In commemoration of the International Biodiversity Day, NDB Bank has once again demonstrated its commitment to environmental conservation, as CEO Kelum Edirisinghe and NDB staff volunteered for mangrove restoration activities. This on-going effort is part of the 'Life to Our Mangroves' project, a collaborative Public-Private-Community Partnership and Multi-Partner initiative between NDB Bank, Biodiversity Sri Lanka (BSL), the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC), Wayamba University (WUSL) and other private sector companies.
The project, initiated in 2022, has progressed successfully. The science-based approach has provided valuable insight to overcome challenges and obtain a better growth rate. Community involvement has also been a key element in this journey. By enhancing ecological functions, habitat quality, and species diversity, the project contributes to biodiversity and ecosystem services, aligning with NDB's commitment to sustainability.
During the restoration activities, volunteers, including the CEO and members of NDB's leadership team, planted 600 mangrove seeds and assisted in research activities on plant growth covering 03 hectares of the project site. The Volunteers were also educated on the importance of the project, the benefits of the project, the challenges faced and the lessons learned. The highlight of this awareness session was the success stories shared by officials from BSL, DWC, and WUSL, evidencing the strides made through this Blue Carbon Project in mitigating Climate Change.
NDB's CEO, Kelum Edirisinghe, expressed his enthusiasm for the project, stating, "NDB is proud to be at the forefront of this globally recognised initiative, where we are not just planting mangroves; we are restoring an entire ecosystem & the benefits that come with it. These ecological, economic and social benefits will not only be felt by the community but will cascade to the entire nation and will also create a sense of pride and purpose among our employees, as we work together towards a greener future."
Through initiatives like the 'Life to Our Mangroves' project, NDB Bank continues to lead by example in environmental stewardship, embodying its commitment to responsible business practices and sustainable value creation.
NDB Bank is the fourth-largest listed commercial bank in Sri Lanka. The Bank was named the Retail Bank of the Year (Sri Lanka) at Asian Banking & Finance Retail Banking Awards 2023 and the Best Corporate Bank 2023 by Asiamoney and also emerged as the Most Awarded Corporate in Sri Lanka in 2022 for the second consecutive year, as per the annual rankings of Sri Lankan publication LMD. The Bank was adjudged the Best Bank in Sri Lanka 2022 by Global Finance USA and Euromoney in their annual best bank awards programmes. Additionally, The Bank was named one of the "Top 50 Best Workplaces in Sri Lanka 2022" by Great Place To Work, USA. NDB is the parent company of the NDB Group, comprising capital market subsidiary companies, together forming a unique banking and capital market services group. The Bank is committed to empowering the nation and its people through meaningful financial and advisory services powered by digital banking solutions.
In a commitment to uplifting the lives of the less privileged, NDB Bank recently extended a helping hand to the Mother Charitable Foundation (MCF). This charitable initiative aligns with NDB's unwavering dedication to making a positive impact on communities and creating opportunities for a brighter future.
A generous donation of essential groceries, stationery items, and thoughtful gifts was presented to 40 differently-abled children and elders at the Mother Charitable Foundation. NDB Bank recognizes the importance of supporting initiatives that foster inclusivity, empowerment, and hope.
The donated stationery items hold a special significance, as they will be utilized by the differently-abled individuals to craft decorative items. These creations will not only showcase their unique talents but will also serve as a means to raise funds for their own support. NDB's contribution includes educational toys carefully selected to aid in skill development, ensuring a holistic approach to the well-being of the beneficiaries.
The mission of Mother Charitable Foundation resonates deeply with NDB Bank's ethos. The foundation strives to bring hope into the lives of those who may feel marginalized or without prospects. Specifically focusing on the differently-abled, MCF emphasizes education and skill development to empower individuals towards independence, allowing them to lead dignified lives.
What sets Mother Charitable Foundation apart is its commitment to an inclusive approach that transcends societal boundaries. Operating as a non-profit, non-governmental initiative, the foundation envisions creating an accessible environment for the disadvantaged. Importantly, MCF ensures that its services reach rural areas across the country, targeting those who are most in need but may be overlooked by other assistance programs.
The spectrum of beneficiaries encompassed by Mother Charitable Foundation includes children and adults with disabilities, the elderly, individuals living with HIV, cancer and thalassemia patients, and those who have been socially ostracized. NDB Bank's donation underscores a shared commitment to make a meaningful difference in the lives of these individuals, contributing to their well-being and fostering a sense of belonging.
NDB Bank values the role of corporate social responsibility in building a compassionate and supportive society. This partnership with Mother Charitable Foundation is a step towards creating sustained positive change. As NDB continues to explore avenues for community engagement, it remains steadfast in its commitment to uplifting lives, promoting inclusivity, and fostering hope in the hearts of those who need it the most.
NDB Bank is the fourth-largest listed commercial bank in Sri Lanka. The Bank was recently named the Retail Bank of the Year (Sri Lanka) at Asian Banking & Finance Retail Banking Awards 2023 and the Best Corporate Bank 2023 by Asiamoney and also emerged as the Most Awarded Corporate in Sri Lanka in 2022 for the second consecutive year, as per the annual rankings of Sri Lankan publication LMD. The Bank was adjudged the Best Bank in Sri Lanka 2022 by Global Finance USA and Euromoney in their annual best bank awards programmes. Additionally, The Bank was named one of the "Top 50 Best Workplaces in Sri Lanka 2022" by Great Place To Work, USA. NDB is the parent company of the NDB Group, comprising capital market subsidiary companies, together forming a unique banking and capital market services group. The Bank is committed to empowering the nation and its people through meaningful financial and advisory services powered by digital banking solutions.
බැංකුව මාතලේ දිස්ත්රික්කයේ විල්ගමුව ප්රදේශයේ ඉතා දුෂ්කර ගම්මානයක් වන වෙහෙරගලගම හි ‘ප්රතිලෝම ඔස්මෝසිස් ජල පිරිපහදු යන්ත්රයක්’ (RO කම්හලක්) ස්ථාපනය කළේය.
NDB බැංකුවේ ප්රධාන විධායක නිලධාරී දිමන්ත සෙනෙවිරත්න මහතා විසින් NDB නායකත්ව කණ්ඩායමේ සාමාජිකයින්, ආයතනික තිරසාරභාවය (CS) කණ්ඩායමේ සාමාජිකයින්, ගම් නිලධාරීන් සහ වෙහෙරගලගම ගම්වැසියන් ඉදිරියේ මෙම යන්ත්රාගාරය උත්සවාකාරයෙන් විවෘත කරන ලදී. දිනකට ජලය ලීටර් 10,000 ක් සැකසීමේ හැකියාව මෙම කම්හල සතුව ඇති අතර මෙම ගම්මානයේ නිවාස 300 කට අධික සංඛ්යාවකට (පුද්ගලයින් 1,000 කට වැඩි) සෘජුවම ප්රතිලාභ ලැබෙනු ඇත.
ජල මූලාශ්රය ලෙස නල ළිඳක් සවි කරන ලද අතර, දෛනික ජලය බෙදා හැරීම ඇතුළුව RO යන්ත්රාගාරයේ දෛනික කටයුතු කළමනාකරණය කිරීම සඳහා ‘ගම් කමිටුවක්’ පිහිටුවන ලදී.
ගම්වැසියන් ප්රධාන වශයෙන් ගොවීන් වන අතර ඔවුන් බොහෝ දුෂ්කරතාවන්ට මුහුණ දෙන අතර RO යන්ත්රයක් මිලදී ගැනීමට ක්රමයක් නොමැත. උත්සවයේදී කතා කළ ගමේ පාසලේ විදුහල්පති සී.ජේ. විජේසූරිය මහතා බැංකුවට ස්තූති කරමින් කියා සිටියේ මෙම මුලපිරීම ගම්වැසියන්ට විශාල ප්රතිලාභයක් ලබා දෙන බවයි - විශේෂයෙන් භයානක වකුගඩු රෝගයට ගොදුරු වීමේ අවදානම අවම කරයි. වකුගඩු රෝගයෙන් පෙළෙන ගම්වැසියන් 100 ක් පමණ සිටින බවත්, මහියංගනයේ රෝහලෙන් ප්රතිකාර ලබා ගැනීම සඳහා ඔවුන්ට කිලෝමීටර 40 කට වඩා ගමන් කළ යුතු බවත් ඔහු පැවසීය. ළඟම RO යන්ත්රාගාරය ගමේ සිට කිලෝමීටර 4 කට වඩා දුරින් පිහිටා ඇති අතර ගම්වැසියන්ට දිනපතා ජලය ලබා ගැනීම සඳහා බොහෝ දුෂ්කරතාවන්ට මුහුණ දීමට සිදුවන බවත්ය.
අපේ රටේ පවතින ආර්ථික අර්බුදය, අත්යවශ්ය ද්රව්යවල මිල ඉහළ යාම සහ ඉන්ධන අර්බුදය සෑම කෙනෙකුටම බලපා ඇත - අවදානමට ලක්විය හැකි සමාජවලට වැඩි තීව්රතාවයකින් බලපායි.
එබැවින්, මේ අවස්ථාවේ වඩාත්ම අවදානමට ලක්විය හැකි NDB ප්රධාන කාර්යාලයේ සහ DHPL හි සේවය කරන පිරිසිදු කිරීමේ කාර්ය මණ්ඩලය, තේ කාර්ය මණ්ඩලය සහ ආරක්ෂක කාර්ය මණ්ඩලයට සහාය වීමට බැංකුව පියවර ගත්තේය.
මෙම කාලය තුළ ඔවුන්ගේ අත්යවශ්ය අවශ්යතා සපුරාලීමට හැකි වන පරිදි බැංකුව මෙම සේවකයින්ට මූල්යමය ආධාර ලබා දුන්නේය.