Harpic announces Suwa Jana Meheyuma: Mission Wellbeing initiative
Leading hygiene brand and household name, Harpic, announced their plans for 2019 under the ‘Harpic Suwa Jana Meheyuma: Mission Wellbeing’ initiative, aiming to drive a new nationwide social movement to improve sanitation and public wellbeing.
By arming the public across Sri Lanka with knowledge, awareness and improved sanitation facilities, Harpic aims to create a positive change throughout the country with the ultimate objective of building a healthier and happier nation.
The announcement of the initiative took place at a media conference held in Colombo, in partnership with the Ministry of Education.
Speaking at the event, Reckitt Benckiser Commercial Director Sinclair Cruse said: “As a brand, Harpic has been dedicated to uplifting the hygiene and sanitary standards of our nation through ‘Harpic Suwa Jana Meheyuma: Mission Wellbeing’. We have been conducting a wide range of activities from building and renovating sanitation facilities, to providing mobile sanitation facilities and door-to-door educational campaigns throughout the past five years to achieve this objective.”
“While Sri Lanka ranks above its South Asian neighbours when it comes to sound hygiene and sanitation practices, we as a nation still have a long way to go and a lot more to do. Taking to heart our responsibility as a corporate citizen of this country, Reckitt Benckiser will do it’s very best to help the government achieve their goals in this regard. That is why we are happy to take our initiative a step further by upping our game this year with an even more effective mission,” he said.
Harpic aims to reach out to over 1.5 million Sri Lankans this year through their various CSR initiatives under ‘Harpic Suwa Jana Meheyuma: Mission Wellbeing’. These will be executed under four main categories; building toilet facilities for schools and households; building, renovating and supporting the maintenance of public sanitation facilities at important locations and providing mobile toilet facilities at over 10 major religious and cultural events throughout the year.
Emphasising more on the communication aspect of the initiatives this year, Harpic will endeavour to convert their efforts into a social movement striving for a healthier nation through proper sanitation. The extensive communication drive will aim to build awareness and educate the society on the importance of proper hygiene by creating more awareness on the correct toilet etiquettes, paving way for a strong social movement.
Expressing her thoughts on their plans for this year, Harpic Senior Brand Manager Chathurika Fonseka said: “2019 marks a special milestone for Harpic as we take ‘Harpic Suwa Jana Meheyuma: Mission Wellbeing’ to new levels. As a socially conscious brand, we are happy to announce that various Harpic CSR initiatives will be conducted every month of the year, reaching out to millions of Sri Lankans. ‘Harpic Suwa Jana Meheyuma’ is continuing its mission this year with renewed vigour. We believe as a brand, this provides us with a meaningful way to connect with our customers.”
Saranga Dissasekara, popular actor and the brand ambassador for Harpic said: “It gives me great pleasure to be part of Harpic’s drive for a healthier nation through good sanitation as we really endeavour to create a social movement through this. While I applaud Harpic and Reckitt Benckiser Lanka Ltd for their commitment to this cause, I would also like to stress on our responsibility as the public in this regard. It is a responsibility vested in us to follow and advocate proper toilet etiquette to make this mission a success. Therefore, as a fellow citizen I strongly urge all to support Harpic Suwa Jana Meheyuma as responsible citizens.”
Also speaking at the event, Western Province Additional Provincial Director of Education Wimal Gunaratne said: “Ensuring adequate sanitation facilities for schools across Sri Lanka is a challenging task and we still have schools without sufficient access to these facilities. Given these circumstances, we are grateful to Harpic for their efforts to uplift the water, sanitation and hygiene standards in our country and we are glad to partner with and assist them in their efforts. I believe the commitment shown by Harpicreckitt Benckiser Lanka stands as a great example for how the private sector can support the government effectively in tackling issues that affect the public.”