know through my son who was attending a ‘Daham Pasala’ at the temple that they were inviting applications from people to learn a trade in tourism. Our monk told us this was a reputed company and that we should go ahead and apply,” says Ms. Swarnawathie with tears in her eyes.
She is emotional, for, looking back she is aware that if she hadn’t made the move to apply that fateful day 10 years ago, she would have been left destitute today. “I was divorced and had to look after my son. This job helped me to buy a small plot of land and build a house. I even own a three-wheeler. All this I did without my husband and thanks to my job,” she sobs.
Her son followed in her footsteps and was a graduate of the third JYDP programme. It is the same story in the case of her linen room friend Ms. Withanage, the only difference being her husband died and didn’t give up on her. Left penniless and with four children to look after, Ms. Withanage lived in the temple premises. She was quick to listen to the advice of the chief monk and applied for the initial programme. “I was very surprised when I was picked. Not only me, but two of my sons also benefited from this programme, and one of them is still with Jetwing as a cook at St. Andrews in Nuwara Eliya. Our lives have been transformed.
I have built a home, renovating a mud house I used to live in,” says the proud resident of Rotawewa, three km from Vil Uyana. Chairman Cooray takes up the story: “At Jetwing we have always believed that hospitality and tourism is in our DNA. The industry, even then, had the potential to be in the top three earners of GDP, but realizing this potential depended on the buy-in of host communities.” “This is why we began JYDP, to bridge the gap between the skilled and the unskilled, to provide opportunities to deserving youth and to uplift local communities.”
Ashoka Withanage
JVDP’s 10th anniversary
The JYDP can look back proudly at its track record as it celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Since the inception in 2006, there have been 13 other programmes. There have been a total of 660 JYDP graduates, 160 of whom are still with Jetwing. I meet a handful of the latest batch of recruits to the JYDP. They are all teenagers, five boys and two girls, all of whom studied at schools in the area. The boys are reticent, the girls more forthcoming – that inbuilt confidence is probably because the fairer sex have a better command of the English language.
I need help to interview in Sinhalese – my command of the native tongue is poor – but even this does not put the guys at ease. All I can get from them is that they are following in the footsteps of their elders, all of whom have told them that the JYDP will open doors to a bright future.
English was taught in the schools, but still everyone has to take a course in this universal language apart from three months of theory where they are taught every aspect of the hotel industry, from food and beverage to housekeeping before three more months of practical work where they are embedded in various Jetwing hotels throughout the island.
They all have stars in their eyes. They are probably counting the rupees – once they are fully-fledged employees at Vil Uyana, their take-home pay can be as high as Rs.40,000, which includes service charge and basic pay. On average the monthly service charge is Rs.25,000 going up as high as Rs.40,000 during the peak winter season when high-end tourists arrive from Europe. With 700 more jobs opening up soon within the group – three more hotels will be opened soon, in Colombo, Dambulla and Panadura – there is a demand for well-trained staff. “Tourism is the hottest industry in Sri Lanka right now. It is easy to open an establishment and say ‘I have a hotel’.
But to us at Jetwing, our vision has always been to be world class. This is the underlying principle at JYDP, to impart knowledge of world class standards to participants through interactive sessions and on the job training at our hotels,” is Mr. Cooray’s belief. “We also do not expect our participants to sign bonds promising to work only for Jetwing. We do offer employment to successful graduates but even if they do not join the Jetwing family, we know that wherever they go, they go with Jetwing training. This benefits the industry and Sri Lanka.” It benefited bellhop Banda too. His wife is laughing these days.