Senehe Siyapatha Fund
Senehe Siyapatha” is a collaborative effort between Dialog, the Ministry of Parliamentary Reforms and Mass Media, the Ministry of Defense, Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation, Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation, Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited and the Disaster Management Centre. The disbursement of funds and the actions of the ‘Senehe Siyapatha’ initiative was independently audited by PriceWaterhouseCoopers Sri Lanka.
A review of the established Senehe Siyapatha Village in Kegalle was carried out as part of a study titled ‘Donor Driven Housing Constructions in Post-Disaster Reconstruction projects – A Case Study on Kegalle Resettlement Programme, Sri Lanka’ by the NBRO . The key highlights of this review focused on assessing the satisfaction levels of resettled dwellers. The study reported an above 80% satisfaction for the dwellers’ level of privacy, ease of cleaning, maintenance and orientation of the house, sanitary facilities and aesthetics. The project transformed the livelihoods of the beneficiaries by providing them with the platform to re-start their lives, post the natural disaster.
Senehe Siyapatha – 2016
Generous donations channeled from Dialog subscribers, quadrupled in value through a donation by Dialog Axiata and further supplemented by support in civil construction services from the tri-forces, enabled the handing of the “Senehe Siyapatha” village consisting 30 houses to victims of the Aranayake landslide in the Kegalle District. A total of Rs. 15 million donated by Dialog subscribers via SMS, Star Points and EzCash, was topped up by Dialog with a Rs. 50 million donation to create a Rs. 65 million fund.
The initiative, carried out under three phases, saw Dialog supporting the flood relief activities by donating water pumps and school shoes under the first and second phases respectively. Under the third phase, 30 houses were built in the ‘Senehe Siyapatha Village’ in Aranayake to house families displaced by the disaster. The Sri Lanka Army, Navy and Air Force provided civil construction services free of charge to build the 30 homes and the construction was supervised by Sierra Construction, whilst the project was managed by Dialog Axiata PLC.
The houses were constructed as per the specifications given by the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) under the aegis of the Ministry of Disaster Management, a leading research & development institution in the country and a reputed technical services provider in the fields of geotechnical engineering, landslide risk management, human settlements planning, environmental monitoring, building materials research, and engineering project management.
Senehe Siyapatha – 2017
Similar to the ‘Senehe Siyapatha – 2016’, a fund was established to provide relief for victims of 2017 floods in Eheliyagoda and Kotapola areas. Dialog subscribers contributed Rs.16.53 million towards the creation of Senehe Siyapatha 2017 fund, which was tripled by Dialog Axiata adding a further Rs. 33.47 million. RIL Property PLC also made a donation of Rs. 7.5 million to raise a total sum of Rs. 57.5 million for the ‘Seneha Siyapatha 2017’ fund.
The first phase of ‘Seneha Siyapatha 2017’ in Kotapola, Matara saw the completion of eight houses being handed over the public on 29th July 2018, and 25 houses were handed over to the beneficiaries in Eheliyagoda on 28th August 2018 under the second phase. The project was managed by Dialog, with the civil construction services being performed free of charge by the tri-forces. All construction activities were carried out as per specifications given by the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) under the aegis of the Ministry of Disaster Management, and overseen by a specialist construction company.