Twelve households in the remote village of Halmillawe were the first recipients of solar power home lighting systems under John Keells Foundation’s (JKF) latest sustainability related initiative.

The initiative was launched by Nadija Tambiah, Head of CSR, and Carmeline Jayasuriya, Manager CSR, who switched on the solar powered lights in a newly built house located close to the village forest following a simple ceremony held on 17th February 2012 attended by Rev. Meegoda Athulasiri Thero, the head monk of the Halmillawe temple, beneficiary families of the project, Isuru Gunasekera, champion of JKF’s Community/Livelihood Development projects, CSR Coordinators Viyani Almeida and Manahari Panditharatne, and a team from Cinnamon Lodge led by Ghazzali Mohideen, General Manager Cinnamon Lodge.

Speaking on the occasion, Rev. Meegoda Athulasiri Thero lauded JKF for the wide range of development work carried out in Halmillawe amidst many obstacles and challenges. Recalling the time when the supply of electricity was first mooted by JKF, the monk noted the uphill task of obtaining national grid power and the many households that have still not been able to benefit from the system. He thanked JKF for coming to the help of these disadvantaged families, especially considering the difficulties faced by their school going children.

Speaking on behalf of JKF, Carmeline Jayasuriya thanked the head monk for his ready support in regard to all development activities in Halmillawe and for coordinating the solar power recipients in the village. She outlined the objective of the initiative in the overall context of CSR and Sustainability and requested the villagers for their support in maintaining the systems. It was also noted that JKF has identified 11 locations in Halmillawe for supplying Solar-powered street lights which will be a boon to a village susceptible to the human-elephant conflict. She also thanked Mr. Ghazzali Mohideen and team Cinnamon Lodge for their continued support for Halmillawe and Robert Gunarathna, Garden & Farm Manager, Cinnamon Lodge, for his committed service as JKF’s coordinator for Halmillawe.

Halmillawe – a hamlet located along the Palugaswewa–Kekirawa road in the Anuradhapura District – was JKF’s pilot village under the Village Adoption Project during the period 2005-2010. The wide-ranging development initiatives implemented in the village included the construction of the Halmillawewa feeder channel to improve irrigational facilities, renovating the village school and teacher quarters, building a pre-school and providing solar power to the school, pre-school, teacher quarters and Dharmashalawa, as well as livelihood projects such as a farmer loan scheme,  women’s empowerment initiatives including a village based saving scheme and entrepreneurship development, youth education and skills development initiatives. Since the conclusion of the project by JKF in 2010, Cinnamon Lodge continues to overlook and support the village as part of its community service initiatives.