Colombo International Container Terminals Limited (CICT) and Hambantota International Port Group (HIPG) teamed up recently to donate dry rations to residents of Kandagasmankada in the Lunugamwehera Division of the Hambantota district.
Dubbed ‘Hope Village’ after the hamlet was ‘adopted’ for a flagship community development project funded by the China Merchants Foundation (CMF), Kandagasmankada is the highest-populated village in the Hambantota district, and the largest contributor to the agricultural sector within the Lunugamwehera division.
Representatives of the two China Merchants Port Holdings (CMPort) managed companies visited the township recently to present 362 families with hampers containing nearly six tons of food to the value of Rs. 2.7 million.
The ‘Hope Village’-- the second of its kind -- was launched in 2022 as a development model village to assist marginalised communities in the Hambantota district. It is a collaboration between CMF – the CSR arm of the China Merchant Group – which has provided a budget of Rs 60 million, and the non-profit Nirmala Foundation. CICTand HIPG are the facilitators of the project.
The funding will provide the village a community centre, health centre, agriculture centre, playground facilities as well as financial assistance to the village temple, and will benefit approximately 2,170 residents.