Bringing a Mobile ATM Service to Walpita During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Date: 31 March 2020
Location: Walpita
Service: HNB Mobile ATM Service

During the restrictions imposed in the early period of the COVID-19 pandemic, people in Walpita faced difficulties travelling to banks to withdraw the cash they needed for their daily requirements.

To provide a practical solution, I coordinated with HNB in Homagama to bring a mobile ATM vehicle to Walpita. This allowed residents to access the cash they needed without having to travel to a distant bank branch during this difficult period.

On the day of the service, people were arranged in a queue with considerable distance between them. Bank staff and security personnel were also present while residents used the mobile banking facility. The photographs capture the unusual circumstances of that period and the precautions surrounding the service.

For me, this remains a meaningful community-service memory from the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was an opportunity to identify an immediate problem faced by people in my own village, coordinate with the relevant institution, and help bring a practical service directly to the community.