Amãna Bank OrphanCare completes another quarterly distribution

Over 2,800 Orphans benefit

Amãna Bank’s internationally awarded OrphanCare program successfully completed its 5th consecutive quarterly fund distribution benefiting over 2,800 deserving recipients in November 2020. Despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the Bank continued to distribute funds while also increasing the number of beneficiaries, showcasing the growing interest on the OrphanCare program.

OrphanCare, the Bank’s flagship CSR venture was established as an independent trust with the aim of addressing a very important yet mostly unattended need of orphan children; which is to secure the fate of orphans once they reach the age of 18 and are compelled to leave institutional care. Termed by UNICEF as ‘The Second Abandonment’, this growing concern is the challenge faced by orphans, who initially were abandoned in childhood, and who are now forced to transit or ‘age out’ of institutional care. The Bank’s approach seeks to intervene in a vital and decisive aspect of their problem which is funding. To that end the OrphanCare Trust has been making periodic deposits into orphans’ accounts until they reach the age of 18, at which point the funds will become accessible to them.

A unique highlight of the initiative is that the Bank ensures every rupee donated would reach the beneficiary since all administrative and operational costs are borne fully by the Bank.

Sharing his views on the fund distribution, Head of OrphanCare Azad Zaheed said, “We are indeed pleased to have been able to facilitate our fifth consecutive disbursement of funds to beneficiary accounts despite the challenging times in the backdrop of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. We are truly indebted to our countless donors and well-wishers who continue to support our cause as well as appreciate the guidance and direction of our Trustee board. We are blessed to have over 650 donors who have set up standing orders for monthly contributions, whilst several business organizations have facilitated contributions to the OrphanCare fund.”

With over 14,000 registered orphans in the country, Orphan Care has to date enrolled over 2,800 orphans to the program representing 82 orphanages with the objective of reaching out to all orphans in the country. In enrolling orphans to the program Amãna Bank Orphan Care has honoured Article 2 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child where all enrolments are irrespective of the child’s or their parent’s or legal guardian’s race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinions, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or any other status.

The OrphanCare Trust is administered by a team of trustees who have a track record of passionate social service, which include Chairman of the Trust Mr Ruzly Hussain (founder of the Roteract movement in Sri Lanka), Mr Osman Kassim (Founder Past Chairman Amãna Bank) Mr K R Ravindran (Chairman, Board of Trustees of Rotary Foundation USA and former President Rotary International ), Mr Rohan Tudawe – Treasurer (Chairman Tudawe Brothers), Mr Sharad Amalean (Co-founder MAS Holdings), Mr Tyeab Akbarally (Senior Director Akbar Brothers) Mr Harsha Amarasekera (President’s Counsel), Mr Jazri Magdon Ismail (Past President AAT) and Mohamed Azmeer (CEO Amãna Bank). The Trustees have instituted a strong governance framework to maintain the highest standards of integrity and ensure the long-term sustainability of the Trust.

Inviting to join the cause Mr Zaheed said “We invite all those who share our sentiments to join our cause. You can access the detailed prospectus on OrphanCare and other material by visiting www.amanabank.lk/orphan-care  or by calling us on 011 775 6 775. We also invite the public to watch the OrphanCare story video ‘From Chance to Choice’ on www.bit.ly/orphan-care-video.”