Nestlé Lanka opened a drinking water facility at the historical Sri Maha Bodhi site in Anuradhapura recently. The hygienic unit was purpose-built with a purification system to distil the water from the main supply line. In this arid region, a permanent and convenient source of clean drinking water was an identified need for the multitudes of visitors to the Sri Maha Bodhi.

The Sri Maha Bodhi is said to be a sapling from the Bo tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment and is the oldest living human-planted tree in the world with a planting date of 288 BC. It is considered one of the most sacred places in Sri Lanka and in Buddhism. Thousands of devotees and sightseers visit the Sri Maha Bodhi each year and they will now have access to purified drinking water thanks to Nestlé.

The Chief Incumbent of the country’s sacred locations - Venerable Pallegama Siriniwasa (Attamasthanadipathi), Police DIG of the North Central Province K.P.P. Pathirana and Nestlé Lanka staff were present at the inauguration of the water facility. The first collection of water from the unit was offered to the Sri Maha Bodhi after which a religious blessing took place. On this day, the Company also donated packs of school books and Nestlé products to underprivileged students of the area.

"Water is the most fundamental need for human beings," said Venerable Pallegama Siriniwasa (Attamasthanadipathi). "The unit built by Nestlé at the Sri Maha Bodhi will provide so many people with this essential need of clean drinking water. We appreciate the great service given by Nestlé. In turn, according to Buddhist philosophy, the Company will also be blessed for its good work."

The United Nations states that over one billion people globally currently lack access to water. Childhood diarrhoea, says the World Health Organisation, is closely associated with insufficient and contaminated water supply, which causes an estimated 1.5 million child deaths per year. Thus Nestlé is doing its part to help people access clean water.

As Nestlé Lanka’s Managing Director Stuart Young explained, this is the sixth drinking water facility built under the Company’s community development project of improving local people’s accessibility to clean drinking water. The Company’s other units are situated at the Sandalanka General Hospital, Polonnaruwa General Hospital, Pannala National School, Baragedera National School and Wickramashila National School, benefiting hundreds of adults and children. The project is also in line with achieving Millennium Development Goal 4 of reducing child mortality, which Nestlé Lanka is spearheading in its work with The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce CSR Sub-Committee.