|
Social Initiatives
Today, more than ever there is an
increasing necessity for the business
sector to include 'socially responsible
actions' as a part of their organisation's
agenda. However, at HDFC this
commitment was embraced in its
nascent years and has since grown in
leaps and bounds. Right from its
inception years, HDFC has made
consistent efforts towards social
upliftment by maintaining an active Social
Initiatives portfolio. It is only fair to
deduce that the credit for crossing the
confines of a mere profit making entity
to embracing interrelated social
concerns rests on the vision and
leadership of our founder Chairman
Mr. H. T. Parekh. As we commemorate
his birth centenary, we salute his vision
and intense determination with which
he created HDFC as an organisation
meeting a socially relevant and essential
need.
HDFC has never had a so-called
definition or a policy specific to the
notion of 'corporate social responsibility'.
Instead we have perceived it to be an
evolving concept. Each intervention is
perceived as a new, fresh experience
that progressively adds on to us
understanding how best to structure a
mechanism so as to cater to the evolving
needs and concerns of society.
Through the year, HDFC continued
partnering with development
organisations for a variety of programs
in the social sphere. The following pages
will illustrate some of the projects
supported by HDFC through the Shelter
Assistance Reserve.
^Top
SHELTER ASSISTANCE RESERVE
Close to 190 social and development
initiatives were supported during
FY 2010-11 through the Shelter
Assistance Reserve. The overall
utilisation from the Reserve stood at
Rs. 8.88 crore. The segment-wise
break-up of the utilisation is illustrated
in the chart below:
Cited below are a few cases, in no
specific order, of development projects
supported under the Shelter Assistance
Reserve during 2010-11:
^Top
DEEDS
Silence - they say is golden, but have
we ever wondered about the effects of
silence in the lives of the hearing
impaired? The bitter truth is that there
are 5 million hearing impaired individuals
in India with over 20,000 babies adding
to this number each year. DEEDS works
with hearing impaired individuals by
making them financially self-reliant and
contributing members of main stream
society.
DEEDS holds the credit for starting the
'First ever catering institute for the Deaf
in India'. Students who have successfully
completed their tenth standard
examinations are eligible for this
one-year Diploma Course in Catering
designed especially for the hearing
impaired and certified by the
Maharashtra State Vocation Board. After
completion of their course, most
students are absorbed in the hospitality
sector.
HDFC has been supporting various
programs being undertaken by DEEDS
over the years and has supported the
Institute since its inception.
^Top
Project Chirag
Recognising that India's progress
depends a great deal on the progress &
development of rural India students of
Mumbai's H.R. College of Commerce
& Economics have come up with a
5-point Rural Transformation Model
titled Project Chirag. This model deals
with five areas - Environment,
Education, Healthcare & Sanitation,
Social Upliftment, and Economic
Empowerment, with the aim of truly
"lighting up rural lives in India".
In order to implement these changes in
any village, the primary requirement is
electricity and thus Phase 1 of the
project was taken up to light up dark
villages, which have never had any
electricity, through Solar Energy. In
phase 2 of this program, economic
upliftment activities would be carried out along with establishing public kitchens,
improving educational infrastructure and
aids, adult literacy programmes as well
as other skillset enhancement training
programs.
The organisation approached HDFC to
partner lighting of villages in Wada
Taluka, Thane District. The unique
feature of this initiative is that the solar
lanterns provided to the villages are
made by physically & mentally
challenged individuals from economically
backward communities, thus
contributing to a raise in their incomes
as they earn Rs. 30/lantern they
assemble. This community otherwise
has a very rare chance of being gainfully
employed and hence this
revenue-generation will uplift them
economically too.
HDFC strongly believes that the youth
of this country plays a pivotal role in
India's development. This initiative sees
the youth participating at every stage of
Project Chirag - right from strategising,
planning and execution of this village
transformation program.
^Top
St. Jude India Child-Care Centres
The Centre caters to a huge unmet
social need to provide a safe and clean
environment for children to recuperate
following treatment for serious chronic
diseases. Whilst hospitals are able to
provide therapy to the most needy of
children in India through the generosity
of a plethora of charities, the children
and parents often have no place to stay
and have to 'sleep rough' on the streets.
With people suffering from chronic
diseases, the environment in which they
convalesce is important to ensure that
treatment is effective. The organisation
runs 7 centres housing children suffering
from cancer.
The project ensures that the neediest
of children are cared for whilst they
recover from this disease. The
accommodation is provided to needy
children (and their immediate family)
free of cost. The rationale behind such
an organisation is the lack of treatment
options for diseases in rural areas, the
escalating cost of such treatment and
the lack of shelter for the immediate
family of the child in Mumbai.
HDFC has been supporting the ongoing
running expenses of the Centres for the
past several years.
^Top
Dabhon School
A group of professionals came together
to reflect on how to strengthen
numerous NGOs in their efforts to
deliver a variety of social services. Thus
was born the idea to set up a support
organisation, which would help NGOs
overcome their handicaps so that they
could carry out their mission of helping
others more effectively.
This initiative saw an association with
the Savarkar Trust in running schools
for tribal children who otherwise have
no access to any form of education in
the interiors of Maharashtra. HDFC in
association with the Trust is supporting
a residential school in Dabhon, District
Dahanu. The school caters to children
of migrant workers providing free
education, stay, clothing, food and
medical treatment for all students. The
school caters to over 300 children upto
Std. VI. There are a total of 8 classrooms
(3200 sq.ft.) spaces with a compound.
A new computer room is in the process
of being built. Over 85% of the students
have passed their exams.
HDFC supported the running of this
school for a period of 1 year.
^Top
Alert-India
Alert-India is an NGO working pan India
towards the control and eradication of
leprosy for the last 28 years. Since its
inception, it has worked extensively with
leprosy patients undertaking projects like
early detection, spreading awareness
about the disease, conducting surveys
and most importantly administering
complete treatment to patients
diagnosed with leprosy. Alert-India also
undertakes T.B. control projects and
AIDS awareness campaigns across India.
Alert-India runs a Leprosy Elimination
Centre towards disability prevention and
control, in addition to providing the
much needed treatment for leprosy.
This centre is a one of a kind in the
country. Alert-India is in contact with
over a 1,000 patients living in their
project areas. Several patients are
provided with aids and appliances as a
part of their physical rehabilitation to
prevent or correct their deformities.
HDFC has been regularly supporting the
ongoing activities of Alert-India.
^Top
SPACE
SPACE is an NGO running a workshop
for the betterment of adults affected by
Cerebral Palsy in Pune. SPACE is an
Institute for Education and Rehabilitation
of Spastics operating under the aegis of
the Ravi Paranjpe Foundation. SPACE is
dedicated to help the affected reach
their potential through their workshop
with the help of special educators,
therapists and well wishers. Activities at
the workshop include counseling and
assessment of the degree of spasticity,
developmental and recreational
activities, hands on training in simple
occupations to generate employment,
creative pursuits such as music, yoga
and painting. The wards engage in
making decorative files and folders,
diaries, tie and die products, greeting
cards etc. SPACE also works with the
parents and close family on encouraging
the adults to reach their true potential.SPACE also aims to create further
awareness in society on Cerebral Palsy.
HDFC supported the running expense
of the workshop for a period of one
year.
^Top
The Bhavishya - Yaan Mission
The Rotary Club of Bombay's education
mission has started its fourth batch of
training students in the English language
and in computers for their growth and
development. HDFC continued its
association with the Club to further
enhance this initiative. The program
focuses on the overall development of
the children helping them to shed their
inhabitations and motivate them to
move ahead in life. This project is an
apt example of a public private initiative
that sees The Municipal Corporation of
Greater Mumbai (MCGM) joins hands
with The Rotary Club of Bombay and
HDFC to provide quality education to
children towards a brighter future.
HDFC continued supporting this mission
which aims at growing leaps and bounds
each year to include more number of
children.
^Top
Save The Children
On August 5, 2010, the district of Leh
in the remote mountainous Ladakh
region of Jammu and Kashmir suffered
a series of extremely rare cloudbursts
which caused extensive flooding and
landslides in the district capital and at
least 42 villages in the surrounding area.
Over 180 lives were lost, many more
injured and missing. Property,
infrastructure, the electricity supply and
telecommunications systems were
severely damaged. Widespread loss of
agriculture crops and livestock was also
reported.
Save The Children was the leading
NGO responder to the flash flooding.
Within 48 hours of the flood, an
emergency assessment team was
deployed to the region to co-ordinate
relief efforts. Save The Children reached
out to 1700 families with essential relief
items, targeting the poorest and most
vulnerable households in the remote
rural areas of Ladakh.
With the initial phase of relief drawing
to a close, Save The Children
approached HDFC for a project focusing
on long-term recovery initiatives
including livelihood support and school
rehabilitation. With the help of a local
partner Save The Children immediately
set up child friendly Spaces at Himank,
Tashi Gyatsal and Skampari. In the
absence of regular schools, these spaces
have helped children deal with the
trauma of the situation as well restore
some normalcy in a difficult
environment. Over the next few
months, 18 temporary schools were set
up at Igoo, Basgo, Skurbuchan, Phyang
and Saspotse with an aim to reach 24
temporary schools (15 in Leh and 9 in
Kargil).
Save The Children has tied up with
HDFC and 8 other corporates for this
education initiative.
^Top
Folk Arts Rajasthan
Folk Arts Rajasthan partners with Lok
Kala Sagar Sansthan (LKSS) a community
folk arts society based in Jaisalmer,
Rajasthan with an aim to eradicating
illiteracy, fostering community
development, and celebrating cultural
understanding through preservation of
the Merasi traditional artistic legacy.
In their remote desert region of
Jaisalmer District, members of LKSS are
born being called Manganiyar. From
birth, they are considered untouchable
beggars and will bear this social
stigmatism their entire lives. Daily
harassment and intense marginalisation
remove all opportunity. The Merasi, as
they have chosen to call themselves,
have held the role of oral genealogists,
storytellers, and musicians for upper
caste communities in the same
geographic area for more than 37
generations. Today the Merasi artistic
tradition is their gift to the world.
The main aim of Folk Arts Rajasthan is
to preserve, promote and exhibit
traditional Rajasthani music, art and culture.
It also aims to provide opportunities for
education and empowerment for
upcoming generations.
HDFC partnered with Folk Arts
Rajasthan to provide scholarship to
children to pursue higher education and
also learn their traditional artistic legacy.
^Top
SNEHA
100,000 children die before their
5th birthday in Mumbai. This alarming
number raises questions on our
fundamental right to lead a healthy life.
SNEHA was founded by a group of
dedicated doctors and social workers
led by neonatologist and former dean
of Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General
Hospital and Medical College, Mumbai
- Dr. Armida Fernandez. SNEHA was
founded in 1999 in Dharavi, Mumbai
to address the concerns of unhealthy
newborn babies and unhealthy lactating
mothers. SNEHA aims to impact quality
of care and influence urban health
policies through innovative solutions to
problems in nutrition, education and
health in urban communities. SNEHA
builds sustainable and replicable models
of intervention and partnerships that
empower women to change their lives
and those around them.
One of the projects that SNEHA focuses
on is Maternal and New Born Health.
The aim is to improve the health and survival of mothers and newborns in
underprivileged communities in Mumbai
through effective community action and
quality, standardised health care. The
program is run in 9 wards of Mumbai
specifically with health posts covering a
population of approximately 100,000
and with maternity homes/tertiary
hospitals covering a radius of 6-7 kms.
The Community Mobilisation
component covers approximately a
population of 150,000 from 1,000
households in 24 slum localities.
HDFC partnered SNEHA in its initiative
of providing solutions to issues of
nutrition and health in urban slum
communities.
^Top
Single Teachers Schools
Education, for thousands of children in
this country, remains a distant dream.
Single Teacher Schools is a unit of the
Swami Vivekananda Rural Development
Society which is engaged in promoting
broad-based and cost-effective
education in arithmetic and languages
for under privileged children in rural
areas along with the provision of
nutrition and health-care. The
organisation identifies the best educated
youth in the village who is willing and
able to become a teacher, gives this
person the requisite basic training in
teaching, apprises him/her of the school
syllabus prepared by educationists of
repute, finds a convenient location in
the village and sets up a Single Teacher
School.
The Society has been running schools
in 500 villages in Tiruvallur and
Kanchipuram districts of Tamil Nadu.
The organisation now plans to extend
this scheme to 1500 more villages. A
total of 45,000 more children will
benefit from this increase. The aim is to
ensure that every single child in all of
Tamil Nadu enjoys the benefits of
education and good health.
HDFC partnered this initiative by
supporting 10 schools in one block of
Kanchipuram district.
^Top
Vishwas
Vishwas is a not-for-profit organisation
working in the field of disability and
development in Gurgaon. The bedrock
of the organisation is its fundamental
belief in equal opportunity and inclusion.
The belief is that everyone has a right
to access basic health care and education
irrespective of disability, gender, class or
caste. Even within vulnerable groups
those with disabilities are most likely to
get excluded and discriminated against.
Vishwas aims to address this glaring gap,
which forms a significant challenge.
In 2008, Vishwas responded to a
government offer for a proposal to lease
and run an educational institution from
an existing building constructed by the
government on a 4.5 acres site as a
senior secondary school. The
Government of Haryana leased the
school building to Vishwas to run an
inclusive primary school and resource
centre for training and community-based
programmes.
Vishwas Vidyalaya is operational from
this new building where every child has
a right to meaningful and quality
education. The aim of the Vidyalaya is
to work towards an equitable and
inclusive school system. In line with this
aim, the organisation is trying to make
an accessible playground which can
cater to children with all types of
disabilities.
HDFC partnered with Vishwas to
support this initiative.
^Top
|
