SriLankan Airlines gifts school books to children in rural schools

SriLankan Airlines carried out a Social Contribution Campaign in January 2004 distributing 30,000 exercise books to 3,000 children in 14 rural schools throughout the country.

A similar project was carried out in 2003 when books were presented to 2,000 students studying in three districts in Sri Lanka . An important aspect of the 2004 initiative is that it had widened in scope to include many more children as well as schools in nine districts, four of which were in the Northeast. The districts were Matale, Batticaloa, Kurunegala, Ratnapura, Badulla, Trincomalee, Kandy , Galle and Jaffna .

The project was organized by the Airline's Public Relations Department. SriLankan's nine ticket offices and general sales agencies identified schools that were in most need of help in the nine districts. The books were distributed directly to the students at ceremonies organized by the schools, at which SriLankan Airlines was represented by Manager Public Relations Deshini Abeywardena, staff of the PR Department, SriLankan Ticket Offices, and General Sales Agents.

"We were touched by how much the students and their parents appreciated our project. They had decorated their schools and organized ceremonies to thank SriLankan Airlines for its kindness," said Dinusha Warnasuriya of the PR Department who organized the project. “The project was an excellent team effort which involved close co-operation between our PR Department in Colombo and the Company's Ticket Offices throughout the country.”

SriLankan Airlines frequently carries out social responsibility projects around the country, as its management and staff firmly believe that it is part of the Company's duty to help and promote those who are in need.