Annual report for 2004/05 - Hemas Holdings, Ltd

Hemas Tsunami Response PlanPhase II - Construction of 20 new pre-schools to replace those destroyed or damagedFund Commitment:US $1 million with US $ 250,000 committed by the Hemas Group.The balance has been pledged by business partners and friends.No. of children benefiting2,000Project status:20 schools allocated to Hemas, our friends and our business partners14 tracts of land allocated in the Southern ProvinceDesign and Structural Plan finalisedSeminars and workshops conducted jointly with theMinistry of Social Welfare for Local Governmentauthorities on importance of ECCDFoundation stones will be laid beginning in the second week of May 2005The second phase involves the construction of 20 new pre-schools to replace those that were destroyed or damaged by thetsunami. In coordination with the Ministry of Social Welfare Hemas selected towns and villages in the districts of Ampara,Galle, Hambantota and Matara. Each of the pre-schools will cater to 100 students, thereby providing 2000 childrenbetween the ages of 2 and 5 the opportunity to obtain an education. Major donors will have pre-schools constructed intheir names, thereby establishing a life-long relationship between the two parties.Hemas has been working in close co-operation with the Authorities to accelerate the process of allocating land and havebeen successful in obtaining 14 blocks of land in the Southern province. The East Coast, however, still poses a delay andwe envisage that the Government might take a further period of two months to provide us with land. In the event thatstate land is not provided, the Trustees of the Hemas Tsunami Foundation have decided to purchase private property.After completion of the project, the buildings will be handed over to the Local Government Authority. However, in orderto ensure that good standards are maintained, Hemas Holdings Ltd, Ministry of Social Welfare and the Local GovernmentAuthority will sign an MOU, which will be monitored under our CSR project ‘Piyawara’. This will no doubt guarantee thesustainability of this project.Hemas Tsunami Disaster Relief Task Force and the Hemas Tsunami FoundationHemas Holdings Ltd has appointed a task force comprising directors from the Group’s subsidiaries to serve asthe Executive Committee to the project. Ernst & Young Chartered Accountants have been appointedauditors to the Fund. A Trust, which will function as an independent entity, has also beenestablished to manage the Fund. The trustees comprise of directors ofHemas Holdings as well as external experts. The trustees are:• Dr Pramilla Senanayake – Former Assistant Director General,of the International Planned Parenthood Federation• Sue Scarff – Former Marketing Professional at A T Kearney• Serena Fonseka – Director, Hemas Holdings• Abbas Esufally – Director, Hemas Holdings• Murtaza Esufally – Director, Hemas HoldingsShiromi Masakorala, the Group’s CSR Manager has beenappointed to work fulltime on the project along with anewly recruited Project Manager.25