Unilever joins forces with ‘Manudam Mehewara’ emergency relief initiative

From left: Dialog Axiata PLC Senior General Manager Brand and Media, Group Marketing Harsha Samaranayake, Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement Acting Executive Director Kamal Gamage, Dialog Axiata PLC Group Chief Officer Dialog Enterprise Navin Pieris, Unilever Sri Lanka Marketing Director Personal Care and Beauty and Wellbeing Nilushi Jayatileke, Unilever Sri Lanka Marketing Director Home Care and Nutrition Sharmila Bandara, Unilever Sri Lanka Head of Media and Activation Channa Tennakoon and Unilever Sri Lanka Head of Regulatory and Corporate Affairs and External Communications Harini Rajadasa

Unilever Sri Lanka recently joined forces with the ‘Manudam Mehewara’ multi-corporation humanitarian alliance initiated by Dialog Axiata PLC, MAS Holdings, Hemas Holdings PLC, execution partner Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement and independent auditor PwC Sri Lanka, together with CBL Group, Citi, Sunshine Holdings PLC and Huawei Technologies Lanka Co (Pvt.) Ltd, to provide emergency relief to families affected by the ongoing economic crisis in the country. 

Unilever has donated in cash and also in kind - courtesy of its flagship brands - Sunlight and Lifebuoy.
Whilst taking steps towards building the nation, the emergency relief aims to assist 200,000 vulnerable Sri Lankan families. The relief is currently being distributed across all 25 districts, where over 100,000 families in need have been assisted to date. The funds are utilised to purchase dry rations - dietary staples such as rice, dhal and so on, to address the critical requirement of providing emergency relief until a sustainable benefit transfer system has been executed in the country through an effective economic recovery plan.

Expressing her views on this project, Unilever Sri Lanka Marketing Director Personal Care and Beauty and Wellbeing Nilushi Jayatileke said, “It moves us deeply to see the economic hardships and unprecedented challenges faced by our fellow Sri Lankans. At Unilever, we believe in making sustainable living commonplace.

Many of our purpose-led brands have always considered it a responsibility to help build a sustainable Sri Lanka by facilitating a better quality of life for our people. Whilst all of us have been doing our part as corporates, the national crisis, which we are faced with today is of a much greater magnitude than what a single brand or single corporate can do to make an impactful change. This is where the power of the collective plays an important role. I would like to congratulate Dialog and Sarvodaya as well as the other founding partners for launching Manudam Mehewara, to create a platform to bring together the power of the collective, in order to help our fellow Sri Lankans in a way that would make a scalable impact.”