In today’s day and age, the restriction around women’s access to safe abortion is preposterous. The Pratigya Campaign aims to destigmatize the conversation around abortion. Abortion is an essential healthcare service and should be a key constituent of universal health coverage.
In the Indian context, abortion is still a stigmatized subject and considered taboo, for most of the population. While abortion has always been and continues to be an extremely controversial subject, the Campaign aims to uphold the sexual and reproductive health and rights of all women and provide complete bodily autonomy to them.
Marking the International Day of Action for Women’s Health 2020, the Pratigya Campaign for Gender Equality and Safe Abortion hosted a Virtual Press Conference on 28th May 2020 to elaborate on how denial of safe abortion services can disproportionately affect women’s lives – both physically and mentally.
Around the world, at a time when health systems are overstretched due to COVID-19 pandemic, services for women are often among the first to suffer, resulting in increased maternal and child morbidity and mortality. In an attempt to understand the impact, Foundation for Reproductive Health Services India (FRHS India) had also commissioned a policy brief highlighting the estimates of the loss of services during the COVID-19 outbreak.
It is estimated that 25.6 million couples would have not been able to access family planning services during the period of the lockdown and weeks leading up to complete normalcy i.e September 2020.
Speaking at the virtual press conference, VS Chandrashekar, Chief Executive Officer, Foundation for Reproductive Health Services India and Pratigya Campaign Advisory Group Member, said, “As per our policy brief on impact of COVID-19 on India’s family planning programme, we feel that the worst-case scenario is set to unfold. Due to the large number of couples being unable to access these pertinent services, we have estimated that this will result in 29.5 lakh unintended pregnancies in the country, and over 18 lakh abortions. The overall impact on the family planning programme in 2020 is estimated to be between 15-23%. This is an eye-opener, and there is a need for the Government intervention.”
To illustrate the risks on access to sexual and reproductive health services during the current scenario, Ipas Development Foundation modelled the pandemic’s unintended adverse impact on SRH which assesses the near-term (three months) impact of COVID-19 on abortion access in the country.
Vivek Malhotra, CEO, Population Health Services India & CAG Member, Pratigya Campaign, further shed light on lack of access to contraception: “In our experience, we have noted that women usually do not stock over a month’s supply of oral contraceptives, hence facing a shortage since March due to the lack of availability. Furthermore, other contraception measures like IUDs have also not been made available across the four phases of the lockdown”.
Richa Salvi, Technical Programme Manager, Family Planning Association of India & CAG Member went on to comment on the state of our public healthcare system at present: “There is a huge gap in the number of demand of abortions versus the number of registered medical providers, which needs to be bridged in order for women to benefit.”
Disclaimer: This media release is auto-generated. The CSR Journal is not responsible for the content.
Is basic education enough to build a bright future for children? This is a question corporate social responsibility has been addressing in the past few years as it moves beyond mere scholastic education to personality development.
CSR programmes are increasingly making it their objective to prepare school kids from marginalised backgrounds for life in the post-school world where the “soft skills” of verbal communication, creativity and teamwork are just as important as a degree.
Nomura’s Future Generations, Blue Star’s Eureka Walk ‘n’ Talk, Project Nanhi Kali, Canpack India’s Design for Change are unique CSR projects that have been successful in achieving this for thousands of children in government schools.
Angrezi mein kehte hain
In Tamil Nadu, even though most children go to schools, their knowledge of the English language is poor. Their inability to read and speak English affects their confidence and self-esteem. Remember Amitabh Bachchan’s iconic line from Bollywood movie Namak Halal?“I can walk English, I can talk English, I can laugh English because English is a funny language.” Well, CSR programme Eureka Walk ‘n’ Talk is a confidence-booster along the same lines for kids who come from underpriveleged homes in 20 villages of Cuddlaore, Tamil Nadu. It makes them fairly confident in speaking simple English sentences and doing mental math.
As part of their CSR initiative, Blue Star has partnered with CII and Aid India to provide students with additional knowledge beyond the four walls of their classroom. The project works through 20 after-school ‘Eureka centres’ set up in the villages where a locally appointed and trained tutor gives lessons specially designed for them.
Blue Star’s CSR initiative Eureka walk ‘n’ talk has turned 1,500 school children into confidence English speakers
The tutor uses interesting learning tools such as subject charts, workbooks, incentive cards and stickers developed by Aid India to make classroom sessions interactive and engaging. The focus is on enhancing children’s ability to pick up basic English words and sentences and hold a simple conversation in the language. For mathematics, the children are trained on mental arithmetic operations for addition, subtraction and multiplication.
The approach adopted to educate children is appreciated by teachers and students alike. A total of 1,500 children in the age group of 6 to 14 years have been actively enrolled in the programme. They are learning through community participation and peer learning, resulting in enhanced confidence levels.
From kids to critical thinkers
Children are subjected to rote-based learning and old school teaching methodologies in their school classrooms. These practices do not equip them in essential life skills necessary for a wholesome education. Design for Change aims to address the lack of holistic development among school-going children in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. The objective of the programme, launched in 2018, is to shift a student’s attitude from ‘can I?’ to ‘I can.’
Design for Change, part of CSR of Canpack India, attempts to turn kids into responsible citizens
It encourages students to take charge of their environment and act accordingly to instil leadership skills in them. Their classroom sessions are built on four pillars – feel, imagine, do and share. This approach helps the student develop an evolved thought process that prepares them for the future. Several training programmes are conducted for teachers to enable them with the skills to lead classroom sessions effectively and be prepared to handle the unique problems that the students may face.
Students learn innovative thinking, communication, and teamwork through the programme. Collectively, 78,000 individuals have benefitted from the sessions conducted by CSR of Canpack India team. The sensitisation of students to be able and responsible citizens of the future is a key takeaway from the project. Citizen social responsibility, anyone?
The world is grappling with a situation that has taken everyone off guard. Nuvoco Vistas Corporation Limited, a Nirma Group company, considers providing a safe and healthy working environment for its employees and associates its inherent corporate social responsibility (CSR); more so during this pandemic.
Nuvoco has cement manufacturing facilities in Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, and West Bengal, and through them, the organisation has reached out to the local communities and contributed food packets and essential supplies. Moreover, they are extending a helping hand to the local communities through their sales forces and over 60 ready-mix concrete (RMX) operations across the countries. Employees across locations have contributed a day’s salary towards relief funds.
Here are some of the CSR and employee engagement initiatives that Nuvoco has undertaken during the lockdown:
Safety, Food Supply and Medical Care
Nuvoco has implemented a process where they daily track the wellbeing of employees across locations. The Emergency Response Procedure that was rolled at the beginning of the lockdown has offered employees a sense of comfort with the knowledge that any assistance they might require is only a phone call away.
The plant-based Occupational Health Centres (OHC) are working round the clock to provide various medical services, which also include educating employees and their families about the Dos and Don’ts regarding Coronavirus. They have been able to harness the power of technology for the better, to a large extent, and everyone is contributing in some way or the other way to ensure that their families (both, personal and professional) are safe and looked after. All plants have identified and prepared dedicated isolation rooms to tend to anyone diagnosed with any of the COVID-19 symptoms.
Extending assistance to SHGs
Nuvoco’s employees and family members across its cement plants, namely Arasmeta and Sonadih (Chhattisgarh), Jojobera (Jharkhand), Mejia (West Bengal), Nimbol and Chittor (Rajasthan), and Bhiwani (Haryana) are working with local Self Help Groups (SHGs) to extend assistance beyond the plant boundaries by producing face masks for the needy. Groups of volunteers from the plants take turns to clean the surrounding areas and also deliver essentials and food items to the colony residents. They make structured visits and take rounds of the colony.
Moreover, these volunteers monitor the residents’ movements inside the colony during the lockdown period; while assisting the security personnel in keeping tabs on any new people entering the colony. Plant teams are also reaching out to neighbouring communities and working with the local administration to supply food packets and other essential services where needed.
Safety at the plant
The lockdown period has brought to the fore a number of creative solutions – teams and functions have come together to design in-house a fogging-cum-sanitization device, which has helped maintain the sanitization activity covering entire colonies of staff, labour, market area, post office, bank, etc. Another team has developed a foot-operated washbasin that enables people to avoid handling taps or soap dispensers; thereby helping curb the spread of the virus. These are some of the local innovations that have sprung up and which Nuvoco is planning to replicate at other locations.
Hero of the Day
There have been initiatives identified to recognise those who put themselves in harm’s way in order to serve the colony residents during these difficult times; ‘Hero of the Day’ is one such initiative. Two ‘heroes’ are nominated on a daily basis and they also receive a token cash prize from the plant’s Core Management Committee This appreciative gesture has gone down well with the workers and has spurred them on to put up their best efforts.
Employee Engagement through Learning & Skills Development
Nuvoco is taking various initiatives to keep morale high in addition to keeping everyone safe and secure. E-Learning is something that Nuvoco is pursuing in a big way. They have offered the employees options of using the One Hour Learning platform, which is an e-learning tool that has a multitude of courses on Functional, Behavioural and Leadership skills. Employees can also select self-paced courses on edX, founded by Harvard and MIT and regarded as the world’s leading e-Learning platform.
The lockdown period is a good time as any to refresh technical concepts. In addition to organising Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) and technical training sessions through in-house experts for the plant officers; Nuvoco’s vendors, too, have shared their expertise through video conferences and helped impart skills training in the plants.
Health and mental wellbeing initiatives
Knowing that tough times require tough minds to handle the situations, mental wellbeing contributes to a person’s quality of life be it professional or personal. Conducting online healing courses has helped address employees’ emotional and spiritual health. Stating the importance of having regular timeouts, these initiatives comprise fun contests in which employees and their family members can participate from the safety of their own residences. This will ensure the employees get a chance to let down their hair.
The ‘Hum Saath-Saath Hain’ initiative comprises of fun contests in which employees and their family members can participate from the safety of their own residences. These contests stretch out over one week and participants can send in entries [drawing, singing, story writing] online. A panel of judges announces winners at the end of every week.
‘Jab We Met’ is a series of informal online sessions with office colleagues via video chats. It is a fantastic opportunity for employees across functions to see their office colleagues together, chat with them, and express their support and empathy.
Engaging with External Stakeholders
Nuvoco is also connecting with its customers and consumers via social media by organising contests and sharing with them the Best Construction Practices via tools like Facebook Live. ‘
Nuvoco Knowledge Series’, a programme through which Nuvoco is connecting with its stakeholders, has completed four successful weeks. Participants have an opportunity to interact live with Nuvoco’s in-house experts and glean practical tips for building sturdier homes and buildings.
Moving forward with their #KeepGirlsInSchool movement, Whisper, India’s leading feminine care brand, launched ‘Mobileshaala’ today, an initiative to provide free education while schools across the country remain closed. School closures due to the ongoing pandemic could lead to increased drop-out rates, disproportionately affecting adolescent girls. While closing down schools temporarily might help contain the virus, it could have a permanent effect on the future of many – especially marginalized girls, who are now even more vulnerable to dropping out of school in the absence of structured education. Uninterrupted learning is of utmost importance for these girls.
With “Mobileshaala”, Whisper is building their commitment to #KeepGirlsInSchool. It is a phone-based learning system that gives free access to curriculum-based education modules on key subjects like English, Science and menstrual hygiene education.
Education is a critical component for empowerment. It is startling that when girls hit puberty, 1 out of 5 girls starts missing school, leading to her eventually dropping out and we don’t even notice. To bridge this gap, Whisper initiated the #KeepGirlsInSchool movement earlier this year to empower girls with menstrual hygiene education and as a major step towards achieving the brand’s vision of 100% menstrual hygiene in India. The first phase of #KeepGirlsInSchool initiative has helped keep 50 lakh girls in school.
Chetna Soni, Category Leader – Feminine Care, P&G Indian sub-continent: “We kicked off the #KeepGirlsInSchool movement earlier this year, staying true to our commitment to ensure periods do not stand in the way of a girl achieving their dreams. Lack of menstrual hygiene education is a key reason for girls to start dropping out of school when they hit puberty. We have been able to make significant impact on-ground to #KeepGirlsInSchool helping 50 lakh girls in early 2020. Today, these girls face a major challenge as the schools have shut down across the country due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This has disrupted the structured learning process across India and can lead to higher drop out rates especially for girls. Being a brand that has always supported girls, we have supercharged our #KeepGirlsInSchool mission with ‘Mobileshaala’, to enable uninterrupted learning for girls, even during these challenging times. It is a free mobile-based learning system where girls can continue learning on school subjects and periods, especially during these challenging times. We are pleased to support organisations like Pratham in the endeavour of girls’ education, and will continue to break barriers to unleash girls’ confidence so they can be whoever they want to be.”
Bhumi Pednekar who is a strong advocate for the education of girls has supported the initiative. Talking about “Mobileshaala”, she said: “I whole-heartedly believe that nothing should get in the way of a girl’s education. That’s why Whisper’s ambition to #KeepGirlsInSchool even when they are at home with the Mobileshaala initiative is very personal for me. My parents always made sure education was my number one priority while growing up and I hope we can do the same for the young girls of our country during these trying times. I would like to make a strong appeal to everyone to spread the word and share it with the ones who could benefit from it.”
Whisper has collaborated with Pratham, an NGO that focuses on education for children, to drive this program. Dr Banerji, CEO of Pratham said, “Mobileshaala is a much-needed initiative by Whisper in these uncertain times. Ensuring that girls remain in school and continue to learn is high on our priority as well. Movements like #KeepGirlsInSchool are key to tackling the issue of dropout rates of adolescent girls, especially in the current scenario where girls have a higher risk of dropping out.”
Whisper continues to act as a force for the good, empowering girls and women to be whoever and whatever they want to be by ensuring that nothing comes in the way of achieving dreams. Whisper has been committed to improving awareness around periods through its Menstrual Hygiene Awareness School Program, which has touched the lives of more than 4 crore girls in India since 1995. Strengthening this commitment, Whisper has pledged to reach 5 crore girls by 2022 – as empowered girls will empower the nation. You too can play a role in supporting these girls by logging on to https://keepgirlsinschoolindia.org/mobile-shaala and spreading the word to enable uninterrupted learning, be it for your own daughter or someone else’s.
A new joint UN project is seeking to help governments and businesses keep transport networks and borders operational and facilitate the flow of goods and services while containing the spread of the coronavirus.
The project launched this month will implement UN solutions, standards, guidelines, metrics, tools and methodologies to help developing countries build transport, trade and logistics resilience in the wake of COVID-19.
The initiative brings together UNCTAD and the five UN regional commissions for Africa (ECA), Europe (ECE), Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), and Western Asia (ESCWA), with funding managed by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
The project puts a premium on global reach and regional presence, international cooperation, as well as the exchange of knowledge and good practices from all over the world.
It seeks to equip governments in developing and least developed countries to adapt to new post-COVID-19 conditions by tapping into UN expertise, standards, tools and guidance while considering their specific and local conditions.
Three clusters
It comprises three clusters designed to match existing and emerging standards and best practices in transport and trade facilitation with new concerns and demands arising from COVID-19 on cross-border freight transport operations and trade transactions.
The first cluster focuses on contactless solutions and good practices. It aims at reducing physical contact among people in cross-border supply chains by facilitating the flow of goods without spreading the virus.
This will be done by implementing UN conventions and standards for seamless harmonized electronic exchange of data in digital transport corridors, border crossings and trade operations, as well as developing smart rail and road connectivity.
The second cluster is geared towards maximizing seamless connectivity. It focuses on eliminating obstacles to cross-border trade and transport operations arising from the COVID-19 crisis.
It aims at promoting synergies among border agencies by empowering national trade facilitation committees, improving customs automation and identifying non-tariff barriers.
The third cluster focuses on collaborative solutions on transport, trade and logistics operations by strengthening regional and sectoral cooperation to facilitate joint actions and solutions in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It will give special attention to international transit issues, which are multilateral, and sectoral cooperation for ports as nodes of the global maritime shipping network, rooted in regional and national contexts.
Proven conventions and tools
The three clusters build on the UN’s proven conventions, standards, tools and instruments, such as UNCTAD’s Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA), the eTIR International System (TIR Convention) carnet and trade data exchange standards of the UN Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT), as well as the Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-border Paperless Trade.
The clusters will also tap into regional intergovernmental cooperation platforms, analytical work and capacity-building programmes of the five UN regional economic commissions.
One UN response
The project responds to the UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s call for action to tackle the many socio-economic dimensions of the COVID-19 crisis. It seeks to make a difference in line with the UN framework for the immediate socio-economic response to COVID-19 calling for improved connectivity and lower transaction and transport costs. It lies at the heart of UN efforts to implement solutions for contactless, seamless and cooperative transport and trade.
These efforts are expected to promote prosperity, help national economies recover better from COVID-19 and accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.
Disclaimer: This media release is auto-generated. The CSR Journal is not responsible for the content.
Coronavirus or more popularly known as COVID-19 has caused a major shock to the world. It has been proved that no country, no matter how developed their economy or healthcare systems are, is ready to face a pandemic of this scale. Considering the fact that no vaccine is available in the market to prevent the disease or no sure treatment is discovered as yet, the only way to contain the spread of the virus is by practising Social Distancing, Quarantine and Isolation. It is also a way to ensure that the hospitals and healthcare institutions are not overburdened with a huge influx of patients.
The words Social Distancing, Isolation and Quarantine are often misused synonymously by people. More often than not, these words are used to describe the act of staying indoors and avoid interacting from everyone. The misunderstanding has led to a rise of either fear of socializing and therefore increase in mental health issues, anxiety and depression; or complete disregard towards these practices believing them to be over exaggerations. Both of these stands are dangerous at this time. Thus, it is important to understand the differences between these terms.
What is Social Distancing?
Social Distancing or Physical Distancing entails keeping physical distance between two individuals. It is applicable when a person has stepped out in public spaces where there is a chance of having to be in close contact with other people. To fight against the rapid spread of COVID-19, one needs to practice social distancing by:
– Staying at least 6 feet away from other people
– Avoiding group gatherings
– Staying out of crowded places and avoiding mass gatherings
– Avoiding physical contact including acts of hugging, shaking hands, etc.
What is not Social Distancing?
Social Distancing refers to only avoiding physical confrontations. It does not mean people cannot interact with one another using video conferencing, calls or other modes of communication. It also does not mean that a person can not step out at all. While it is preferable at current time to avoid stepping out unless necessary, social distancing norms merely ask to maintain physical distance from people if and when stepping out.
What is Quarantine?
When a person is asked to stay indoors because he/she is exposed to the virus but do not have any symptoms of infection himself/herself. The idea is to avoid physical contact with people who have not been exposed to the disease at all. In practising quarantine, all the people who have been exposed to the disease can stay together as long as none of them shows symptoms of infection. It is basically a measure to keep the people who might not be infected themselves but might be carriers of the virus, away from others.
What is Isolation?
Isolation is when an infected patient is asked to stay away from other people, and therefore preventing healthy people from catching the disease. This is imposed only on those who are already sick and have confirmed infection.
Social Distancing, Isolation and Quarantine might not defeat COVID-19. However, these measure provides the healthcare workers with time to treat patients efficiently, and that the influx of patients do not cross over the capacity of hospitals.
The locust swarms currently plaguing our nation pose an unprecedented threat to food security and livelihoods. It’s the worst desert locust outbreak India has witnessed in 27 years, and could leave lakhs of Indians struggling to feed themselves in the coming months because of the double threat of coronavirus.
Locust swarms have already destroyed vegetation and crops on 50,000 hectares of land in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, UP and MP and have made their way to Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region where they are chomping down fruit orchards at record speed.
Aerial and ground operations by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) are underway but remain insufficient due to the size of the swarms. The Government of India is conducting a locust response and will also take lead in the assessments to establish loss and damage of crops, vegetation which will then inform a way forward.
Locusts are notorious for mass breeding and favourable weather conditions forecasted over the coming months will enable further reproduction and movement of this pestilence. This could result in an increase of locusts even if large-scale control measures are deployed.
Food security and livelihoods in East Africa
In Somalia, over 70,000 hectares of cropland has been damaged with the swarm migrating to the southern crop-producing areas, In Kenya, 13 counties are now affected threatening pastoral areas and marginal agricultural areas. The desert invasion has affected over 65,000 hectares of land across different parts of Ethiopia.
FAO also has warned that sustained desert locust reproduction over the next 3-5 months will likely spread to Southern Ethiopia, Southern Somalia, North-eastern Uganda and South Sudan as a result of high soil moisture, wind patterns and above normal vegetation, which has created pretty cosy conditions for locusts to breed. Some experts are predicting a Desert Locust plague of biblical proportions.
The last major Desert Locust Plague affected 43 countries more than 35 years ago. It arose from widespread heavy rains that fell in Western Sahara in the late summer of 1986. The plague finally ended in 1989 because of control operations and unusual winds that blew swarms across the Atlantic Ocean.
What caused the locust outbreak?
The breeding and spreading of the locusts in early to mid-2020 could lead to adverse impacts on cropping and vegetation conditions in the next harvesting season, especially in the insecure areas where aerial spraying is not possible.
The locust swarms you are seeing in the shocking videos circulating on Whatsapp came to India from the dry regions of Iran and Balochistan in Pakistan. Brace yourself for larger, bubonic-level swarms of desert locusts coming all the way from the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. It all started in 2018 when two cyclones made the weather go awry and led to heavy downpours in those regions. Heavy rain in arid regions triggers vegetation growth, creating the perfect breeding ground for desert locusts.
The story continued into 2019 when the warming of the Indian Ocean led to a whopping eight cyclones of varying severity within a year. These cyclones in turns led to one of the wettest October-December monsoons in many parts of East Africa. Naturally, the outcome was more locusts than the previous year, with their exponential population in 2020. According to recent research, these kinds of events could double in number if the global temperature continues to rise.
What’s next for India?
Besides affecting food security and livelihoods of people in rural areas, and shortage in food grains and vegetables, the locust outbreak means more economic trouble for India as it tries to recover from the pandemic. It is time to begin implementing measures for protecting livelihoods and work on preventing future food crises. This means more animal health campaigns, keeping livestock healthy where pastures have been destroyed, and relief packages for affected farmers so that they can replant.
Nippon Paint (India) Private Limited (Decorative Division), announced a Health insurance policy for its painter partners across India. Under this initiative, over 6,000 painters will be protected against COVID-19.
In the event of exposure to COVID-19, each insured painter will get an insurance cover with a flat benefit value of INR 20,000. The policy which has a validity of a year will cover hospitalization and other treatment expenses related to COVID-19 for all of the Insured painters.
S Mahesh Anand, President – Nippon Paint (India) Private Limited (Decorative Division) said about the CSR initiative, “COVID-19 has no doubt caused a great threat to the health of the general public but it is the daily wage workers such as painters, who have been impacted the most. While most salaried employees are covered under the Health insurance policies of their companies, workers like painters who come under the unorganised sector are most exposed to risks associated with COVID-19. Nippon Paint is delighted to roll out the health insurance policy which will cover our painter friends, should any COVID-19 emergency arise. As India prepares to slowly resume business operations, there is an even stronger need for such initiatives”.
Post Covid-19, Nippon Paint has launched numerous CSR initiatives to touch painter’s lives. Apart from this COVID Insurance cover, the company has also provided painters with the brand’s Amudha Surabhi (digital currency card) and e-vouchers, enabling them and their families to purchase essential commodities from their neighbouring kirana and grocery stores.
The brand has further launched PRO-safety painter certification as an addition to the Government’s safety guidelines. It is a checklist of safety protocols to be followed. Since painters will have to visit client homes to paint, this extra layer of safety measure will aid in ensuring the safety of both parties. Painters who pledge to adhere to all the necessary safety guidelines are provided with a PRO-safety painter Certification, to encourage safe painting practices. Painters are encouraged to follow the safety protocol before entering a client home.
Castrol India Limited salutes essential service workers at the forefront of the battle against Covid-19 as #IndiaFightsCorona. Castrol, through its network of independent workshops, is providing complimentary lubricants aimed at servicing and maintaining vehicles of essential service workers including doctors, nurses, paramedics, police, healthcare workers, municipal workers and garbage collectors who are bravely helping keep India safe.
In addition, Castrol India has also undertaken a complimentary sanitization drive for its independent workshops network across ten cities. This sanitization drive promotes a safe environment for the workshop mechanics and consumers as they make their way into everyday life with lockdowns being lifted in some parts of the country. The drive is accompanied by safety briefings and hygiene awareness at all these workshops.
Commenting on these initiatives, Sandeep Sangwan – Managing Director, Castrol India Limited said, “At Castrol, we pay tribute to essential service workers, our silent heroes, for their unwavering spirit and determination to protect the health and wellbeing of the people of India. As a responsible brand, we consider it our duty to support their extraordinary efforts and to keep them moving. Castrol India stands united with the country as #IndiaFightsCorona as we look to navigate through this human crisis together.”
Castrol has stepped up and made contributions to impacted communities in several ways during the last two months. The company has donated critical medical equipment like ventilators, ICU beds, sanitizers and PPE to hospitals across India. Castrol has touched the lives of over 62,000 mechanics and their families through monetary contributions amidst the national lockdown, besides extending support to stranded truckers through food packets at transportation hubs, along with groceries and dry rations to migrant workers and labourers across several states. Protective gear to policemen and garbage collectors in key metros have also been provided.
Disclaimer: This media release is auto-generated. The CSR Journal is not responsible for the content.
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting lockdown has had a particularly adverse effect on children, impacting their mental, physical and psycho-social well-being. The LEGO Group, the world’s leading toy brand, in collaboration with two highly reputed organisations, NITI Aayog and Save the Children, has introduced targeted initiatives in India to promote ‘Learning Through Play’ and support home-based learning during these unprecedented times, while strengthening community efforts to respond to COVID-19. This is part of the LEGO Group and LEGO Foundation’s overall commitment of US $50 million globally to help children and their families impacted by COVID-19.
The LEGO Group has aligned with Save the Children to promote responsive care-giving and play based learning practices for children aged 3-8 years both at state and national levels. This effort will help in strengthening communities to combat COVID-19 by providing educational kits and play materials for use at home as well as guiding parents and caregivers on hygiene and responsive caregiving. The initiative will also improve access to quality pre-school education through the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and pre-school Centres when they re-open. It will focus on building capacity of pre-school Anganwadi Workers (AWWs), Anganwadi Helpers (AWHs) and ICDS functionaries to support the development and school readiness of young children.
In addition, synergizing efforts, The LEGO Group will bring its global initiative ‘Let’s Build Together’ to India. As a part of its collaboration with Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, the LEGO Group will provide readily available offline, online resources and play activities for students that foster creativity skills and inculcate design thinking. The LEGO Group will also explore training webinars to build capacities for ATL teachers to conduct effective online lessons for students and also webinars for students under AIM’s ‘Tinker from Home’ campaign.
Commenting on the collaboration, Vivek Jain, General Manager, The LEGO Group (BU India) said, “With schools being closed, the education of more than 1.5 billion children and youth worldwide has been affected due to this pandemic. Currently, many educators and parents are stepping into new roles at home to ensure that children are in good health both physically and mentally. Our aim is to urgently support crisis-affected children to enable them to thrive and continue to learn through play. Through our ‘Let’s Build Together’ initiative with Niti Aayog and our collaboration with Save the Children, our focus is ensuring that children of all ages can continue to be creative, to have fun and to develop the social, emotional and physical skills they need to thrive in the future.”
Commenting on the collaboration, Bidisha Pillai, CEO, Save the Children, India, said, “Save the Children is delighted to partner with the LEGO Group to promote early childhood development for children aged 3 – 8 years, by enhancing their skills through playful learning experiences. We firmly believe that play based learning and positive parenting lays the foundation for providing children with the ‘Right Start’. In order to overcome the effects of COVID-19 crisis, we will start by supporting parents and caregivers with advice on caregiving at home, including providing home based learning opportunities that will ensure children’s social, emotional and physical development. Save the Children and the LEGO Group share a common focus and together we will create a better, brighter world for children.”
Disclaimer: This media release is auto-generated. The CSR Journal is not responsible for the content.
