Under the "Water for All" flagship national policy framework the Sri Lankan Government has
set a goal to provide drinking water facility to 4.7 million families by end 2025. The national
project is being implemented to provide clean drinking water to all households in every part
of the country
On the other hand, Chronic Kidney Disease of uncertain origin (CKD) continues to devastate the
lives of farming communities in multiple districts across Sri Lanka. The disease is closely
linked to ground water contaminated with agricultural pollutants. Several studies conducted to
find a possible cause for the disease in highly affected areas have narrowed it down to the
presence of pesticides, fluoride, heavy metals such as cadmium and arsenic, and hardness of
ground water.
Subsequent studies conducted show a slight decline in the occurrence of CKDu as a result of the
increase in awareness and adoption of preventive measures, and the steady increase in
accessibility to safe drinking water in the affected areas.
Ensuring an adequate supply of treated/purified drinking water, especially in severely affected
villages is vital to prevent, and over a period of time to eradicate the disease. This is where
both government and non-government institutions, such as corporates and not-for-profit
organisations should work together to increase awareness about CKDu and facilitate access to
clean drinking water in order to save our future generations
Championing this benevolent endeavour Tokyo Cement Group launched FOUNTAIN OF LIFE Purified
Drinking Water Project in selected villages in rural parts of our country, where good quality
drinking water is critically important to save thousands of lives
Tokyo Cement Group Fountain of Life sets up customised water purification plants in selected
rural villages where access to potable water is a severe problem. Our sister organization, St.
Anthony's Hydro Division partners the project with technical expertise and help deploy
customized Pure Hydro® water purification solutions with Reverse Osmosis Technology at the
selected locations.
Tokyo Cement gamers the support of village development societies and farmer community groups in
each area to ensure the sustainable upkeep of the drinking water facility, for the benefit of
many generations to come.
Mr. E. Kugapriya – Director, Tokyo Eastern Cement Co./General Manager, Power & Energy led the Tokyo Cement Team who implemented the water purification solutions. This included refurbishing three existing wells and installing water pumps and tanks to store water for purification. St. Anthony’s Hydro Division supported the project by designing a customised water purification solution after studying the hydrology of the area. Based on the technical evaluation of groundwater quality, three Pure Hydro® water purification solutions with Reverse Osmosis Technology were implemented at the three locations. As part of this far-reaching humanitarian project, Tokyo Cement will also undertake to maintain and service the water purification plants during the first three years of installation by working closely with a community representative to ensure the sustainable upkeep of the system. The drinking water facility gifted to the people of Veravil, Valaippaadu and Veerapandiyamunai fulfils a much-needed basic requirement of the thousands of people in the area.
Tokyo Cement Group sponsored the project with Appé Lanka, a rural development project by Re-Awakening Lanka involved in numerous social upliftment and village empowerment programs mainly focused on women and children in the North and East. They helped identify three of the most deserving villages to install water purification plants based on their experience in working in the area for several years. Commenting on the deep impact this project will create in the lives of people from Poonakary, Mrs. Shaan Corea, Founder/CEO of Re-Awakening Lanka/Appé Lanka said, “In stage 1 of our project, 21 schools in the Poonakary Division were given safe drinking water within 18 months. This was possible because so many people and organizations contributed in numerous ways to make it possible. If a village like Poonakary stretches out their hand to us, we need to try to do what we can, in any way possible, to help these people. Today, Tokyo Cement has partnered with us as we embark on stage 2 of “Let them bloom, give them water”, starting with Ponnaveli, by giving them what we take for granted: safe water.”
The three villages, Veravil, Valaippaadu and Veerapandiyamunai has over 2000 residents belonging to 500 families whose livelihood is based on fishing and farming. A fresh-water Well situated in each village was used for cooking and cleaning purposes, fulfilling only a part of the water requirement of the people and that too was not available during the dry season. Villagers had access to a limited amount of potable water due to high salinity and hardness of ground water along the coastal belt, and had to expend a significant portion of their meagre income to purchase drinking water on a daily basis. During the rainy season when the bowsers could not reach the villages, people used to collect rain water in plastic containers for their day-to-day use. In most of these villages it was a common sight to see children whose schools had clean drinking water facilities, carrying at least one bottle of water for their families back home on their way from school. Given the salinity and hardness of the water, the community ran the risk of getting kidney diseases and other health complications. The Divisional Secretariat and the Provincial Council were providing an exceptional service to mitigate the situation by supplying water bowsers for the villages.
Mr. Salinda Kandapola, Manager Corporate Sustainability at Tokyo Cement Co. (Lanka) PLC., commenting on this benevolent project said, “Water is one of the basic human needs and since most parts of our country is blessed with good quality drinking water, we tend to take it for granted. However, there are thousands of people who do not have access to potable water to fulfil even their basic requirements. And due to the scarcity of clean potable water, people are exposed to many water-related diseases such as the Chronic Kidney Disease which has a devastating effect on the lives in certain parts of the country. Having identified this issue, when Appé Lanka approached us with their request to supply purified drinking water facilities to three villages in Poonakary, we eagerly took up the prospect. Our sister organization, St. Anthony’s Hydro Division willingly supported us with their expertise in Water Purification Technology which made this project a reality. We are immensely pleased to have given the people of Poonakary much needed access to life giving clean drinking water.”
The gift of clean drinking water for the people in Poonakary in the Kilinochchi District is the most recent social responsibility initiative undertaken by Tokyo Cement Group. The Company is among the leading blue-chip companies that have deployed several social empowerment projects that have a far-reaching impact on the people of our country. Tokyo Cement Group’s commitment to social responsibility breathes life through initiatives such as this, by which they successfully integrate social welfare and environmental conservation into its corporate DNA as part of their vision to be the leading partner in Nation-building.
The 125 farming families Nawakkulama had had a number of CKDu patients to date, due to limited access to good quality water. Presenting the most precious gift they could ask for, Tokyo Cement’s ‘Fountain of Life’ installed a water purification solution with Reverse Osmosis Technology, with an output capacity of 5000 litres a day. The Village Development Society, under the guidance of the Department of Rural Development of the North Central Province and Medawachchiya Divisional Secretariat stepped forward to manage the system, ensuring that everyone in the village benefits from the facility.
In the next phase of ‘Fountain of Life‘, five more villages in Anuradhapura District will receive water purification units with Reverse Osmosis (RO) capability. The solutions, each with a capacity of 10,000 litres per day, will be implemented during the first half of 2021 under the full sponsorship of Tokyo Cement Group.
Tokyo Cement Group’s Fountain of Life provides life giving, clean drinking water to the people of Siyambalagaswewa in Mihintale.
The Fountain of Life water purification project was declared open by Mr. V.M. Ravinthirakumar – Director, Tokyo Eastern Cement Company/General Manager, Tokyo Cement Factory, together with Mr. and Mrs. K. Nanayakkara of Keerthi Traders, Anuradhapura and Mr. J.M. Thirimanna of New Grand Distributors, Anuradhapura, representing the Tokyo Cement Group’s Dealer Network. The Mihindu Grama Sanwardana Samithiya of Siyambalagaswewa, under the guidance of the Rural Development Department of North Central Provincial Council, extended their fullest cooperation to Tokyo Cement Group to implement the project successfully.
Mr. S.R. Gnanam, Managing Director of Tokyo Cement Company (Lanka) PLC, in a statement said, “We started the Fountain of Life project with a far-reaching vision of providing the most essential need for all living beings, that is safe and pure drinking water. The project is implemented in selected rural parts of our country, where good quality water is critically important to save thousands of lives. With the ‘Fountain of Life‘ we will continue to extend our support to the Government to achieve its goal to provide clean drinking water facility to every household by 2025”.
Mr. and Mrs. K. Nanayakkara of Keerthi Traders and Mr. J.M. Thirimanna of New Grand Distributors in Anuradhapura with Mr. V.M. Ravinthirakumar, Director-Tokyo Eastern Cement Co./GM-Tokyo Cement Factory, at the inauguration of Tokyo Cement Group’s Fountain of Life drinking water project in Siyambalagaswewa, Mihintale.
People of Siyambalagaswewa, whose key livelihood is based on chena cultivation and freshwater fishing in the famous Mahakandarawa Wewa, were struggling with many difficulties in accessing potable water. Chronic Kidney Disease of uncertain origin (CKDu) had afflicted several residents of the village, while posing a great threat on the lives of the children and vulnerable groups of the community. Tokyo Cement Group worked in association with the Rural Development Department of North Central Provincial Council and the Siyambalagaswewa Village Development Society, to refurbish and replace an abandoned water scheme with a new and improved water purification system with RO capability as part of the joint initiative. Thanks to the Fountain of Life project, 171 low-income families in Siyambalagaswewa will gain access to safe drinking water, ensuring the health and wellbeing of many generations to come.
Representatives of the Mihindu Grama Sanwardana Samithiya – Siyambalagaswewa, and the Rural Development Department of North Central Provincial Council, at the Tokyo Cement ‘Fountain of Life’ water purification plant in Siyambalagaswewa.
Tokyo Cement Group’s ‘Fountain of Life’ Purified Drinking Water project has so far touched the lives of over 3,100 people in five villages in two districts, with the installation of five water purification plants with a cumulative capacity of 30,000 liters a day. This includes Veravil, Valaippaadu and Veerapandiyamunai in the Kilinochchi District, and Nawakkulama, another farming village severely affected by CKDu in the Anuradhapura District. Tokyo Cement Group plans to extend the reach of Fountain of Life project with the installation of more water purification facilities in selected rural villages across the island in the upcoming months.
Tokyo Cement is among the leading blue-chip companies that have deployed many social empowerment projects of similar nature, that have a far-reaching impact on the lives of the people of our country. Tokyo Cement Group’s commitment to social responsibility breathes life through initiatives such as this, by which they have successfully integrated social welfare and environmental conservation into its corporate DNA as part of their vision to become the leading partner in Nation-building.
