‘Senehe Siyapatha’ Initiative Provides Homes to Landslide affected victims of Kotapola

Hon. Sagala Ratnayaka, Minister of Project Management, Youth Affairs & Southern Development, officially handing over a newly built home to recipient, M.G. Sanath Asangka, whilst Amali Nanayakkara, Group Chief Marketing Officer, Dialog Axiata PLC and A.S.S.Kumara, Senior Assistant Secretary, Ministry of Defence looks on.

The eight completed houses under the Senehe Siyapatha 2017 initiative in Kotapola, Matara district.

The continuation of the 'Seneha Siyapatha' initiative saw the completion of eight houses in Kotapola, Matara district, through generous donations from Dialog subscribers, tripled in value through a donation by Dialog Axiata PLC and further supplemented by support in civil construction services from the Sri Lanka Army. The house keys were ceremoniously handed over to owners in an event under the auspices of Hon. Sagala Ratnayaka, Minister of Project Management, Youth Affairs & Southern Development on 29th of July, 2018 in Matara.

A. S. S. Kumara, Senior Assistant Secretary Ministry of Defence, G. Amarasinghe, Divisional Secretary, Kotapola, Kavan Ratnayaka, Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, Amali Nanayakkara, Group Chief Marketing Officer, Dialog Axiata PLC and Shayam Majeed, Group Chief Corporate Officer, Dialog Axiata PLC also graced the occasion as special invitees.

Under the first phase of the Seneha Siyapatha 2017 initiative, eight houses were constructed in Kotapola, Matara district, while the second phase will see the completion of 25 houses in Eheliyagoda, Ratnapura district. Construction of four additional houses in the Kotapola area within the same initiative is currently under discussion. Dialog subscribers contributed Rs.16.53 million towards the creation of Senehe Siyapatha 2017 fund and this was tripled by Dialog Axiata adding a further Rs. 33.47 million. RIL Property PLC, also made a donation of Rs. 7.5 million to raise a total sum of Rs.57.5 million for the 'Seneha Siyapatha 2017' fund.

The Seneha Siyapatha Fund was first initiated by Dialog on the 20th of May 2016, in line with the mission to serve communities who were affected by natural disasters, and had previously seen the completion of 30 houses in Aranayake, Kegalle district. The Kotapola initiative was carried out under the patronage of Hon. Sagala Ratnayaka, Minister of Project Management, Youth Affairs & Southern Development, whilst civil construction services were contributed at no cost by the Sri Lanka Army under the direction of the Ministry of Defence and supervision of the Ministry of Disaster Management. The houses were constructed as per specifications given by the NBRO (National Building Research Organisation) under the aegis of the Ministry of Disaster Management and the construction supervised by Sierra Construction, whilst the project was managed by Dialog Axiata PLC.

Hon. Sagala Ratnayaka, Minister of Project Management, Youth Affairs & Southern Development said "It brings me great pleasure to see the completion of the Kotapola housing project, part of the Senehe Siyapatha initiative. It is with heartfelt gratitude that I would like to extend my sincere thanks to everyone who contributed their time and efforts towards this worthy cause."

"We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to our customers for their generosity in supporting this worthy cause. Today we see the result of this contribution as we hand over the completed homes to those affected by the disaster." Amali Nanayakkara, Group Chief Marketing Officer, Dialog Axiata PLC said.

The disbursement of funds and the actions of the 'Senehe Siyapatha' initiative is independently audited by PriceWaterHouseCoopers Sri Lanka.