Champions of Friends of the Planet Visit Double A Mill in Thailand

Bangkok, Thailand, 15 November 2016 – The champions of Double A Friends of the Planet campaign from Vincent Girls’ High School in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka, have recently visited Double A’s integrated pulp and paper mill in Prachinburi, Thailand to witness sustainable production and consumption being brought to life.

The delegation from Sri Lanka is composed of the champion team, their project teacher, school principal, the Deputy Director General of Central Environmental Authority Sri Lanka Mr. Mirisage Joseph Jayavilal Fernandoand the representative from Ministry of Education Sri Lanka Mrs. Vinodya Prabhashini Wijesuriya.

The visit included tours of Double A facilities where the delegation had the opportunity to learn how a sustainable paper is made, starting from the tissue culture laboratory where the tree saplings are being developed, pulp to paper process up to finishing where the paper is cut into A4 size and wrapped. They also had the chance to plant their own Double A Paper-Tree on KHAN-NA and find out how this initiative has improved the lives of local farmers.

“We learned a lot from the mill visit and planting trees on KHAN-NA has been a unique experience for us. We are very happy and thankful to Double A for making this trip possible,” said Thuwaraha, a member of the champion team.

“The students are very fortunate to see and experience a lot of things in Thailand. We are grateful and we give our gratitude to Double A,”  said  Mrs. Thevakanthan, the project teacher who also shared how the team worked so hard for their winning project.

In the evening of day 1, a welcome dinner was arranged for the guests.  The event was graced by the presence of Mr. Jayananda Jayasundera, Minister Counsellor of the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Thailand, as the Guest of Honor. The students had the opportunity to present their winning project – Minimizing the Usage of Polythene in the Batticaloa Market – to the Minister Counsellor.

“On behalf of Her Excellency the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Thailand, I would like to extend my heartiest congratulations to the winners; the brilliant students from Vincent Girls’ High School-Batticaloa who have shown to the world their genius and creativity, to guide this world of ours to the future in the path of sustainability. And we should not forget the teacher in charge who has guided all these children in this right path along with the principal of the school,” said Mr. Jayasundera during his inspirational speech.

“My advice to the students is to continue what they have started. Their project is a huge step in the right direction.  Pursue this path to sustainability and become the role models for the Sri Lankan youth. I hope this trip has given them more insights and learning that they could share with their family and friends,” shared  Mr. Thirawit Leetavorn, 
Double A’s Senior Executive Vice President.

The second day was spent at Ban Klong Chao Rang primary school where the delegation had the chance to interact with the local school children. The champions have brought some of their eco-friendly bags and shared them with the students as well as the teachers. Double A also prepared some stationery items, 

Double A Paper-Tree to be planted in the school grounds and luncheon for the students.

Double A Friends of the Planet is a project launched in February 2016 in collaboration with Education Ministry and Central Environmental Authority. The campaign received an overwhelming response with 292 entries from government schools across Sri Lanka. Seven most relevant proposals were selected to implement their project under the guidance of Ministry of Education’s Director of Agriculture and Environmental Studies and Central Environmental Authority.

After three months, each team compiled a detailed report which they presented to an expert panel of judges from Double A, Central Environmental Authority and Ministry of Education. Top 5 best projects were selected for the final round. The final presentation and awarding ceremony was held on 14 July at the Ministry of Education Auditorium. Vincent Girls’ High School - Batticaloa emerged overall winner with the project Minimizing the usage of polythene in the Batticaloa Public Market.

“This has been a rare but an extremely important opportunity for these energetic and environmentally passionate students to experience an overseas study visit in Thailand and learn from the corporate program that 
Double A implements with the local villages and schools. I am sure they will bring back the sweet memories and lessons learned in Thailand to continue the good work they have been doing with more confidence and commitment. Moreover, I am confident that they all join hands with the Central Environmental Authority to become Environmental Pioneers and do a lead role in protecting our nature to ensure its sustainability,” said Mr. Fernando.

For more details visit the Facebook page of Double A Sri Lanka: https://www.facebook.com/DoubleA.Srilanka/