Brings knowledge and expertise to Sri Lankan Mothers

Unilever Sri Lanka launched the Pears Happy Baby Learning Centre recently, dedicated to all mothers and babies in Sri Lanka. This one-of-a-kind project works to leverage expertise from multiple partners and associates towards the inspiring vision of “Grow Happy” for all babies in Sri Lanka.

“Sri Lanka has one of the best neonatal, pediatric, and public health services sectors which has increased social progress index with low infant mortality rates etc. In this happy context, we saw an opportunity to educate Sri Lankan mothers on the mental and emotional well-being of their children. There’s a lot of new research occurring around the world on parenting, and especially the link between early childhood happiness and later development and learning skills – an idea that is fully aligned with our philosophy that ‘Happy Babies Learn More’. So this initiative was created to connect mothers with this information,” said Siddharth Banerjee, Marketing Director Home, Personal Care & Water, for Unilever Sri Lanka.

“While the project is spear headed by Pears, numerous partners both professional and commercial have come on board to create the eco-system of the Pears Happy Baby Learning Centre and share knowledge and know-how with Lankan mothers through diverse methods. With dedicated parenting websites such as Parenting.lk, Maathru.lk, Mumsibles.com and Mumzcare.com providing content and knowledge to mothers under the initiative, while media partners such as Sirasa TV’s Senehasa show and other various information dissemination activities on both, print and electronic media will direct the information to the public. Senehasa – a programme dedicated to mothers and babies airing on Sirasa TV every Sunday night will feature a special segment dedicated to parenting via the Pears Happy Baby Learning Centre. In addition, a series of guest columns and talk show segments in the upcoming months with tips and tricks on parenting from expert leaders such as doctors, celebrity mothers will also be initiated.

“There is a plethora of knowledge and resources that could benefit mothers from numerous sources and organisations. But often this information trickles in slowly due to language barriers, or is tacitly held in some fortunate circles only and isn’t accessible to the larger community. The Pears Happy Baby Learning Centre will help connect the information sources with mothers everywhere in the island," said Mihira Kulatunga, Senior Brand Manager for Pears at Unilever Sri Lanka. “Our goal with the Happy Baby Learning Centre is to empower all Lankan mothers through the power of knowledge so that they can raise happy babies.”

The event also saw the unveiling of the Pears Happy Baby Learning Centre mobile unit. This custom-made bus will travel through the Central, North Central and Eastern Provinces during the next 44 days. Equipped with comfortable air-conditioned seating for up to 20 mothers, the centre plays informational videos on how to keep babies happy and distributes educational booklets etc for mothers and babies. Coming on board as a key partner, Hatton National Bank will partner with the mobile unit, to set up HNB Singithi Kirikatiyo savings accounts with a gifted deposit of Rs. 1,000 and provide financial insight and planning lessons for mothers.

The Sri Lanka College of Paediatricians, a long term associate who has partnered with Pears to renovate Mother and Baby Centres and Lactation Management Centres around the island will work with the Pears Happy Baby Learning Centre on select projects under the initiative. “The crux of this initiative is that it will constantly grow and evolve as we identify new partners and expand our horizons. Our goal is to make the Pears Happy Baby Learning Centre stand apart on its own, and become the go-to resource for Sri Lankan mothers,” Kulatunga added.

Photo caption: Oshadee Hewamaddumage with her family