To commemorate the occasion, Kazutada Kobayashi, President & CEO of Canon India, along with 50 employees from the organisations’ Bangalore and Canon ISDC (India Systems Development Centre) offices visited the village. Encouraging holistic development among children and as extension to the ‘Learning Beyond Books’ initiative, sports and cultural activities were organized. With the Independence Day of the country approaching, children enthusiastically participated in activities around the subject of ‘Freedom’. Sports activities like three leg race, lemon spoon race were also organized to encourage increased participation of children in extra curricular activities. All participants were felicitated by Mr. Kobayashi.
Speaking on the occasion, Kobayashi, said, “Through our constructive endeavours of ‘Canon India Involve’, we are committed towards driving meaningful and welfare centric initiatives that impact lives and make communities future ready. Having understood the needs and requirements of the village, we have undertaken several development activities towards infrastructure and the holistic improvement of the children, over the course of last four years. For us the real impact of our iniatives is measured by the number of smiling faces, reduced school drop out ratio, improved attendance, increased count of girl child, among other integral factors. We aim to help them to aspire more, dream bigger and work harder towards achieving their dreams.”
“On way forward, we further see immense scope of improvement and with our employees and partners committed towards the cause of community development, I am confident we will bring about increased change. With over two decades of strong presence in the country, we have further fortified our dedication of offering back to the community.”
Adopt a Village’s journey with Maharaja Katte Village
In the past 4 years, Maharaja Katte Village has witnessed noticeable developments through Canon India’s implementation of a wide range of activities, under its four core areas, including Education, Eye Care, Environment and Empowerment.
* Education has been focused upon, with the establishment of a ‘Resource Center’ with learning and playing material accessible to about 74 students from 1st to 7th grade. Through a dedicated teacher each for English, Maths and Science subjects, remedial education and teaching assistance is provided to identified children in the school. Children are encouraged to make newspaper reading a habit here and inculcate e-learning as part of their education
* Eye Care has been strengthened with establishment of a ‘Vision Center’, where free of cost eye checkups are provided to the villagers and children, under the supervision of eye technicians. The activities under this domain also include health camps, blood donation camps and health related awareness sessions
* Environment activities include regular tree plantation drives, ground levelling activities and environmental awareness sessions, which are conducted with the involvement of Canon employees. 37 Solar Street Lights have been installed in the village to contribute to the environment along with ensuring safety of the villagers. Plans to open kitchen gardens and provision of open garbage pits are also in progress
* With an objective of self-sustainable living, under Empowerment, vocational training center has been established in the village, equipped with 12 computers and a set time table, encouraging digital education. Here a dedicated trainer provides computer literacy through desktops and laptops to 52 school students along with 15 village youth. The organization is identifying establishment of financial literacy to select community members, in the near future. As per a baseline survey conducted, 59% of the household showed interest in tailoring skill training session. Hence, the organization will also be providing tailoring and design training to identified community members
In terms of infrastructure, Canon India has made significant changes in the village, keeping in mind the ease and convenience for villagers. Along with constructing additional classrooms and maintaining separate toilets for boys and girls, a stage has also been raised in the school to provide a platform for children to exhibit their talent and gain confidence. With health of the villagers as a key concern for Canon, a water purifier has been installed, providing them access to clean and safe drinking water.
The initiative has further extended to add another very important vertical – ‘Learning beyond books’ where the children of the villages adopted by Canon India would be introduced to more of practical experiences and out of book learnings. Children are made to visit the world outside their horizons and learn from real life examples, which would enable an extension in their holistic development.
Canon India has three more adopted villages presently under its flagship CSR initiative – ‘Adopt a Village’. These include Village Maheshwari in Haryana, Karanjoti Village in Mumbai and Sol Gohalia in Kolkata.
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