Sunday Times 2
Sri Lankan heads the world’s leading philanthropic foundation
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K.R. Ravindran
On July 1, Sri Lanka business leader K.R. Ravindran assumed the chairmanship of one of the world’s top charitable foundations – the Rotary Foundation.
Mr. Ravindran was previously the 11th Asian to serve as the global head of Rotary International in 2015 and has been involved in multimillion dollar humanitarian projects in Sri Lanka.
With net assets and expectancies in excess of US$ 2 billion, the Rotary Foundation is ranked by the Charity Navigator, a strict evaluator of charities, as the best of the well-known charities in the world in its 2019 rankings.
For the 11th consecutive year, the Rotary Foundation has received the highest rating — four stars — from Charity Navigator.
In the most recent ratings, the foundation earned the maximum of 100 points for demonstrating both strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency. Charity Navigator notes that “only 1 percent of the charities we evaluate have received at least 10 consecutive 4-star evaluations, indicating that the Rotary Foundation outperforms other charities. This exceptional designation from Charity Navigator sets the Rotary Foundation apart from its peers and demonstrates to the public its trustworthiness.”
The Johns Hopkins University of Baltimore made a study of the impact of Rotary members.
The university’s systematic method to measure volunteer impact is the only one officially recognised by the United Nations and the International Labour Organisation.
The study shows that conservatively there are more than 45 million hours of volunteer effort generated by Rotary members in a typical year and their efforts are valued at $850 million a year.
Sri Lanka has been the recipient of Rotary cash grants in excess of USD 10 million over the last few years.
During the current COVID-19 pandemic, Rotary is working with the MRI in equipping the institute with modern equipment, with the aim of increasing the MRI’s ability to carry out more tests, give accurate results and protect the lab staff from any source of contamination. The total value of equipment, PPEs and other material to MRI and other hospitals exceeded Rs 120 million. Joining Rotary and adding much needed strength were the Carson’s group and Dilmah Tea company.
Realising that in a post COVID world a radical behavioural changes will become necessary to keep Sri Lankans safe as they go about day to day living, Rotary has launched a nation-wide project. It’s called ‘Stop the Spread’.
Working with experts and professionals, Rotary has set up a protocol that would enable companies who are compliant with such guidelines to be certified as a COVID-controlled environment.
Thus, across our country, industries, business premises, educational institutions, supermarkets, and other retailers can make their establishments safe, both for themselves and to their customers.
Mr. Ravindran is the CEO of Prinntcare Plc, one of Sri Lankas top export houses in printing and packaging.