Ujjivan’s Social Development Program continues to be widely and strongly driven all across India. This Children’s Day (14 November) turned out to be really special for many children around the country.

Habra (West Bengal)
Over 450 customers’ children were gifted educational kits to help them learn while having fun.

On a sunny winter morning, with the sparkle of innocence in their eyes, these children gathered to receive their gifts and when they did, the smile on their faces outshone the winter sun.

Respected and senior community members graced the occasion and handed the kits to children. They included, Dr. Anita Tarafdar, Professor of Economics, Muralidhar Girls College, Kolkata, Dr. Malashree Bhattacharyya, National Service Scheme, Program Coordinator and Prof Jyoti Bose of Chaitanya College, Habra.

The academicians spoke encouraging words to the young ones and applauded the spirit of the Ujjivan Team for providing such learning opportunities to the underprivileged children.

However, the crowning glory was when these children came up on stage, sang songs, recited poems and spoke about themselves with self-confidence.

The event was widely covered by local Press and TV.


Yamuna Vihar (New Delhi)

The Indian government has expressed a strong commitment towards education for all; however, India still has one of the lowest female literacy rates in Asia. This low level of literacy not only has a negative impact on women’s lives but also on their families’ lives and on their country’s economic development.

Ujjivan’s Social Development Program is managed by branch staff and local customers to work on projects for community welfare, especially children.

After a couple of rounds of discussion with customers and meetings with the local administration such as Municipal Corporation and Health it was suggested that, we should provide bags to the girl children of poor families in Government schools, since no bag had been provided to the children.

So, supporting the Government’s initiative on education of the girl child, this Children’s Day, 293 poor girl children of customers, belonging to Nursery and Class I, were gifted smart and pretty school bags.

Guests at the function included the Head of Municipal Corporation and representatives of Health and Horticulture departments. The event was also covered in local Press.


Kavalbysandra

School education is an experience that many of us treasure and cherish throughout our lives. Apart from what we learn, it is the environment in which we learn that invokes nostalgia. However, schools which cater to the economically weaker sections often lack basic infrastructure to ensure that students enjoy a holistic learning experience.

Through the Social Development Program, six schools and three anganwadis located at Kavalbyrasandra in Bangalore were provided with water drums, chairs and carpets.

The program was attended by Block Education Officer, Ms. Fauzia Banu and Child Development Project Officer Ms. Saraswathi. Both of them expressed their support for such public-private partnerships and emphasised the need for a collaborative approach to overcome larger societal challenges, especially in fields like education. They also added that they were happy to attend an event hosted by an organisation that truly has the interests of the local community at the heart of its operations.