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Unilever Sri Lanka supports 7,000+ school children with ‘Learning to Make a Difference’ initiative

Published

4 years ago

2022/12/18

Funds school supplies to children with every employee manhour invested in e-learning

Unilever Sri Lanka has embarked on the ninth year of its annual ‘Learning to Make a Difference’ initiative, designed to convert every employee man-hour – spent on self- e-learning – to rupees, to support the schoolchildren of its Saubhagya entrepreneurs. The funds collected are used to provide essential school supplies to aid the children in their education.

Saubhagya is one of the oldest government – private sector partnerships, operating in collaboration with the Samurdhi Authority of Sri Lanka. It helps rural women earn a sustainable livelihood by becoming direct-to-home ambassadors of Unilever products. Launched in 2003 with five brave women, the programme now engages with 5,000 Saubhagya entrepreneurs today.

‘Learning to Make a Difference’ has positively impacted the lives of over 7,000 schoolchildren since 2013, nourishing their learning ambitions. Among other things, each sponsored child receives a schoolbag, notebooks, colour pencils, pencil cases, mathematical instruments for geometry, and so on. In 2021, Unilever’s wellbeing team also contributed by converting their fitness hours towards this donation, a Unilever news release said.

Said Ananya Sabharwal, HR Director of Unilever Sri Lanka, “We believe that the most meaningful way to learn, is to help others learn. Many of our employees shared with me that they took the time to engage in our e-learning courses knowing that it would make a difference in the life of a child. That is the power of purposeful learning which we have unlocked with our employees. Our ‘As you learn, they learn’ mindset has also given us the opportunity to invest in our own self-learning, digital and growth journey to sharpen our knowledge, skills and become more future-fit”.

To unlock the donation, employees are required to complete any number of courses that contribute to their individual and business growth on Unilever’s e-learning platforms. This is also based on the company’s global goal to ‘Reskill or upskill employees with future-fit skills by 2025’, a target which Unilever Sri Lanka hopes to accomplish sooner.

The Unilever Saubhagya programme also awards scholarships to the extended families of active Saubhagya entrepreneurs, who have excelled in diverse academic milestones such as Grade 5 scholarships, GCE O/L or A/L examinations. The programme also identifies students who display exceptional talents in arts and sports. Saubhagya so far has awarded 680 scholarships out of which, over 200 children have succeeded in their academic journeys and gained admission to Sri Lankan universities and vocational training centres.

Since its inception in 1938, Unilever Sri Lanka has established itself as one of the largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies in Sri Lanka. Its current product portfolio includes 30 market leading brands in categories such as Home Care, Personal Care, Beauty & Wellbeing and Nutrition. 96% of its products are manufactured locally, to the strictest manufacturing standards.Over the past 84 years, Unilever has been deeply rooted in Sri Lankan society, curating a landscape that preserves and nurtures the true Sri Lankan way of life. Enhancing the livelihoods of the communities it operates in will continue to be at the forefront of this effort as it continues to set industry standards.

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Malaysia declares emergency in Sarawak as haze from Indonesia worsens

Published

8 hours ago

2026/09/5

Priyan

This aerial photo taken from a commercial plane shows haze from Indonesian forest fires blanketing a residential district in Kuching, the capital city of Sarawak state on the island of Borneo, on September 5, 2026 (Aljazeera)

Malaysia has declared a state of emergency in a district in Sarawak state after haze caused by wildfires in neighbouring Indonesia increased air pollution to “hazardous” levels.

King Sultan Ibrahim “has consented to the declaration of emergency throughout Serian Division, Sarawak, following haze conditions that have reached air pollution levels hazardous to public health and safety”, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s office said in a statement on Thursday.

The declaration followed a formal request from the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee after the region’s Air Pollutant Index reached levels warranting consideration of a local emergency.

Under the order, 647 schools in Serian will close from Monday until at least the end of next week, alongside government and private offices, plantations, construction sites and quarries, with only essential services continuing to operate.

The state’s disaster management authorities said a three-day cloud-seeding operation launched on Thursday would be extended to at least Monday, citing forecasts of “more conducive cloud formations” during that period.

Sarawak State Disaster Management Committee chairman Douglas Uggah Embas, speaking at a news conference in Kuching, stressed that the emergency applied only to Serian, not the entire state, but urged residents there to take the situation seriously.

“Please minimise outdoor activities and avoid strenuous activities outdoors,” he said.

Sarawak, in the northern part of Borneo island, has been heavily affected by haze for weeks, as have the neighbouring states of Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia.

(Aljazeera)

Latest News

Sun directly overhead Moratuwa, Kesbewa, Handapangoda, Idalgashinna, Yudhaganawa, Kotiyagala and Panama about 12.08 noon today (05)

Published

12 hours ago

2026/09/5

Priyan

The sun is going to be directly over the latitudes of Sri Lanka from 28th of August to 07th of September due to its apparent southward relative motion.

The nearest places of Sri Lanka over which the sun is
overhead today (05) are Moratuwa, Kesbewa, Handapangoda, Idalgashinna, Yudhaganawa, Kotiyagala and Panama about 12.08 noon

News

Namal remanded until Sept. 18 over Airbus deal investigation

Published

13 hours ago

2026/09/5

Thilina Walpola

Namal Rajapaksa being brought to the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) National Organiser and Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa was yesterday remanded until September 18 by the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court following his arrest by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) in connection with an investigation into the controversial SriLankan Airlines Airbus aircraft transaction.

Rajapaksa appeared before the CIABOC at around 9.15 am yesterday to record a statement after being summoned over the transaction. He was taken into custody following several hours of questioning and subsequently produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrate.

The investigation centres on allegations surrounding the acquisition of six Airbus A330 and eight A350 aircraft by SriLankan Airlines in 2013, in connection with an alleged USD 2 million bribe.

Former SriLankan Airlines Chief Executive Officer Kapila Chandrasena and his wife, Priyanka Niyomali Wijenayake, had previously been named in connection with the alleged bribery.

Chandrasena was arrested on March 12 as part of an investigation launched by the CIABOC under the Anti-Corruption Act and was subsequently released on bail. He was later found dead on May 8 while on bail, with police suspecting that his death was a suicide.

Open warrants have been issued for the arrest of Wijenayake, who is named as the second suspect, and Shamindra Rajapaksa, named as the third suspect, in the case pending before the Fort Magistrate’s Court in connection with the Airbus transaction.

The investigation has also received assistance from Airbus, with a delegation from the company’s parent group in France visiting Sri Lanka during the first week of August. The delegation provided statements and other assistance to the CIABOC as part of the ongoing inquiry.

Rajapaksa’s arrest and remand yesterday mark a further development in the widening investigation into the controversial aircraft deal.