Bank of Maldives Revealed To Have Extended Their Support To Over 100 Islands During Last Year

Yesterday, Bank of Maldives Plc. (BML) has published a ‘Sustainability Report 2020’ which details out the Bank’s key Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities carried out in the year 2020 and its work in supporting the community. Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic last year, the Bank continued to implement its CSR projects and initiatives to enrich the lives of individuals and communities across the country whereby they successfully extended their support to over 100 islands across the Maldives.

One of the Bank’s most prominent CSR project is the Aharenge Bank Community Fund – a campaign aimed to empower local individuals and non-governmental organizations to contribute to their communities by way of sustainable projects – ran for a second year in 2020. A total of MVR 1 million was invested to support 20 projects across the nation which included the development of library facilities in various islands, establishment of parks, gyms, nature parks as well as financial support to establish solar-powered street lights in islands.

The Bank also stood true to its commitment to support organizations working towards community empowerment. Accordingly, they supported awareness programs run by the Cancer Society of Maldives as well as the Legal Aid program by Family Legal Clinic to provide legal assistance to individuals in need. Furthermore, the Bank made a generous donation of MVR 150,000 to the ARC AID Programme by Advocating the Rights of Children (ARC) – one that assisted 587 children in 300 vulnerable families across 9 atolls in the country amidst the pandemic by the provision of basic food items.

To support local communities, the Bank also expanded its network and service where they established new self-service banking ATM centers in 9 islands in addition to upgrading ATMs with self-service banking facilities in another 5 islands. Moreover, in making basic banking services at the islands more easily accessible, the cash withdrawal charge was eliminated in over 170 Cash Agents providing the service across the country and 40 Agents were additionally placed in the islands to offer cash deposit services, credit card and loan repayments services.

In line with the Bank’s support towards people with disabilities - in 2020, the Bank also continued its initiative to donate motorized wheelchairs to mobility impaired individuals – delivering 65 wheelchairs. Since 2017, they have supported over 140 people as part of this initiative. In addition to this, the Bank also donated education tools to Special Education Needs (SEN) classes across 10 more schools which will help 300 children enrolled in these classes to experience a learning environment through interactive play-and-learn. Lastly, the Bank had also made a donation to the Maldives Deaf Association in order to support their mission to empower and promote the rights of the local deaf community.

Whilst the Bank understands that this year will continue to be just as challenging as the extent of the pandemic still remains unclear – they reiterate their commitment to support the nation, its people, and the economy.

(Photos: BML)