With the intention of uplifting the spirits of children in marginalized communities during the festive season, Sri Lanka’s leading private sector bank HNB PLC, launched the ‘Season of Giving’ donation campaign on its premier digital payment app SOLO, to support Caritas Sri Lanka. 

The non-profit organization, the social arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Sri Lanka, is one of the largest and most respected humanitarian organisations working Integral Human Development projects across 12 diocese across the island. Chief Guest Auxiliary Bishop of Colombo and Caritas Vice Chairman of the Commission of Justice, Peace and Human Development Rt. Rev. Dr. Maxwell Silva, HNB Director and Chief Operating Officer Dilshan Rodrigo, HNB AGM-Digital Business Chammika Weerasinghe, Caritas Sri Lanka National Director Rev. Fr. Luke Nelson Perera together with reverent fathers and sisters, donors and senior officials of HNB were present at a special ceremony held at Caritas Head Office to launch the initiative.

“The ongoing economic crisis has increased the number of families that do not have access to the proper meals, sanitation and shelter in Sri Lanka. As of now, data indicates that as much as 4.8 million children do not have access to these basic facilities each day. Given that we do not have the funds or the facilities to reach out to each and every one of these children, we partnered with Caritas Sri Lanka to provide for those we can. We hope that many will join us in this worthy cause to provide for those in need, during this festive season,” HNB Director/COO Dilshan Rodrigo said.

All donations made via HNB SOLO will be directly sent to the Caritas Sri Lanka accounts, with the bank making an additional donation for every transaction made by users. Moreover, HNB has also facilitated donations directly to the organization through the Direct Pay option available on the payment app.

"Christmas is the time for giving and sharing. With the support of your donations, these children will receive the necessary books and equipment required to gain the education they need in order to create promising futures for themselves and be free of poverty. Many children have lost their motivation to return to school, but with your support, we can help them get the education they need to create a new change in their lives and communities. When you donate, you change their future and help them see beyond their struggles of poverty,” Caritas Sri Lanka National Director Rev. Fr. Luke Nelson Perera said commenting on the initiative.

Last year, HNB launched a similar campaign with Help Age Sri Lanka to obtain donations through the SOLO app to uplift the lives of all people. 

With 252 customer centres across the country, HNB is one of Sri Lanka's largest, most technologically innovative banks, having won local and global recognition for its efforts to drive forward a new paradigm in digital banking. The bank has continuously won prestigious accolades including being declared Best Retail Bank in Sri Lanka for 2020 by the Asian Banker Magazine for the eleventh occasion, in addition to being the highest ranked privately owned commercial bank in Sri Lanka by the prestigious Banker Magazine Top 1000 global rankings in 2020.