Manju (11) lives in small village in the tribal belt of Rajasthan. Manju's father is a stonemason. Manju is the youngest child in her family and has three brothers and a sister. Manju’s elder sister is married and has never been to school. Manju aspired to study and be the Sarpanch of her village but was convinced that her fate will be the same as her sister. She kept busy cooking at home for her family while she watched the children in her village march to school every morning. Suhani (12), used to go to school until a few years ago. She struggled with making progress in reading and writing and had no way of getting additional support to improve her learning. Her parents thought that she wasn’t gaining much and so they stopped Suhani’s schooling. Suhani was then confined to cooking, cleaning, fetching water and taking care of her younger siblings at home. Manju and Suhani are just 2 amongst the 120,000 girls in rural Rajasthan who had to drop out of school but were supported by Educate Girls and Vodafone India to return back to pursue their dreams. Vodafone, one of India’s telecommunications service providers, as part of its commitment to the national movement ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’, partnered with Educate Girls, (an NGO that focuses on enrolling, retaining and improving the learning outcomes of young girls aged 6-14 years) and raised Rs. 4.5 crore through several initiatives to support the education of over 120,000 out-of-school girls. These young girls hail from Pali, Jalore, Sirohi, Ajmer, Bundi and Rajsamand districts in Rajasthan. Handing over the cheque for the funds raised to Educate Girls, Mr. P. Balaji, Director – Regulatory, External Affairs & CSR, Vodafone India, said, “Education is fundamental to driving social change. For young girls, basic education is even more important as it forms the critical first step of a larger objective - enabling them to make genuine choices about the kind of life they wish to lead. The benefits of educating girls are manifold. An educated woman has the requisite skills, information and self-confidence that she needs to be a better parent, worker and citizen. It also has a strong multiplier effect for when you educate a girl, you are educating an entire family. At Vodafone, we are always keen to leverage our capabilities and resources in partnering with the government and the developmental sector to play our due role in nation development. I wish all the girls a great future.” Affirming Vodafone’s commitment, Mr. Amit Bedi, Business Head- Rajasthan, Vodafone India, said, “In Rajasthan, children, especially girls look forward to going to school and learn but are often constrained to do this diligently. I am glad that at Vodafone, we have had the opportunity to support their education as a part of our commitment to the national priority of ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’. Our collective efforts have enabled over 1, 20, 000 young girls to follow their dreams. I thank our NGO partner Educate Girls and my colleagues at Vodafone India for their commitment and support for this cause.” Thanking Vodafone for its support and contribution, Safeena Husain, Founder and Executive Director, Educate India, said, “It is indeed very heartening to have a corporation of Vodafone’s stature support Educate Girls. Vodafone Foundation’s World of Difference program has helped Educate Girls Immensely with fundraising and capacity building at the field level. Vodafone’s contribution will go a long way as Educate Girls attempts to impact over 30 lac children across 27,000 schools in the underserved educationally backward districts of Rajasthan.”
Read More
Drawing solidarity with Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Clean Ganga Project, stationery art manufacturer Kokuyo Camlin Limited too celebrated World Rivers Day by inviting over 100 artists to paint on the theme `Ganga’, at Vasanta College, Rajghat, Varanasi, recently. While these artists were painting in Varanasi, others from all over the country have contributed by uploading paintings on the Kokuyo Camlin website. The 100 artists have immortalized their vision on canvas on the theme ‘Ganga’ and have painted their vision and interpretation around the holy river. These professional paintings will be submitted to an organization associated with the Clean Ganga Project, wherein these paintings will be auctioned and the proceeds will go to the cause of keeping Ganga clean. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Saumitra Prasad, Chief Marketing Officer, Kokuyo Camlin Ltd, said, “Kokuyo Camlin has always promoted art and especially for good causes. After creating the world longest canvas this year on theme of Swachh Bharat, we have assembled here to promote Swachh Ganga project with the power of art. While we celebrate World Rivers Day, it’s important to communicate to our society that rivers are an integral part of our environment, being a rich source of water, food, transport, hydro power and so many things. River Ganga is not only the biggest river of our country, but also the most sacred river. Unfortunately it is also become one of most polluted rivers in the world. With this event –‘Camlin paints for Ganga’ - we want to join our Prime Minister’s initiative on cleaning Ganga in a unique way” To complement this initiative around the theme ‘Ganga’, the company used social media to create further awareness among children. The company had also invited children to join in the celebrations and participate in it by submitting their paintings online. For every painting submitted by a child, Kokuyo Camlin will contribute Rs.100 towards the project. This received tremendous response from the children who participated in huge numbers by submitting their paintings.
Read More
Thousands of driver partners on Ola, mobile app for personal transportation, recently took part in a pledge reinforcing their commitment to safety in their cities. The pledge was part of the “Suraksha kaSankalp” campaign run by Ola. Ola has been at the forefront of bringing systemic changes and advancements with respect to safety in the personal transportation space, through world-class technology enabling enhanced traceability through dual layer GPS, proactive verification and rigorous training of driver partners and constant innovation through features that are built into the app with adequate support systems. As part of the 'Suraksha kaSankalp' campaign, thousands of customers, employees and representatives of Ola across cities tied Rakhis to drivers. In return, drivers took the ceremonial pledge, reinforcing their commitment to protection of the interest and safety of their customers and the public at large. Important rules that the drivers pledged to follow included wearing seat belts at all times, ensuring that the customer reaches their destination safely, on time and to strictly follow traffic rules. PranayJivrajka, Chief Operating Officer at Ola said, “Raksha Bandhan holds a special place in the hearts of all and signifies a commitment to a larger purpose. Values have the power to nurture entire civilizations and we are sure that “Suraksha KaSankalp” will only strengthen the resolve of our driver partners to contribute to safer roads and rides in the cities. We have already committed $20 mn to the cause of safety and will continue to innovate on solutions to ensure that we are able to build mobility for a billion people.”
Read More
CRY – Child Rights and You and BBH India, CRY’s creative partner have joined hands to spread awareness about the importance of voting for child rights in India as part of CRY’s nationwide campaign ‘Vote for Child Rights’. CRY works towards sustainable change, by ensuring all children receive their rights. ‘Vote for Child Rights’ campaign aims to pursue political candidates to ensure due emphasis is given to child rights in their party manifestos. The mission was to make politicians stand up and take notice. Instead of a simple pledge, BBH India did something unique and created a vote bank. Strength in numbers encourages the audience, and a vote bank in itself is what politicians pay attention to. BBH created a campaign around the childmark, a yellow dot symbolising your vote for child rights. The campaign was driven online and on ground. Subhash Kamath, CEO and Managing Partner BBH India said, “Child Rights is a very real issue. People don’t fully understand the concept so we wanted to bring it right upfront. Not with a predictable lecture on the issue, but with an inspirational film. We wanted to make it interesting so people will engage and share it with friends.” The film demonstrates, in the most simple manner, how the yellow childmark and a vote bank can make all the difference. Essential child rights were highlighted including the right to education, nutrition, protection and most importantly, the right to a childhood. On the making of the film, Russell Barrett, CCO and Managing Partner BBH India said, “The first bit of creative thinking was to suggest that to get politicians’ attention, we have to create a vote bank. That’s exactly what we set off to do. Having a lovely idea is great, but having the in-house talent to make it come alive is truly rewarding. The team worked their fingers to the bone for weeks and weeks to get the writing, illustration, animation, photography, direction and post-production just right. We have to thank the client though, for the immense patience they had while we developed, scrapped and redeveloped things. ” Emphasizing on the importance to reach out to politicians and public through this campaign, Anita Bala Sharad, Director, Resource Mobilisation, CRY said, “This campaign aims to urge politicians to put children first and the general public to vote for a party that does so. While several nationwide initiatives and policies are in place to protect children against violation of their rights, there is a visible lack of political will to implement the same. We wanted to highlight the support we can garner from public to ensure that the parties take notice and that the best interest of the child be put at the centre of all policy, legislation and practice. BBH has beautifully depicted the rights of the child and how a vote in support of the same can bring about a lasting change in the child’s life.”
Read More
An experience basically means stimulating the senses through various touchpoints- sight, touch, feel, music etc. But in certain cases these senses may not be fully receptive, such as among the less abled. How does a brand establish a meaningful connect and create value for such consumers? To address this issue within their brand Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM has established Mirchi Care, a CSR initiative and experiential campaign focussed at the visually impaired to allow them more flexibility in their daily lifestyle and a platform to experience the brand more closely. Pallavi Rao, Group Head, CSR, Radio Mirchi tells us more about it- EE: What is the purpose of Mirchi Care? Our main endeavour is to be able to provide audio help and entertainment to the blind and visually impaired. Most companies would donate funds towards the health and education of the disabled but our focus is to enhance their day to day experiences by providing substantial content that can help them lead a more confident and convenient life. EE: What are some of the things you have accomplished within this programme? We have recorded more than 470 audio books across various subjects- fiction, romance, entertainment, education etc. We have also helped develop a software for translating auto rickshaw meter fares which converts the meter readings into a blind friendly format. This endeavour is to ensure that the visually disabled can travel alone more confidently with reduced chances of being fleeced by rickshaw drivers. Our most recent efforts within this programme has been to record menus at restaurants for the visually impaired to be able to step out by themselves and enjoy a good meal. We have covered 20 cities so far and have a presence at several mid-range restaurants such as Mcdonald’s, KFC etc. We have also provided menu’s in braille format at certain restaurants such as Chung Wa at GK-2 New Delhi. EE: Does the investment justify the fact that it really just takes two minutes for someone else to read the menu? It is beyond our imagination the various challenges that a blind person is faced with on a daily basis. Even if they are escorted to a restaurant, small queries such as reading the prices off the menu and trying to remember them and the various possible permutations and combinations may dip their self esteem. So much so that it is seen a lot of them refrain from stepping out of the comforts of their home. We have received tremendous support and help from Prashant Verma, Joint Secretary at the National Association of the Blind. He himself does not have vision and explained that even though he has the purchasing power, he usually gets his food delivered home. The only restaurant that he feels confident enough to dine in is perhaps one that is equipped with a software for the blind. What is the kind of investment that has gone into this programme? The only investment from our end is our passion and dedication towards making a humble difference for the blind community. We mainly work on barter deals and help from volunteers. Being a popular radio channel we have the resources and accessibility to reach out to the wide pool of like-minded people who also feel strongly about this cause and are willing to help. EE: How do you gauge the ROI, in this case your time and effort? Within the National Association of the Blind there is a Women’s hostel and we got a call from its Matron a few days back saying that a group of women have stepped out of the hostel to eat at one of the restaurants that we have provided support to. Instances like these are very encouraging for us and bring tremendous joy ascertaining that we have managed to make a difference through our efforts. We still have a long way to go no doubt, but with time we are positive other companies are sure to catch up and there would be many more hands working towards building better lives for the disabled.
Read More
Over the last couple of years in India, crimes committed against women and the rising frequency of incidents have come across as a jolt to a sleeping nation. Albeit, women have been living in fear and oppression for years, guess when push comes to shove you cannot help but take notice. The Delhi gang rape propagated protestant groups across the country, the media was frenzied, and laws were favourably rehashed to safeguard women’s rights. While on one hand we were the subject of global shame, on the other, the nation came together as an anomalous unanimous voice for female empowerment. Sadly in India just when you think things are beginning to look up, you realize you may have spoken a little too soon. The recent Tehelka case blew up in our faces exposing the harsh reality that crimes against women are not just restricted to certain societal stratas but are just as commonplace amongst the literate, the wealthy, and in this case, the apparent custodians. The voice that had nearly faded rose again. This incident gave it teeth. But is this the last straw? Or does our patience have more give to it? The voice is now a crying shriek. But is it being acknowledged or falling upon deaf ears? Well don’t know about the others but it definitely has caught Vodafone’s attention. The Vodafone Foundation has chosen women’s empowerment as a key area of focus in India. The idea is to highlight that when you educate, empower or support a woman in any ecosystem to emerge victorious, you impact her entire family, her immediate ecosystem in the community, which in turn brings in a strong multiplier effect on the overall social and economic development of the entire country. In a modest attempt to achieve this goal, The Vodafone Foundation on 4 December 2013 at ITC Maurya Hotel, New Delhi, released ‘Women of Pure Wonder’, a book that chronicles the struggle, survival and ultimate success of sixty extraordinary women. Blending an engaging mix of some well-known and some as yet unheard tales, this book narrates the extraordinary deeds of real women who have courageously braved all social, economic and familial odds to reach the pinnacle of success in their chosen field of work, thereby setting a shining example for others to follow. The event organized by Percept India was hosted by emcee Shivani Pasrich and saw in its attendance close to 150 proponents . A panel of discussion consisting of Kajol Devgan (actress), Malvika Rajkotia (Lawyer), Laxmi (acid attack victim), Suhel Seth (ad-man), Priya Dutt (Member of Parliament) and Vittorio Colao, CEO, Vodafone Group Plc moderated by Vikram Chandra of NDTV threw light on some of the issues faced by a woman in India and the way towards progression. On a different note, it was admirable to see Suhel Seth’s brazen participation at the venue. Suhel, who has been in a fierce squabble with former associate ITC for over half a decade, had been sued by ITC due to his defamatory tweets against the group ever since they terminated his contract in 2007. Speaking on the occasion of the book release, Vittorio Colao, CEO, Vodafone Group Plc. said, “At Vodafone, we firmly believe that what is good for the society is also good for business. Women empowerment is a key theme for us across all the markets we operate in and I am proud of the way the Vodafone Foundation in India has set an example for our other markets to follow. This book is unique as it takes the story of these sixty women to inspire a much larger audience. This is but a small token of our admiration and respect for the ladies who have braved all odds to exemplify what every woman is capable of.” Marten Pieters, CEO & MD, Vodafone India, believes that this is one of the many steps which Vodafone India will embark on. He specifically referred to the multiple initiatives that Vodafone India is taking,“We are working in the areas of education, empowerment and the environment as part of our ‘Vodafone Cares’ initiative. Whatever meaningful we can do to facilitate a better quality of life for India’s millions, especially women, will be a step in the right direction. We are committed to playing our role as a responsible corporate citizen and contribute to the overall development of the country.” Rohit Adya, External Affairs Director, Vodafone India added, “It is an honour for us to be associated with such outstanding, amazing women. We will share their stories on different platforms to provide inspiration to thousands of other women across the country.” Madhu Sirohi, Head, Vodafone Foundation in India said, “Proceeds from the sale of the Women of Pure Wonder book will be used to empower girl children through the Naz Foundation. It will be our continued endeavour to provide as much support as possible to the cause of women empowerment through our initiatives and programmes.” The ‘Women of Pure Wonder’ has been published by Roli Books and will be retailed through leading book stores across the country.
Read More
With the entire nation cheering their favourite international football teams during the ongoing World Cup, Viber India gives every Viber user an opportunity to support a unique football team. Founded in 2009, Yuwa is one of the largest girls’ football programs in India, with 250 players. The Yuwa Foundation uses football as a platform to combat child marriage and human trafficking in the poorest of communities in Jharkhand. With over 19 million users of the internet messaging and VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) calling service application, every conversation made through Viber India contributes to the ‘Vibe The Goal’ initiative conceptualized and executed by digital marketing agency, FoxyMoron. The more you converse, the closer we get to the goal of empowering the girl’s football team. Through the power of the ‘Vibernation’ on Viber’s digital platforms, everyone can empower these Tribal girls to face the challenges of the callous systems against them. Through chatting with friends & family, sharing stickers, creating groups on Viber various monetary levels of contributions will be displayed on a meter on the campaign Microsite – ww.VibeTheGoal.in which is also an aggregator of the support the girls are receiving. Users, fans and supporters can also directly contribute to the Yuwa Foundation via the microsite. The funds raised will be used to empower the talented girls with world-class football equipment, a learning and excellence center, and their education as well. Yuwa’s girls have inspired tens of millions of people throughout India and around the world with their achievements. Their inspiring story is encapsulated in a short digital film – http://bit.ly/VibeTheGoalYT which has so far received over 2.9 Lakh views. The ‘Vibe The Goal’ campaign has garnered 18.6 million impressions on Twitter with 24,300 tweets generated in support of the #VibeTheGoal initiative and close to 9.5 Lakh fans have engaged in the #VibeTheGoal conversation on Facebook. Commenting on the initiative, Anubhav Nayyar, Country Head, Viber India, said: ‘VIBER is proud to partner with YUWA team. Through our association with YUWA we are aiming to generate maximum awareness about the NGO which has championed the social cause of combating issues such as child marriage and human trafficking in India. Everyone can be a part of the conversation on Viber to support the team. Every message exchanged on Viber will go a long way in contributing towards uplifting the social and economic conditions for these girls who have earned great reputation for India at national and international levels.’ Franz Gastler, Founder YUWA India, said: ‘Society teaches girls to fit in. Yuwa coaches girls to stand out. In Jharkhand, 6 in 10 girls drop out of school and become child brides. Yuwa is using football and education to combat child marriage, illiteracy and human trafficking. We are thrilled to join hands with Viber India to build support for Yuwa’s programs and a center of excellence to educate, nourish and sustain the girls of Yuwa. Join the cause, make some noise!’ Akshay Gurnani, Business Head – North, FoxyMoron, said: ‘It is refreshing to see the potential of the digital medium to create funding for talented young athletes who struggle with basic infrastructure and issues with the system they function in. Football has empowered these Jharkand girls to succeed and thrive despite all the hardships they have faced. The ‘Vibe The Goal’ initiative is a small step towards sharing their story and ensuring their talent makes successful appearances at various Football tournaments in India and abroad.’ As a football club, Yuwa is one of the few teaching life skills, with a focus on positive coaching. Yuwa is the only sports for development organization in India with daily practices for all teams. Each Yuwa girl spends an average of 3 hours daily with Yuwa programs, 6 days a week, year round—nearly 1,000 hours each year. On July 13 2013, the 18 tribal girls representing Yuwa India under-14 all-girls team were placed third among 10 teams playing for the Gasteiz Cup in Victoria Gasteiz in Spain. The girls, a majority of whom played outside their village in Ormanjhi for the first time were placed third after two wins, two losses, and one draw against international teams. Earlier during the Donosti Cup, Spain’s biggest football tournament, the girls made it to quarter finals from among 36 international teams.
Read More
Aristotle quoted, “the route to education is bitter but the fruit is sweet”. Education today, is one of the most critical spheres to debate about. It’s often said that ‘one book, one teacher and one child together can change the world’. Today, EE talks about why learning is essential and what initiatives are being taken in order to build a learned nation. Providing education to girls gives them the strength and power to make their own choices. A learnt woman has the direction and confidence that she needs to be a better citizen. S.H.E. – SUPPORT HER EDUCATION campaign initiated by, “The Body Shop” India, in collaboration with “Food for Life Vrindavan” (FFLV) is a pursuit to highlight girls’ education. One can donate towards the initiative by buying a product directly or online and a certain portion of the payment would be donated for the girl welfare. The campaign plans to support 100 unprivileged girls in 2014-15. Along with assembling fund for education, it also aims at providing food and healthcare facilities and self defense training. Funds will be collected from 100+ stores of The Body Shop India to support the girl child. A fun and experiential activity by McDonald’s and Dorling Kindersley included presenting interactive books with Happy Meals. Under this initiative, limited edition books with playful themes will be distributed throughout August and September 2014. This experiential campaign attracted the young consumers and is also trying to engage them in a fun way of learning by enhancing their knowledge. This experiential activity using a mobile communications platform Viber promoted Jharkhand-based YUWA Foundation, which uses football to empower girls. YUWA and Viber partnered on a special agenda that allowed its users to contribute in the success of YUWA team. The campaign called “Vibe the Goal” initiated with the goal of constructing an enduring centre for their training and nourishment. This required the user to just send a message to viber; message sent will add to the sum that Viber will put in the campaign. The aim was to generate awareness about the NGO working towards the social cause of combating with concerns like human trafficking and child marriage in India. These experiential campaigns brought in the element of emotional connect with its consumers. An initiative by Coca-Cola NDTV, in collaboration with UN-Habitat, Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) and Sulabh International called “Support My School” Telethon 2013 raised pledges to reinvigorate 250 schools in semi-urban and rural areas. A 12-hour telethon led by Aishwarya Rai and Sachin Tendulkar aimed at reaching out to over 100 schools and 50,000 students to develop vigorous, vital and sound schools with enhanced basic amenities in rural and semi-urban areas and subsequently, generating monetary resources for these schools. Celebrities like Cyrus Broacha, Ayushman Khurana, Boman Irani also joined hands for the initiative. Another one on the list is association of Discovery kids’ Channel with the Edinburgh science festival, a 10-day educational event held in Bangalore. All the kids from the city along with their families and teachers were invited to the festival where life size bubbles were formed and the power of light and sound was experienced using interactive and engaging sessions. A mirror experiment was done keeping in mind the central theme as ‘fun’. Several parents, teachers and students attended this event. This entertaining experiential event was a huge success.
Read More
