A Place to call Home for 25 IDP Families from Tokyo Cement

Not having a place to call home or to be safe and comfortable with your loved ones is one of the most difficult situations a person has to face. Just over two decades ago, to some of our own brothers and sisters in the North and East of the country, were faced with this situation. …

Not having a place to call home or to be safe and comfortable with your loved ones is one of the most difficult situations a person has to face. Just over two decades ago, to some of our own brothers and sisters in the North and East of the country, were faced with this situation. Faced with an escalating war, many had to say good bye to everything they owned and move to safety. Their homes and all means of livelihood were forever destroyed. Only few families were able to restart life, while many became refugees on our own motherland. These families had to experience harsh living conditions. The only hope they had was to one day return back to their homeland, even if they had no home to come back to. The call of the hour was to provide these families with a safe environment to restart their lives. Tokyo Cement Group, committed to enrich the country as a dedicated partner in nation building, rose up to this call and identified ‘housing’ as the single factor that will bring back a sense of stability and purpose to this once displaced community. With this vision the company took swift steps to allocate their own land in Adampodai, Nilaveli to set up a Housing Scheme for 25 families. This was to become the initial phase of a much larger project to uplift the lives of Internally Displaced Personnel in Trincomalee. Foundation for a housing project for 25 IDP families was laid on 5th May 2017, in commemoration of late Deshamanya A.Y.S. Gnanam, Founder Chairman of Tokyo Cement Group. Incumbent Chairman of Tokyo Cement, President’s Counsel Dr. Harsha Cabral presided over the foundation laying ceremony which was part of a string of events that marked the late pioneer’s birth anniversary. The housing project adjoins Tokyo Cement Tsunami Housing Scheme built in 2009 by the Tokyo Cement Tsunami Relief Trust, and 25 families affected by the tsunami received deeds to the houses from HE the President during the same commemoration ceremony. Less than a year later, on 21st March 2018 the new housing scheme for IDPs was declared open by Hon. R. Sampanthan MP, Leader of the Opposition in Parliament in the presence of Mr. N.A.A. Pushpakumara, Government Agent and District Secretary of Trincomalee, Dr. Harsha Cabral P.C., Chairman and Mr. Christopher Fernando, Executive Director of Tokyo Cement, amidst a gathering of management and staff, beneficiaries of the project and government officials in the area. The beneficiaries to receive houses were chosen among hundreds of IDP families who were living under dire circumstances for decades by an evaluation committee headed by the GA comprised of the Divisional Secretary and local government officials. Hon. R. Sampanthan MP, who handed over keys to part of the 25 families, reminisced how he requested late Mr. Gnanam to provide job opportunities to people from the area on the day former President J.R. Jayewardene laid foundation for the Tokyo Cement Factory in 1984, and thanked the company for unreservedly fulfilling that request. While acknowledging Tokyo Cement for going above and beyond its call of duty to the nation since then, he commended the company for initiating the housing project, first for Tsunami victims and now for families returning from India as part of the resettlement program. Mr. Ravindrakumar, General Manager – Factory of Tokyo Cement Company (Lanka) PLC, who spearheaded the entire project in liaison with the local authorities mentioned that the new housing project was fully completed in just 10 months with each house costing around Rs. 2.3 Million. Each house is built on a 10-perch plot of land and is fully fledged with all basic amenities along with paved roadways, a community center and a children’s park. Upon completion, Tokyo Cement made extra effort to make the newly-built, spacious 2-bedroomed house a home from day one for its occupants, by furnishing it with a bed and a wardrobe, signifying the fresh start for a community of over 100 people. He said the company is proud to have contributed to give a small piece of luxury to these families who had been through many hardships and will continue to bring more value to the lives of people in the area. It was a humbling occasion to have provided stable living conditions to a group of citizens who were displaced in our own country, and for the first time provide a roof above their heads built upon a plot of land they could call their own. Tokyo Cement’s commitment to enrich the country, its people and the environment breathes life in many forms similar to this keeping the legacy of late Deshamanya A.Y.S. Gnanam alive and meaningful. The company has successfully integrated social welfare and environmental conservation into its corporate DNA, which gets reflected in every aspect of the business. Through a number of socio-environmental outreach programs the company has proven that it is within every corporate citizen’s control to make an impact while achieving sustainable business growth. What fuels the company on this path is the very life of late Deshamanya A.Y.S. Gnanam, which is an inspiring story of courage and perseverance, where his business achievements are only matched by his benevolence. The self-taught industrialist, who subscribed to the belief that true value can only be achieved through people with a commitment to quality and service, Mr. Gnanam’s legacy and the values he embodied will continue to be the driving force of the Tokyo Cement Group.