By Shehani Tissera
If you are familiar with the Dilmah brand, it is likely you would have heard the phrase, Business is a matter of human service. They were the words of our beloved late Founder Merrill J. Fernando, and he lived by them devotedly. Since the company’s inception in 1985, his vision was never solely one of personal profit. His vision had a much broader remit, deeper meaning, and spanning multiple communities – both human and non-human.
From this vision stemmed the two main arms of the company’s kindness projects – the MJF Charitable Foundation and Dilmah Conservation – and each of these branches out to touch many areas of the community and the environment. Far beyond the extent of corporate social responsibility (CSR), these are organisations that have been built around the business to give back to nature and people, subsequently nurturing their own growth, empowerment and contribution. One could even say the company functions as a regenerative business that is just one aspect within a much larger system.
Let’s take a look at some of the projects that the MJF Charitable Foundation and Dilmah Conservation work on…
In addition to donations and contributions to humanitarian efforts, the MJF Charitable Foundation:
– provides training and opportunities for less-privileged youth through the Empower Culinary & Hospitality School, Sri Lanka’s only World Chefs-certified culinary training facility.
– facilitates access to education, particularly for marginalised youth and women, through the Curtiss Institute.
– inspires, educates and empowers women from under-privileged and marginalised communities to take up entrepreneurship through the Women’s Development Programme which also runs the Swashakthi Bakery and Tea Room at the MJF Centre in Moratuwa.
– provides practical education, training and support for children with cerebral palsy and other disorders, as well as for their caretakers, through the Centre for Children with Cerebral Palsy and Other Developmental Disorders.
– offers education and therapy for children with cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome and those on the autism spectrum at our Rainbow Centres.
– provides educational opportunities for children who need special assistance through the MJF Educational Grants Programme.
– ensures that the needs of the tea community, which is a vital part of the Ceylon tea industry, are updated and met.
Dilmah Conservation:
– works towards establishing sustainability projects through the Climate Change Centre, One Earth organic farming and urban arboretum, and further work in conjunction with Biodiversity Sri Lanka, Beddagana Wetland Park, the Greening Batticaloa initiative, and mangrove restoration projects.
– aspires to protect and preserve biodiversity through the One Earth Tree Spa, Amphibian Conservation, Bee a Keeper, species conservation programmes, the Uda Walawe Wildlife Programme, Butterfly Gardens, and the initiative to conserve marine life.
– works to spread education and awareness through published material, webinars, workshops.
If you would like to learn more about any of these initiatives and programmes, or would like to be a volunteer or contributor, do contact us via https://www.mjffoundation.org/ or https://www.dilmahconservation.org/.
