VEDANTA KHUSHI - 264 ANGANWADI CENTRES JOIN “KHUSHI” IN KOTRA

Hindustan Zinc reaching out to 3055 Anganwadis of the ICDS Department in 5 districts of Rajasthan i.e. Udaipur, Rajsamand, Chittorgarh, Bhilwara and Ajmer…

“Care for the underprivileged children is very close to my heart” says Anil Agarwal, Chairman of Vedanta Group. “No child in India should remain malnourished and be deprived of nutrition, health and primary education” is what his vision is. In this process Vedanta initiated adoption of government run Anganwadis in the year 2008. The intervention was for a limited period, benefiting children in age-group of 0-6 years.

In year 2015, Hindustan Zinc signed the MoU with Government of Rajasthan to strengthen 3055 Anganwadis of the ICDS Department in 5 districts i.e. Udaipur, Rajsamand, Chittorgarh, Bhilwara and Ajmer of Rajasthan under its flagship project “Khushi” in 2 phases.

Last year under “Khushi” project, Hindustan Zinc reached out to 2295 Anganwadi centres in 5 districts of Rajasthan in phase 1.

As part of Phase 2, on 29^th June, 2017, Hindustan Zinc with partner NGO – Seva Mandir has now included 264 Anganwadi centres in Kotra Tehsil of Udaipur district and this year, the company will be covering more than 760 Anganwadi centres in Udaipur district of Rajasthan. The Chief Guest of the event was Ms. Taru Surana – Dy. Director, ICDS, Udaipur District who unveiled “Khushi” Board to initiate the program. During the program, Ms. Taru said “Anganwadi program will be strengthened with the intervention of Hindustan Zinc to improve attendance, health and the well-being of Anganwadi children.”

KHUSHI IS 5 YEARS OLD TODAY - CELEBRATING CARE FOR THE DEPRIVED CHILDREN

We are very proud to inform you that the Campaign “KHUSHI” that we started on 10^th April, 2012 is 5 years old today. During these years, we have organized several online discussions/debate, ground level workshops with street children, Awards and “KHUSHI” Walk and also direct interaction with thousands of school children to sensitize them about Care for the Deprived Children – their Nutrition, Education & Health.

Our “KHUSHI” Film ‘Humko Mann Ki Shakti Dena’ has been viewed by more than 7.6 million people across the globe – reaching to over 2 crore people, over 200,000 shares, 100,000 likes and 2000 comments. Here, today we celebrate the “KHUSHI” Day with our more than 225,000 followers.

VEDANTA KHUSHI - TIMES OF INDIA - ONLY 3% UNDER-5 KIDS ON PROPER DIET

Rosamma Thomas I TNN I April 7, 2017 I Jaipur

As Rajasthan celebrates the World Health Day on Friday, malnourishment among children has cropped up as a big problem area that needs to be addressed without any delay.

To mark the occasion, the NGO, Child Rights and You (CRY), released data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS 2016-17) (see graphic) in which the state has emerged as a definite laggard, with only 3% of the under-five children receiving "adequate diet", defined as breast-fed kids receiving a minimum of three feeds and others getting milk or milk products at least twice a day.

One study shows that malnutrition is so widespread that mothers have failed to recognize it.

In early 2015, after screening 12 lakh children, the government had identified over 4,000 of them as 'severely acutely malnourished' (SAM).

A rapid survey by the women and child development department and UNICEF found over 35% of the under-five children as malnourished, with the largest number reported from Baran, among Sahariya tribals.

In a paper published in Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) in August last year, Pavitra Mohan, Kumaril Agarwal and Priyanka Jain pointed to the "normalization" of malnutrition in Rajasthan. Over 60% of the mothers who claimed their children were normal were wrong as their kids were malnourished.

Economist and Nobel Prize winner Angus Deaton has pointed to poor sanitation and infections as eroding nutrition levels in India.

Besides, the children's diet lacks protein and fat. Malnutrition leaves them vulnerable to disease and early death. According to NFHS data, 41 babies from every lakh die in the state and 51 do not survive beyond the age of five.

The EPW paper, based on research done in the southern districts of Udaipur, Dungarpur, Banwara and Rajsamand, with a high tribal population prone to out-migration, showed that about 20% of the mothers from nearly 500 households surveyed reported the loss of a child.

The authors found that "only about 28% of the children consumed milk. Almost none of them had consumed egg, meat or fish over the last 24 hours. Fewer than 10% reported consuming appropriate and nutritional food items such as 'daliya' (porridge), rice, pulses and vegetables or fruits, and even those had it in small quantities. A significant proportion of children were given tea, biscuits and and 'namkeen' (fried snacks)". One mother reported that she only bought milk when the child fell sick. "Otherwise, we cannot afford milk."

Fifty-eight per cent of the mothers studied by the EPW authors were malnourished as well, struggling to cope with the heavy demands of motherhood and housework.

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Trupti Rane of CRY said, "Malnourishment in early years is directly linked to maternal health. Poorly nourished, expecting and lactating mothers pass on their deficiencies to the child. Having newborns breastfed within the first hour of birth is critical for baby nutrition. Colostrum (the first milk of the mother), extremely rich in nutrients and antibodies, ensures basic nutrition and immunization. Universalization of anganwadi centres and robust growth monitoring measures can lead to a lasting solution of this issue."

The article also pointed to the failure of government provisioning - only a fourth of the people studied sought healthcare from a public facility.

"Nutritional support offered by PDS remains low, both due to poor functioning and the scheme being limited to grains and sugar (with no pulses or oil)," the authors note. Only 3.6% of women reported working under the MGNREGA scheme.

Chhaya Pachauli of NGO Prayas said, "Both public health and ICDS infrastructure are in awful shape. Outreach services and counselling which could go a long way in preventing malnutrition are hardly prioritized. Government may introduce endless schemes, but until there's a boost in budget for health and nutrition, not much improvement can be expected. Efforts to strengthen health, nutrition, sanitation and PDS need to go hand in hand."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/only-3-under-5-kids-on-proper-diet/articleshow/58057402.cms

VEDANTA KHUSHI - THE LITTLE SPARROWS OF “KHUSHI” ANGANWADI CENTRES ARE BACK

Care for the underprivileged children is very close to the heart of Anil Agarwal, Chairman of Vedanta Group. “No child in India should remain malnourished and be deprived of nutrition, health and primary education” is what he has envisaged. In this process, Vedanta initiated adoption of government run Anganwadis in the year 2008. The intervention was for a limited period, benefiting children in age-group of 0-6 years.

Last year in 2015, Hindustan Zinc signed the MoU in association with Government of Rajasthan for the adoption of 3055 Anganwadis in Rajasthan under its project “Khushi”.

Anganwadi Centre at Khanpura is one such Anganwadi where initially 20 children were enrolled and looked after Asha Coordinator, Anganwadi Mitra and “Khushi” team. But during the start of the session this year, parents of some of the children withdrew their names from Anganwadi Centres and got them admission elsewhere.

“Khushi” team, Asha coordinator and Anganwadi Mitra took it as a challenge and decided to strengthen the Anganwadi and re-enrol the children in the centre.

The team invited parents of the children who left for the meeting at Anganwadi Centre to sensitize them and create awareness about the role-play of Anganwadi Centre in development of the future of their children. Parents were then briefed about the facilities and benefits that an Anganwadi centre would provide to their children.

The efforts of “Khushi” team and Asha Coordinator paid off.

Parents understood the importance of Anganwadi Centre and how it will help in grooming and overall development of their children.

They re-enrolled their children. Now there are 22 children enrolled at Khanpura Anganwadi Centre and the smiling faces of these Little Sparrows say it all.

“Khushi” has been creating awareness towards care for the underprivileged children – their health, education and nutrition.

HINDUSTAN ZINC AWARDS 27 STUDENTS FOR PROMOTING “KHUSHI”

Hindustan Zinc awards 27 students with “Khushi” Child Care Awards for showcasing their emotions on canvas as part of care for the deprived children…

Hindustan Zinc awarded 27 students with “Khushi” Child Care Awards in a glittering ceremony organized at Hindustan Zinc’s Auditorium in Udaipur on 8th December, 2016. “Khushi” Child Care Awards were given to students for their portrayal of various child-care themes on the canvas.

Hindustan Zinc’s senior management honoured the children for their creative thoughts in the field of child labour, child beggary, atrocities of children, save the girl child, nutrition, education, child trafficking and child marriage which these children portrayed on the canvas.

The awards were presented by Mr. Sunil Duggal, CEO-Hindustan Zinc, Mr. Amitabh Gupta-CFO, Mr. Naveen Singhal-Director Projects, Mr. Vikas Sharma-COO (Smelters) and Mr. Laxman Shekhawat-COO (Mines).

Hindustan Zinc organized “Khushi Creative Workshop” for the children of classes 6th to 12th. On 23rd November 2016, Udaipur saw 250 kids from the schools - Delhi Public School Udaipur, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Seedling School, Ryan International, The Study, Bohra Youth School, DAV, St. Mary’s Convent, Vidya Bhawan and St. Matthews exhibiting their thoughts on child care.

Carried out at over 10 popular locations of Udaipur - Delhi Gate, Saheliyon ki Badi, Sukhadiya Circle, Chetak Circle, Field Club, Gulab Bagh, Panchwati, Fatehpura, Science College along with Hindustan Zinc Office-Yashad Bhawan - 8 selected students from each of the schools painted on one of the 8 pre-identified child care themes - Child Marriage, Child Abuse, Child Beggary, Save the Girl Child, Child Trafficking, Child Labour, Child Malnutrition and Child Education.

In this Khushi Creative Workshop, children aimed to reach out to about 75% of Udaipur population and convey sensitivity of children of Udaipur towards child related issues.

A designated jury took rounds to all the 10 locations and motivated school children for the cause. The jury also made the children understand the concept and how they perceived and dealt with delicate issues painted on the canvas.   

During the Award Ceremony, Kendriya Vidyalaya (No.1) School received five awards on the paintings made by Het Choubisa, Vidhi Sharma, Saloni Jain, Gayatri Veerwal and Bhavya Soni.  Seedling School received five awards on the paintings made by Mohd. Hyatt, Anuj Soni, Bhakti Jain, Vedansh Mali and Tanish Pagaria. Ryan International School also received five awards on the paintings drawn by Melvin Thomas, Prabreet Gambheer, Sandali Rathore, Vaishnavi Mehta and Saloni Rathore.

St. Mary’s School received four awards - Sakhshi Jain, Savi Prajapat, Shraddha Tiwari and Harmita Chundawat. Delhi Public School received two awards - Sarim Khan and Rohit Maida.

St. Matthews School received two awards - Swati Rathore and Khushi Paliwal. Bohra Youth Public School, The Study School, DAV School and Vidhya Bhawan School received one award each for the canvas drawn by Sara Khan, Misbah Khan, Ayush Dangi and Harsh Talesara respectively.

The jury members comprising Mr. Hansraj Choudhary – Senior Vice President -UCCI, Ms. Jenny Nicol – UK National - Khushi Ambassador, Mrs. Shweta Dubey – Director Fusion Business Solutions, Mrs. Ruchika Godha - Chief Operating Officer - Advaiya, Mrs. Anita Sharma – Socialite and Mrs. Kavita Barjatiya – Freelance Anchor for TV and Radio programmes, also decided to pick-up best of the best category awards and accordingly 5 winners were also declared who made the best paintings across all the 8 themes. The winners were - Savi Prajapat from St. Mary’s School, Het Choubisa from Kendriya Vidyalaya (No.1) School, Sandali Rathore from Ryan International School, Gayatri Veerwal from Kendriya Vidyalaya and Saloni Rathore from Ryan International School who were awarded with trophies.

Each of the schools that participated in Khushi Creative Workshop has been recognized and a memento was presented.  All the children who participated in the workshop have also been given certificate for their contribution.

Speaking on the occasion, Sunil Duggal emphasised on the need to continue with such efforts to sensitize the society towards care for the deprived children. Acknowledging the sentiments of children, he expressed his desire to display these paintings at various Units of the Company to promote care for the deprived children. He applauded the sentiments of children behind such thoughts. Vikas Sharma, COO also appreciated the thoughts of children behind such projects and congratulated children for bringing such thoughts forward by way of depicting them on canvas.

Pavan Kaushik, Head - Corporate Communication and Founder of Khushi, introduced the thought of making “Khushi Club” in schools that can deliberate on the care for the deprived children and how schools can unite their activities towards a single focus on child care. With the “Khushi Club” the schools would also need to open “Khushi Bank” that would facilitate all funds that are now still diverted. These funds can be then spent on a focused activity through decisions taken by the “Khushi Club”.

VEDANTA KHUSHI – VIJAY AND HIS “KHUSHI” SAYS IT ALL…

One more step towards fight against Child Malnutrition

3 months back when Lakshmi, a 15 months old daughter of Radheshyam Gameti from Negadia Bheel Basti at Rajsamand was admitted to the hospital to fight against malnutrition, few more such cases got highlighted at that time in Rajsamand.

 

On such case was that of a 18 months old ‘Vijay’ living in Bijnaul village of Rajsamand. Vijay was suffering from severe malnourishment and had haemoglobin as low as 3.5 g/dl whereas child of his age has normally haemoglobin of 10.3 – 12 g/dl.

When "Khushi" team came to know about it, they tried convincing his mother Ratni Bheel to admit Vijay to hospital for the treatment but being religiously superstitious she simply refused and continued believing that prayers will heal his son. This did not stop "Khushi" team in making efforts and finally with the help of local administration they admitted Vijay to the hospital where his treatment started.

Problem did not end here, it was not just the lack of education and awareness that had been responsible for Vijay’s deteriorated health but also poverty and inadequate food to eat at his home. Seeing the grave situation,"Khushi" team took the help of social media and local authorities to arrange proper food including Dal and Rice for the family especially for Vijay to improve his health.

Today, Vijay has recovered from Malnutrition and has haemoglobin of 10.2 g/dl. With this, Ratni Bheel has also understood that not just prayers at temple will cure the ailment but visit to hospital is also important for treatment.

According to the status report on Anganwadi (day care centre) programme, officially known as ICDS, about 2.3 cr children in India, up to 6 years of age are suffering from undernourishment and are under-weight.

Hindustan Zinc’s Child Care Campaign – "Khushi" has always believed in creating awareness about health, education and nutrition in children. By saving life of Vijay and Lakshmi, it has only strengthen their mission to make India a child malnourished free nation.

VEDANTA KHUSHI - GLIMPSE OF KHUSHI WORKSHOP WITH SLUM CHILDREN

VEDANTA KHUSHI  - Opinions matter.......2 hands to eat or 2 hands to do nothing...........educate them and they would never need you...
EACH ONE, TEACH THREE, WHY ONE...

VEDANTA KHUSHI - INAUGURATION OF KHUSHI CENTRES AT RAJSAMAND

Honourable Minister for WCD madam Smt. Anita Badhel Ji and Minister PHED Madam Smt. Kiran Maheshwari Ji launched the Khushi centres at Rajsamand on 11th July, 2016. About 600 Khushi centres became active.

VEDANTA KHUSHI - 150 SLUM CHILDREN OF BEDAVAS IN UDAIPUR DEMAND SCHOOL

When Komal, an 8 year old girl from Bedavas was asked why she is not going to school, she replied, how do I go school? I am scared of crematorium, a big well and highway. Why we don’t have school in Bedavas. 

Almost 150 children who participated in a workshop organized by Hindustan Zinc under the Project “Khushi” came up with demand for school in their locality. The parents of these children also requested for a school that can educate these children who are keen to study.

The children in the rural areas face the problem of commutation to the schools. Either the schools are not available in the colony or the children need to travel to school in tough conditions.

With the purpose of inculcating education in poor children, particularly in slum areas, Hindustan Zinc project “Khushi” organized a 2-day workshop on 1^st and 2^nd July 2016 in Bedavas which falls within the city of Udaipur. About 150 children, in the age-group of 3 to 15 years with almost 70% girls, participated in the workshop which had lessons on literacy, creative skills, moral teachings and nutrition values.

Bedavas has hygiene problem though almost every house has a toilet. As the children came to know that something new is about to happen, almost from every house they came running. A brief was given by Pavan Kaushik, who is the Founder of Project “Khushi” to all the children and their parents about the workshop and how every child has to come to attend the workshop only after taking bath, brushing teeth and properly combed. For this each child was given a tooth brush, a paste, a comb and soap on 1^st July itself.

On 2^nd July almost all the children came properly dressed and after adhering to the instructions given by “Khushi”. The parents of these children also sat, taking a little distance. 

The workshop began with lessons on literacy. Each child was asked to write their name and few moral values as they were given a note-book, a pencil, a sharper and eraser. Some knew how to write and some were taught. Post class on literacy, the children were given colour books and colours. Each child had to be accurate in colouring the pictures that showed the pattern of colour.

“It is our experience that children in slums and on streets need proper guidance and motivation to educate themselves. When you motivate them to go to school they need schools. The motivation and the infrastructure need to meet or else such workshops may not have long-term impact. In case of Bedavas, all they need is a small school with a teacher and a sustainable infrastructure”, 
- Pavan Kaushik.

The members of the “Khushi” project – Pradhuman Solanki, Maitreyee Sankhla, Devika Gupta, Ankita Das, Mukesh Mundra, Shiv Narayan, Sunil Gothwal and Diksha, advised almost each child on colouring and found that few had an amazing hand on creativity.

In the end, as part of providing nutrition to the children, each child was given a mango and 2 bananas which the child had to eat at the location itself. 

.

VEDANTA KHUSHI - 150 SLUM CHILDREN OF BEDAVAS IN UDAIPUR DEMAND SCHOOL

When Komal, an 8 year old girl from Bedavas was asked why she is not going to school, she replied, how do I go school? I am scared of crematorium, a big well and highway. Why we don’t have school in Bedavas. 

Almost 150 children who participated in a workshop organized by Hindustan Zinc under the Project “Khushi” came up with demand for school in their locality. The parents of these children also requested for a school that can educate these children who are keen to study.

The children in the rural areas face the problem of commutation to the schools. Either the schools are not available in the colony or the children need to travel to school in tough conditions.

With the purpose of inculcating education in poor children, particularly in slum areas, Hindustan Zinc project “Khushi” organized a 2-day workshop on 1^st and 2^nd July 2016 in Bedavas which falls within the city of Udaipur. About 150 children, in the age-group of 3 to 15 years with almost 70% girls, participated in the workshop which had lessons on literacy, creative skills, moral teachings and nutrition values.

Bedavas has hygiene problem though almost every house has a toilet. As the children came to know that something new is about to happen, almost from every house they came running. A brief was given by Pavan Kaushik, who is the Founder of Project “Khushi” to all the children and their parents about the workshop and how every child has to come to attend the workshop only after taking bath, brushing teeth and properly combed. For this each child was given a tooth brush, a paste, a comb and soap on 1^st July itself.

On 2^nd July almost all the children came properly dressed and after adhering to the instructions given by “Khushi”. The parents of these children also sat, taking a little distance. 

The workshop began with lessons on literacy. Each child was asked to write their name and few moral values as they were given a note-book, a pencil, a sharper and eraser. Some knew how to write and some were taught. Post class on literacy, the children were given colour books and colours. Each child had to be accurate in colouring the pictures that showed the pattern of colour.

“It is our experience that children in slums and on streets need proper guidance and motivation to educate themselves. When you motivate them to go to school they need schools. The motivation and the infrastructure need to meet or else such workshops may not have long-term impact. In case of Bedavas, all they need is a small school with a teacher and a sustainable infrastructure”, said Pavan Kaushik.

The members of the “Khushi” project – Pradhuman Solanki, Maitreyee Sankhla, Devika Gupta, Ankita Das, Mukesh Mundra, Shiv Narayan, Sunil Gothwal and Diksha, advised almost each child on colouring and found that few had an amazing hand on creativity.

In the end, as part of providing nutrition to the children, each child was given a mango and 2 bananas which the child had to eat at the location itself. 

.