VEDANTA KHUSHI - JEEVAN TARANG ENHANCING SPECIAL TALENT OF SPECIAL CHILDREN

Hindustan Zinc improving academic opportunities of these specially abled children by distributing Android Smartphones to educate & learn…

Hindustan Zinc under its unique initiative  - “Jeevan Tarang”, on the occasion of World Disability Day distributed Android Smart Phones to blind students of Pragya Chakshu School, Udaipur and Badhir Baal Kalyan Vikas Samiti, Bhilwara on 4^th December, 2017 with an objective of enhancing academic opportunities for these children and mainstreaming them into the society.

These Android Smart phones will enable the visually impaired students to ‘Read & Write’ using Accessibility Features on the device. These phones will allow these students to access their textbooks in DAISY format from the world’s largest Online Library for the Print Disabled – ‘Bookshare’. This will bring these students at par with other students by allowing them to comprehend, read and prepare their academic content for better understanding hence making them competitive & ready for any exam. These Accessible devices will also allow the students to access the power of the internet and also gain worldly knowledge. They will also be able to enjoy games specially designed for Blind users on their phones.

The report says, India is home to the world's largest number of blind people. Out of 37 million people across the globe who are blind, over 15 million are from India. It is also known that quality education is an absolute necessity in order to succeed and progress in this knowledge driven world. Most of the current educational curriculum is oriented towards the use of the eyesight thus poses paramount challenges to the blind and visually impaired students.

Many organizations are working consciously and tirelessly to ensure these children get their due attention. Through Jeevan Tarang, Hindustan Zinc has provided these Android phones to the students from Class 1^st – Class 5^th of Pragya Chakshu School, Udaipur and to all the students of Badhir Baal Kalyan Vikas Samiti, Bhilwara accessing them the basic human right to educate & learn, a critical step on the path to economic, educational, and social development. Hindustan Zinc has partnered with experts to build capacities of these institutions and under this initiative Mr. Nitin Patel has been appointed in both these schools as a trainer to train these students in these advanced gadgets.

The Chief Guest of the event, Amitabh Gupta – CFO, HZL expressed his happiness to see the passion of these students to learn and climb up the ladder of success. He emphasized that through Jeevan Tarang, Hindustan Zinc strives to provide better opportunities to these students to grow and learn.

Pavan Kaushik – Head Corporate Communication said “There is a need to understand and up-bring these children with all love and care. Jeevan Tarang is an initiative to ensure that every single ability & disability gets the same opportunities and recognition thus ensuring the development of both social & cognitive skills.”

‘Jeevan Tarang’ endeavours to support people with disabilities, with a focus to identify needs of deaf-mute, visually impaired and children with brain damages. Around 500 beneficiaries have been identified from HZL’s operational areas; Kayad Mine, Rampura Agucha Mine, Chanderiya Smelting Complex and Udaipur. 

SMT. ANITA BADHEL INAUGURATES 2 NAND GHARS IN UDAIPUR, DEDICATES 318 ANGANWADI CENTRES IN KHUSHI

So far, more than 100 “Nand Ghars” have been constructed across three states and 2911 Anganwadi Centres have joined “Khushi” Project…

On 4th August, 2017, 2 more “Nand Ghars” - Dhawaditalai and Main Rawa were inaugurated in Rawa village of Girwa Block at Udaipur District by Chief Guest – Smt. Anita Bhadel – Hon’ble Minister of Women and Child Development, Government of Rajasthan and now 20 Nand Ghars have been constructed in Udaipur district with 100 more Nand Ghars in pipeline.

During the inaugural ceremony, Smt. Bhadel said “For the progress of the country, along with infrastructure development, it is important to focus on  human development. Anganwadis strengthens the foundation of children below the age of seven years - their nutrition, health and education. Government and Vedanta Hindustan Zinc have come forward with well-equipped facilities for both mother and child including skill training for women in the form of ‘Nand Ghar’. Now communities have to take the responsibility of Nand Ghars to make it successful”.

To make the project more cohesive, “Nand Ghar” act as a focal area for immunisation, gender sensitisation and maternal care. It also aims to enhance the learning environment through an e-learning module and skill enhancement program for women where they will undergo entrepreneurship training, including skill enhancement, to start their own micro enterprise with credit linkages, thereby increasing their contribution towards the Indian economy.

During her visit to Udaipur, Smt. Bhadel also launched “Khushi” project in Chawand village wherein 318 Anganwadi Centres of Sarada Block have been included under the project as part of Phase-2.

During the launch program, Smt. Bhadel said “Through Khushi project, Anganwadi program will be strengthened to improve attendance, health and the well-being of Anganwadi children. Now communities have to come forward and support it by actively participating in it".

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. So far in Udaipur district, Hindustan Zinc with partner NGO – Seva Mandir has included 1157 Anganwadi Centres under “Khushi” Project.

VEDANTA HINDUSTAN ZINC OPENS 2 NAND GHARS IN AJMER, RAJASTHAN

Delivering long-term benefits to communities by strengthening the foundation of children below the age of seven years - their nutrition, health and education… 

The report says, there are 7.5 crore underprivileged children living in remote rural areas, below the age of seven years, who are in need of proper nutrition, health care and education. Our primary focus, therefore, is to start at the grass root level with the holistic development of children and women, who form the future of our nation.

This is where, Vedanta came up with the concept of “Nand Ghar" designed in partnership with the ministry of women and child development. It is an extension to the existing Anganwadi initiative for providing a better environment to the children of India by addressing issues relating to pre-primary education, health care, nutrition and economic empowerment for women in rural India.

Mr. Anil Agarwal – Chairman, Vedanta Group believes “In order to secure the future of India, we have to safeguard the present. To strengthen the foundation of children, it is important to address issues relating to pre-primary education, health care, nutrition for children and economic empowerment for women in rural India”.

Taking his vision forward, Vedanta has joined hands with the Government to revamp 4000 anganwadi centres across India under the Project ‘Nand Ghar’. Today, more than 100 “Nand Ghars” across three states has resulted in marked improvement in attendance, learning abilities and school readiness, by deploying e-learning modules in education and soft skills in collaboration with world-class partners and they are now equipped with TVs, solar panels and toilets. 

On 31^st July, 2017, 2 “Nand Ghars” - Khanpura & Parbatpura have also been inaugurated in Ajmer District by the Chief Guest - Ms. Anita Bhadel – Hon’ble Minister of Women and Child Development, Government of Rajasthan and with this 10 Nand Ghars have been constructed in Ajmer district with 25 more Nand Ghars are in pipeline.

During the inaugural ceremony, Ms. Bhadel said “Government and Vedanta Hindustan Zinc have done their bit by providing well equipped facilities for primary education, nutrition services along with related healthcare services for both mother and child including skill training for women, it’s now the communities have to come forward and support it by actively participating in it.” She also mentioned that if a mother anchors the responsibility of her child’s education, the benefit will percolate to her next 7 generations.

To make the project more cohesive, “Nand Ghar” act as a focal area for immunisation, gender sensitisation and maternal care. It also aims to enhance the learning environment through an e-learning module and skill enhancement program for women where they will undergo entrepreneurship training, including skill enhancement, to start their own micro enterprise with credit linkages, thereby increasing their contribution towards the Indian economy.

The Nand Ghars are in line with Prime Minister of India’s vision of social development and will prove to be a stepping stone for building the future human capital as productive, passionate and persistent towards the growth.

Also present on the occasion were Mrs. Neelima Khetan – Head CSR, HZL, Mr. Sampat Sankhla – Dy. Mayor, Ajmer,  Mrs. Anupama Tailor – Dy. Director, Women & Child Development, Mr. Nitesh Yadav - ICDS, Mr. Raes Ahemad - Counsellor along with Anganwadi workers and Hindustan Zinc’s CSR representatives.

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 - BUSINESS STANDARD - PUNISH PARENTS FOR FORCING KID INTO CHILD LABOUR, HC TOLD

IANS  |  New Delhi  August 16, 2014

The Delhi High Court has sought a response from the central government on a plea seeking directions to prosecute parents who force their minor child into the labour market.

A division bench of Justice G. Rohini and Rajiv Shah Endlaw issued notice to the labour ministry and ministry of woman and child welfare and fixed Oct 29 as the next date of hearing.

The court was Wednesday hearing a public interest litigation filed by advocates Anu Mehta and Rubinder Pal Ghumman seeking formulation of guidelines for handling cases of child labour to ensure that every offender, including a delinquent parent, be dealt with sternly.

The plea said guidelines were required to create a state of 'zero tolerance' to stop child abuse.

"Children are immature, tender and incapable of guarding in situations of economic and physical exploitation as they lack the understanding, maturity and strength to protest against exploitation wrecked at the hands of parents," it said.

It also sought measures and comprehensive mechanisms to deal with child-related laws and crime against children as, the advocates claimed, there was an inherent flaw and lacunae in the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act and Children (Pledging of Labour) Act.

No punitive action was directed against erring parents who actively exploit their children, the advocates contended.

"State mechanism must be created to investigate the role of parents in child abused otherwise the government will not be able to reach the root of the problem and the recovery of children subjected to trafficking will be re-routed to the erring parents," the plea said.

It said it has been seen in a growing number of cases that parents actively push their minor children into the labour market, acting with collusion with exploiters and child traffickers and thus have "active role in participation in perpetrating crimes towards their own children".

View the Link:- http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/punish-parents-for-forcings-kid-into-child-labour-hc-told-114081600553_1.html 

VEDANTA KHUSHI: TIMES OF INDIA: RAJSAMAND KIDS’ LEARNING LEVEL HITS NEW LOW

Survey Also Highlights Increasing Drop-Out In Schools, Widening Teacher-Student Ratio

Rajsamand: The marble town Rajsamand which produces 90% of India's white marble has registered lowest basic learning levels among students in Rajasthan in the last five years. The percentage of students of classes III to V who can do subtraction has reduced from 41.3% in 2009 to 27.8% in 2013. The percentage of students who are out of schools has increased from 2.6% in 2009 to 5.2% in 2013.

As per the Annual Status of Education Report, widening pupil-teacher ratio, poor quality of mid-day meals and no water facility are prevalent in majority of schools. But so far no political party has shown concern to make these issues their poll plank.

Both BJP and Congress candidates are riding on issues like Pakistan, terrorism, Gujarat model, inflation, jobs, opening of new schools and hospitals. Manju Khatik, a social activists based in Rajsamand, said, “Three schools in two gram panchayats Bhatoli and Maduri were closed by the government this year. This decision caused 200 students to forcibly drop out. We have adopted 40 students and are teaching them at our NGO Jatan sansthan. The rest of the students are either working or have left the city in search of work,” said Khatik. She added that ignoring these issues has highlighted the indifference of political parties towards the city.

TOI asked the BJP national vice president and MLA Rajsamand Kiran Maheshwari to explain the reasons behind the decline in learning levels. She passed the buck on the Gehlot government for ignoring the education sector leaving a gross imbalance in the pupil-teacher ratio. “The district had faced government indifference for last five years. Here 130 schools don't have a single teacher leading to drastic fall in the learning levels,” said Maheshwari.

She assured that once the code of conduct is over, BJP government will begin the hiring of teachers to put the education system on track. Sitting Congress MP Gopal Singh Shekawat is promising complete implementation of Right to Education Act here. “Our party enacted this act and we are serious about providing free and compulsory education,” said Shekawat.

VEDANTA KHUSHI - TRANSFORMING LIVES

In Vedanta Anganwadi Centers, the Group supplements morning breakfast, with poha and groundnut, providing clean drinking water, new utensils, colorful books, toys and other necessary items, much to the needs of these children.
Improvement in attendance & retention of children and a significant progress in their health & hygiene is apparent in health check-ups & weight measurement of these children which is carried out periodically. The teaching through play-way method has been another significant factor responsible for increase in attendance.

Children are groomed for about 3 years in Vedanta Anganwadi Centres and they learn good habits, etiquette, discipline, importance of health & hygiene and basic education. 

VEDANTA KHUSHI, NDTV AND PRIYANKA CHOPRA BRIDGE SUPPORT TO EDUCATE GIRL CHILD IN INDIA

On 1st December 2013, Vedanta, NDTV and campaign ambassador Priyanka Chopra came together for a live Telethon to raise awareness and support for girl child under the campaign 'OUR GIRLS OUR PRIDE – A Khushi Initiative'. The day was dedicated to honouring and encouraging India's girls to find their voice, become independent, follow their dreams and make a place for themselves in society. The day-long TELETHON was televised LIVE across the NDTV Network channels: NDTV 24x7, NDTV India, NDTV Profit and NDTV Goodtimes.

This campaign has received an overwhelming response from people across different walks of life from its inception. The Telethon successfully generated funds to support an annual education of over two thousand girls, with the Indian Film & TV fraternity, Corporate Houses, Athletes, NGO's and others contributing wholeheartedly to this cause. The funds raised will be given to the NGO Pratham, our implementation partner who is working in the field to provide quality education to the underprivileged children of India.

Hosted by Mr. Vikram Chandra and Campaign Ambassador Ms. Priyanka Chopra, the telethon featured some heart wrenching examples of the plight of Indian girls, many inspiring stories of women and girls who have beaten the odds, engaging and thought stimulating discussions with various experts and stakeholders, entertaining acts, live on-air donations and more.

Mr. Anil Agarwal – Chairman, Vedanta Group too joined and encouraged his own employees to come forward and adopt girl child and secure their future. Vedanta Company has been looking after 200,000 underprivileged girls with focus towards their health, education and nutrition.

A host of prominent personalities including Mr. Shah Rukh Khan, Mr. Aamir Khan, Mr. Karan Johar, Ms. Kajol, Ms. Aruna Jayanthi - CEO, Capgemini India, Ms. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw - Chairman & Managing Director of Biocon Limited, Ms. Vinita Bali - CEO, Britannia, Ms. Anu Aga - MP, Rajya Sabha & Former Chairperson, Thermax, Mr. Suhel Seth, Ms. Karisma Kapoor, Ms. Anushka Sharma, Mr. Shaan, Ms. Sania Mirza, Ms. Shahnaz Husain, Ms. Alia Bhat, Mr. Varun Dhawan, Mr. Ayushman Khurrana, Mr. Kunal Kohli and Ms. Vandana Luthra were also present during the event. 

VEDANTA KHUSHI - Over 2000 people of Delhi, Udaipur, Kolkata and Mumbai Painted

It was a day for over 2000 people including amateur artists and school children showed their solidarity towards girl child by painting 2000 new ideas to protect and honour girls in India. "Khushi : Our Girls Our Pride" campaign launched by Vedanta Group and NDTV organized an event at Udaipur, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkatta simultaneously. 

Vedanta and NDTV joined hands to build a life of dignity for the girl child and the film star Priyanka Chopra has been the brand ambassador of the campaign.