The vocational training centre in Metiyagane, Sri Lanka, was inaugurated, made possible thanks to the post-tsunami fundraising and the support of Fondazione Pesenti.
Among those present at the ceremony were Giovanni Giavazzi, President of the Fondazione; His Eminence Cardinal Raffaele Farina; the Rector Major of the Salesians, Pascual D. Chavez Villanueva; the Vicar General Don Antonio Bregolin; and Gennaro Guala, who oversaw all phases of the design and implementation of the project.
In 2005, just months after the tsunami tragedy, Fondazione Pesenti decided to promote a fundraising campaign to support the children of Sri Lanka, one of the countries most affected. The choice was oriented towards a medium-term plan aimed at ensuring active commitment even in the post-emergency phases, when media attention decreases but structural aid is more necessary than ever.
All Group branches were immediately mobilized through a series of communications directed to all employees. The Fondazione opened this initiative with a donation to which Italcementi and Italmobiliare also contributed. The project, called “Aid for Sri Lanka: A Future for Children,” was directed toward the creation in Sri Lanka of a vocational training complex with associated workshops, as well as lodging and a cafeteria, capable of hosting 200 young people.
The centre is located in Metiyagane, in the western region of the island, away from the coast and 55 km northeast of the city of Negombo. The school is a technical-vocational type, mainly focused on construction, aimed at training resources to meet the expected strong local demand for infrastructure and housing, and also to possibly leverage the Group’s expertise in the field.
Presentazione del progetto