southasiadisasters.net October 20182

INTRODUCTION

Does CSR Matter to DRR?providing a much needed financialassistance to such initiatives. DRR isa wide theme that cuts across severalhumanitarian sectors such as health,education, poverty alleviation, etc.For instance, there is a need in Indiato have disaster resilient schools sothat education can continue withoutdisruption in the aftermath ofdisasters. Similarly, hospitals in thecountry ought to have a disastermanagement plan to help them copewith a disaster or similar crisis. Thenew avenues of finance openedthrough the CSR route can beleveraged to take up such projects.

b)Utilizing Public ResourcesGiven the early evolution of thepublic sector since Independence, theoutreach and coverage of India'spublic resources are great. CSR canalso be leveraged to link corporatephilanthropy with state sponsoredaltruism to maximize social welfareoutcomes. Welfare of the State andby the State in India is cannot reachout to all who are vulnerable orvictims. The concept of public-private partnership already exists forprofit generating ventures. It is hightime that a similar approach be takenin social welfare initiatives bybringing together the best that publicand private sectors have to offer. Forinstance, public sector governanceinfrastructure that spreads across tothe remotest parts of the country canbe enabled to do better planning,monitoring, operation, and reviewthrough CSR funding.

c) Multiply Civil Society EffortsIndia has a vibrant civil society.Most innovative and new ideas ofDRR have come out of CSO actionsin India. CSOs are composed ofactivists, citizens groups, communitybased organizations (CBOs) andNon-Government organizations(NGOs) among others. CSOs in Indiahas taken up multiple causes at thebehest of the poor and deprived. The

convergence between corporateorganisations and CSOs can be usedto amplify the impact of the effortsof civil society not just throughincreased funding but also greaterexpertise and experience from thecorporate sector. Such convergenceis not easy as time comes when thecorporate sector and CSOs are ontwo opposite sides of risk reductionefforts. May that be there are areaswhere and when both can be on thesame side and such areas can besought and made use of.

d)Doing Charity ProfessionallyIndia is rapidly addressing by a hostof large and complex socialchallenges it faces. Between 2004 and2015, India recorded 2.24 millioncrimes against women, and 1.08million children died before theirfifth birthday in 2017 alone. Inaddition small but substantialnumber of our citizens aremalnourished, when not hungry. Inmany cases, not all, the allocatedresources do not reach to addressthese challenges. The ''last-mile'' isleft out. CSR represents anopportunity to make philanthropyin India more efficient, professionaland effective and cover this ''lastmile''. The business acumen andexpertise possessed by the corporatesector can be transferred to socialwelfare initiatives where needed tomake their impact more sustainableand enduring.

Thus CSR does matter to DRR, notonly in the assigned areas of povertyremoval and hunger eradication butalso in a wide range of developmentinitiatives. India is at a threshold ofexperience of using CSR to upscaleDRR activities to only within India,but wide scale the expertise of usingCSR for DRR in South Asia if notAsia Pacific. I have no doubt India'scorporate leaders will not miss thisopportunity.

– Mihir R. Bhatt

1 http://www.bain.com/publications/articles/india-philanthropy-report-2018.aspx.

In 2014, India became the firstcountry to enshrine corporate

philanthropy into law. India enactedSection 135 of the Indian CompaniesAct which mandates all businesseswith annual revenues of more thanINR 10 billion must give away 2%of their net profit to charity throughCorporate Social Responsibility(CSR) projects. Areas they can investthis money in include promotion ofeducation, removal of poverty,accelerating gender equality anderadicating hunger.

Ever since the passing of this CSRlaw, the humanitarian landscape inIndia has been steadily changing.Apart from the aforementionedfocus areas for CSR, disaster riskreduction (DRR) is anotherimportant area that can greatlybenefit from CSR resources. This isbecause India is one of the mosthazard prone countries in the world,where an increasing number ofpeople and assets are exposed to therisk of disasters and catastrophes.Since 2014 AIDMI with theAssociated Chambers of Commerceand Industry of India (ASSOCHAM)in Round table Discussion on CSR &DRR, and with Climate andDevelopment Knowledge Network(CDKN) in Round table on TowardsCSR Opportunities in ImplementingNDCs in New Delhi have urged fordisaster risk reduction (DRR) as across cutting theme for CSR. Themain reason is that disasters destroyschools and slow down education;disasters make poor more poor;disasters effect women moreseverely; and disasters lead tohunger, often entendedmalnutrition.

a) Larger Pool of ResourcesOne of the biggest challenges forDRR initiatives in India has beeninadequate funding, especially to thecivil society organisations. CSR canhelp in bridging this gap by

southasiadisasters.netOctober 2018 3

CSR AND CHILDREN

Transformative Interventions of InfrastructureLeasing and Financial Services Limited forCommunity Empowerment

"Catch them young!" goes the famous adage. Behaviouralimpact, crucial for catalysingsustainable change, is, hence, ideallyinitiated as early as possible.Besides a wide array of subjects,which form a part of the curriculumof today's student, it is interestingand encouraging to note thatsubjects such as civic sense also forman integral part thereof. Animportant arm of civic sense is roadsafety, a challenge, which requiresurgent attention, especially intoday's times, and in hectic cities.

Any initiative, which supports theredressal of a challenge, has to seeactive community participation,which, in turn, requires sensitizationthrough generation of awareness,followed by subsequentmobilization of the concernedcommunity through application ofthe awareness imparted. This modelapplies to road safety too. Thoughthe government has undertaken anumber of initiatives in thisdirection, corporates supplementthese endeavours with projects oftheir own, under social corporateresponsibility.

While BMW has implemented itsroad safety programme for childrenin the age groups of 5–8 yearstouching approximately 3000 and6000 students in 2017 and 2018respectively, Castrol India hasreached 20,000 plus truck driversunder their Saarthi Mitra, and 13,000plus roadside 2/3 wheeler mechanicsunder their Eklavya initiativerespectively; Toyota has targetedaround 6,80,000 students, in the agegroup of 9–14 years, from 2007–2017;for students the emphasis of the

content material developed is oncreative and interactive learningtools and techniques, followed byapplication of the learnt materialthrough simulation; on the otherhand, content for professionalsincludes subjects like road safetytraining, special accident cases training,defensive driving, commercial vehicledrivers training, auto servicetechnician training, financial anddigital literacy, among others.

Rubina Bembi, Head, CSR Practice,Interventions of InfrastructureLeasing and Financial ServicesLimited (IL&FS) Education, explains:"We all know that road safety isparamount; and we all agree thatsomething needs to be done aboutit; at our end, our approach is multi–pronged: we help corporatesdevelop creative and effectivesolutions for the implementation oftheir road safety programmes, whichaddress diverse audiences rangingfrom students to professionals. Themost important aspect is, of course,to understand the requirement of thecorporate and the type of targetaudience, followed by thesubsequent design of the content andits execution aimed towardssustained retention and recall.

Besides training of target audiences,involvement of stakeholders such asthe traffic police and othergovernment authorities is crucial. Itis only with an -inclusive approachthat solutions can be designed. Infact, we provide skilling to, andcertification of drivers & autotechnicians for a safer community,in addition. The IL&FS Institute ofSkills (IIS) in Ajmer hosts a Centerof Excellence for AutomotiveTraining with classroom facilities,technology enabled content,simulator training, cut section labs,and real time simulation."

In India, approximately 17 deaths ofevery 55 accidents happen everyhour (source: report compiled by theTransport Research Wing, UnionRoad Transport and HighwaysMinistry; statistics for 2016)!Staggering statistics! We, as citizens,need to focus on safe and disciplineddriving, which involves followingtraffic rules and regulations, whichin turn requires generation ofawareness early on. As they say:Better safe than sorry!

– Sarah Berry, Advisor,Communications and Media Outreach,

IL&FS Education and TechnologyServices (IETS), Uttar Pradesh, India

southasiadisasters.net October 20184

CSR AND EDUCATION

A Community of Practice for Teacher ProfessionalLearning and Student Learning Resources

The Continuum of Science,Technology, Engineering and

Mathematics (STEM) Education:Integrating IBM's solutions andservices for personal experience ofall stakeholders in an educationecosystem through every phase ofthe learner's journey.

Across many cultures the new yearis a time of reflection andcelebration. We take this as anopportunity to reflect on the pastyear and continue our ongoingefforts in STEM education with allour stakeholders and beneficiaries.How will we prepare our childrenfor a world that is constantlychanging? How will we preparetoday's workers for jobs that don'teven have titles yet? How will weprepare ourselves for a lifetime oflearning? We need a new set ofskills, and a new way to learn. Thisis what it could look like.

As we look back at the trends ineducation, technology and STEM hasbeen at the forefront of reshapingand disrupting the education sector.There is an urgent need for a

paradigm shift in education- toprepare students to be globalcitizens while providing them withthe skills and abilities for them tothrive. IBM's Teachers Try Science'sthis past year has focused onleveraging emerging technologies toempower teaching and learning inand out of classrooms and providecapabilities to drive and supporteducation transformation at scalealigning with the governmentsinitiatives. At a crucial stage whenIndian government is promotinginitiatives such as Make in India,Skill India, Digital India, TinkeringLabs to encourage manufacturing,technology usage and skilldevelopment in the country, STEMis turning out to be an essential andintegral component of our education.

However, when we look at thecurrent Indian educational system,even from a very broad perspective,we clearly notice that we are farbehind in adapting to the changesin global educational arena. Stilltoday, a major emphasis in ourschools' education system is put onlearning through text books and in

most cases, marks secured is the onlycriteria to assess the knowledge. 21st

century learning skills and designbased learning to spur curiosity,innovation and thirst for knowledgetowards Science, Technology,Engineering and Mathematics in kidscan be encouraged by an earlyexposure to hands–on learning andpractical knowledge in a moreengaging and fun to learnenvironment. Once a kid develops apassion for STEM fields, itsmoothens the decision makingprocess to choose a right field topursue career. It will help to creategreat thinkers, innovators, engineersand scientists that our society andindustry needs. As said earlier, it isneeded for our future prosperity andto our nation in order to developcompetitiveness and play a vital rolein global economy.

Building the base of scientists andengineers and preparing the nextgeneration of innovators requiresgreat science teachers with the skillsand knowledge to educate, inspireand motivate students. But thedemand for science teacherscontinues to far outweigh thesupply. In the US for example, aboutone-third of all middle schoolscience teachers are not certified toteach science. The challenge isproviding teachers with theresources they need to strengthentheir instruction and better preparestudents for the jobs of the 21st

Century, many of which willincreasingly be in STEM (Science,Technology, Engineering and Math)fields. STEM gap in India is huge tooand bridging the gap throughteacher capacity building andquality education resources studentsshould be prepared to think deeply

southasiadisasters.netOctober 2018 5

and to think well so that they havethe chance to become the innovators,educators, researchers, and leaderswho can solve the most pressingchallenges facing our nation and ourworld, both today and tomorrow.But, right now, not enough of ouryouth in the country has access toquality STEM learning opportunitiesand too few students see thesedisciplines as springboards for theircareers. This is a huge gap and STEMintegration in classroom andfostering the spirit of scientifictemper and innovation is thuscritical!

In its STEM journey started in Indiain 2011, IBM Teachers Try Science(TTS) is an international platform inassociation with New York Hall ofScience, Teach Engineering andGeneration of Science Standards. Thisprogram allows STEM teachers theopportunity to participate incommunities, access and put upquality STEM resources and providesstrategies and tutorials for teachingSTEM based lessons. In India, TTS isworking closely with Department ofScience and Technology (DST),National Council for Education,Research and Training (NCERT) andNiti Aayog.

IBM through its Teachers Try Scienceprogram has created STEM capacityand supported teachers in differentschool systems in past few years toaddress these points articulatedabove. Over the past five yearsTeachers Try Science in India hasreached out to nearly 30,000educators and science teachers,11,03,643 students impacting 1,44,000classrooms. STEM pedagogy ofDesign based learning and TeachersTry Science resources has reachedout to across 9 states and in 5 locallanguages (Hindi, Tamil, Kannada,Gujarati and Marathi in India with 5implementing partners and sciencebased NGOs. We strongly believethat it is poised for further growthand scale particularly aligning

closely with the governmenteducation priorities and STEMinitiatives and efforts of otherorganizations to popularize scienceeducation in our country.

Over the last 5 years, IBM TeachersTry Science has succeeded inunearthing brilliant young mindsfrom schools through the scientificlens of the teachers across thecountry. We really want to celebratesome of the teachers who have takenlead in low cost or no costinnovation across all the schools inIndia. You will hear more about theimpact that this initiative has hadupon their lives and choices. Wesalute their innovative ideas and

CSR IN SANITATION

IIFCL Smart Village—Borsimaluguri (Assam)Borsimaluguri in Baksa district

of Assam is a backward villagenotified by the erstwhile PlanningCommission of India. Under theCSR initiative of IndiaInfrastructure Finance CompanyLimited (IIFCL), Borsimaluguri hasbeen transformed into a modelvillage, which is open defecationfree, has a community RO waterplant, Solar home and solar streetlights and other importantinfrastructure.

Borsimaluguri is a remote village inthe northern part of Assam with amixed population of about 1172tribal and minorities living in 234Households in sub-standard livingcondition. The village has beenneglected of the basic infrastructureand lacked proper sanitation facility,drainage, provision for cleandrinking water, electricity supply,etc. Majority of the youth wereunemployed and were engaged ascasual labourers in the fieldswhereas people suffering from

efforts which reveal the abundanceof science talent that India has.

(Joyeeta is an experienced andcommitted leader in the field ofCorporate Social Responsibility(CSR) having 18 years working inthe private and NGO sector with afocus on education, social impact andacross other broad portfolio ofglobal citizenship initiatives. She iscurrently responsible for Education,STEM and Skill developmentinitiatives nationally in IBM ISA/APCorporate Citizenship andCorporate Group since the last 2years).

– Joyeeta Das, Program Manager,Corporate Citizenship, IBM IndiaPrivate Limited, Bengaluru, India

water borne disease were a commonsight across the village.

IIFCL intervention throughcommunity participation aimed atproviding basis infrastructure to thevillage to improve the standard ofliving and then provide skilldevelopment to empower people toearn a livelihood.

Today, women in Borsimalugurihave taken up weaving on a clusterbasis and have engaged the youthin providing facility to transportthe produce to the market hub inGuwahati. Borsimaluguri isconsidered to be the first smartvillage of North East and isconsidered as a role model forvillage adoption projects. Recently,the village has received the awardfor being the second cleanest villagein Assam and has received a specialmention for the smart initiative.

– Amit Kumar, Deputy Manager,India Infrastructure Finance CompanyLimited, Borsimaluguri, Assam, India

southasiadisasters.net October 20186

FINANCIAL INCLUSION AND CSR

Mobilising Corporate Social ResponsibilityAcross the Country by Magma Fincorp Ltd.

About Magma Magma Fincorp Ltd. is a non-banking finance company (NBFC),listed on BSE and NSE. Since itsinception in 1988 the company isdriven by a single purposeful goalof "investing in the smallest dream"and has been offering financialsolutions to the under served in therural and semi urban India. Magmatoday operates through a pan Indianetwork of 305 offices and employs9400+ people. Magma provides abouquet of financial servicesproducts including Asset Finance,Agri Finance, SME Finance andMortgage Loans and also has aGeneral Insurance subsidiary.

CSR OutlookMagma Fincorp Ltd. (MFL) over theyears has demonstrated severallaudable examples of responsiblecorporate action for sustainablesocial development. Moreover toconduct CSR activity in an organizedway, Magma with its groupcompanies has created a dedicatedtrust namely Magma Foundation.The purpose of this trust is firstly toorganize activity which can bring asignificant change in the lives ofunder privileged masses andsecondly to motivate others to comeup and serve the needy ones.

The following is a brief descriptionof our ongoing CSR activity:

Magma Highway Heroes: One persondies every 4 minutes in roadaccidents on highways in India. Ofthe 1.5 Lac people who die due toaccidents annually, majority are themain bread-earners for their families(source: Commission for GlobalRoad Safety 2009). Drivers' faultaccount for 78.5% (3,81,648 accidents)of the accidents and more than 30%of the total road accident deaths areassociated with trucks annually.

With a view to improve Safetystandards and awareness, MagmaFincorp Ltd. is running a trainingcum health & safety programme forthe Truck drivers with the help ofPetroleum Conservation andResearch Association, Governmentof India. Till March 2018 we haveconducted around 800 such campsand have trained around 1.45 lakhdrivers.

Magma M–Scholar: Magma believesin "Padhega India Tabhi to AageyBadhega India". Under this schemeMagma is supporting bright studentsfrom under–privileged families tocontinue to live their dream bypursuing under–graduate studies at

prestigious institutes. At present wehave around 200 students enrolledin our scheme from various streamslike Engineering, Medical,Humanities, Science, Commerce andLaw at some of India's best knowninstitutions.

Hunger Free Education: One of thereason that school drop outs in Indiacontinues to be high is what istermed as Class Room Hunger!Magma has been working on thisarea for a few years now. In FY19we have decided to provide mid-daymeal to nearly 7000 school kids atdifferent government schoolslocated in West Bengal, Jharkhand,Rajasthan, Maharashtra, AndhraPradesh, Haryana, Delhi. ISKCON isour implementation partner underthis initiative.

Promotion of Education: We haveadopted schools in tribal areas aswell as urban areas to offer educationto the tribal kids and street kids. Ourassociation with The Friends ofTribals Society (FTS), is a volunteerorganization running over 50,000such schools in Tribal area dates backby a decade. FTS runs programs withthe goal of improving literacy andhealth among the rural tribal kids.Presently We have adopted only 15such schools and will increase ourparticipation in the coming days.

Mobile Clinic: The doctor patient ratioin our country is in a bad state. Thesituation is so alarming that someof the villages even don't have aproper registered health clinic in theradius of 5–7 km. To deal with thesituation Magma is currentlyorganizing weekly mobile clinic forthe poor masses. The clinic carries ateam of qualified doctor and labtechnician. As of now we haveorganized such activity in the stateof West Bengal, Andhra and

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Telangana and have touched thelives of around 5000+ villagers.

Swayam: Magma has around 300branches with 9400 people across thecountry. To give CSR a holisticapproach we have launchedSwayam, a corporate volunteeringprogramme designed for theemployees of the company.Following are the few of the projectstaken in FY19:• Water filter and Toilet facility set

up in a slum school located inBhadrak, Odisha.

• Pre Scholl facility for kids, Alwar,Rajasthan.

• Supoorting youth hostel, TamilNadu and Andhra Pradesh.

• Renovation of Kitchen room atAnganwadi located in theoutskirts of Punjab.

• Promoting computer education inSchool, Odisha.

Awards and RecognitionMagma has been recognized byseveral top industry forums for theCSR work being done under theaegis of the brand. Some of thenotable awards are as following:• Asia Pacific HRM Congress

Awards – Best Corporate SocialResponsibility Practice, 2015(Highway Heroes)

• CSR Leadership Award, NationalAwards for Excellence in CSR &Sustainability, 2016 (M Scholar)

• Corporate Responsibility Award– by Investor Review, UK, 2016(M Scholar)

• NGOBOX CSR Impact Awards–CSR Project of the Year, 2016(Highway Heroes)

• 2nd Best Project of the Year-NHRDN CSR Competition, 2016(Highway Heroes)

• BT CSR Excellence Awards –Innovation in CSR Practices, 2017(Highway Heroes)

• Asian Customer EngagementForum & Awards – Best CSREvent, 2017 (Highway Heroes)

• CSR Journal Excellence Award –Health and Sanitation, 2017 (MCare).

– Kaushik Sinha, Vice President, MagmaFincorp Ltd., Kolkata, West Bengal, India

CSR AND TECHNOLOGY

CSR Activities of Nava Bharat Ventures Ltd.

Nava Bharat Ventures Limited(NBV) is into power

generation, Ferro alloys, mining andagri-business. The company has beenin this business for four decades andoperates in different geographiesspanning across India and Africa.

The philosophy of company's CSRpolicy is about the relationshipbetween business and society. It isthe continuing commitment ofbusiness to behave ethically andcontribute to economicdevelopment. Fulfilling CSR is avital and integral part of the overallbusiness strategy of NBV.

The main focus areas are Health,Education and Livelihood.

Health: Nava Bharat Eye Center(NBEC): In association with L.V.Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad,Nava Bharat has established an EyeCentre in 2011 at Paloncha which isproviding world-class outpatientcare, surgical care and nursing careapart from community eye care &rehabilitation program for thebenefit of a large tribal and otherunderprivileged communities.

Since its inception, 1.97 lakh patientshave benefited by the eye center outof which 64% of surgeries on free ofcost to the poor people.

Primary Health Centre: A PrimaryHealth Centre was opened at NavaBharat Eye Centre, Paloncha, to caterto the medical needs of local poorpeople. The Centre providestreatment for ordinary ailments onfree of cost to the economicallybackward people.

Safe Drinking Water Plants: Theorganization installed 15 safedrinking water plants in rural andslum areas and 80% of the populationin the villages is using the watersupplied from these plants.

Health Campaign: The Company haslaunched Health Campaign programin the local areas. The medical teamhas been providing treatment forordinary ailments.

Mobile Science Laboratory.

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So far, a total of 30,000 people gotbenefited by the social intervention.

Toilets: The Company has arrangedto construct toilets/ wash rooms in20 government schools for thebenefit of the students.

Mosquito nets and Indoor ResidualSpray: The Company has distributed8,000 mosquito nets to the peopleliving in tribal and rural areas andalso arranged Indoor residual sprayin 108 villages to prevent vectorborn diseases.

EducationFree Tutorial Services: The companyarranging private tutorial servicesfor those students whose parents areilliterate, economically backwardand cannot afford pay for such extratutorial services. A total of 1200students in 22 Government schoolshave benefited from this initiative.

In the process of our efforts forpromoting education we haveprovided K– Yans (Knowledgeyantra) an Audio visual instrumentembedded with computer, projector,speakers and digital board withother accessories to teach lessons tothe students. We have provided 18K Yans to the Government schoolswith subject content (Software) toteach all subject for 6th to 10th

classes.

Nava Bharat High School (NBHS): Thecompany has established a NavaBharat High School to cater to theeducational needs of 300economically backward children ofthe nearby villages.

Mobile Science Laboratory: TheCompany has been organizingMobile Science laboratory in 28Government schools to improve theinterest level of students in sciencesubjects i.e. Physics, Chemistry andBiology. The project is facilitating3011 students to enrich theirknowledge in science subjectsthrough hands–on experience inscience experiments.

Supplementary Spoken Englishclasses: In order to help the studentswho are not able to speak or read orwrite basic things in Englishlanguage the company hasimplemented the program toimprove the communicative skills inEnglish. The facility is beingextended to 10 schools and no. ofstudents being covered: 1,800.

Providing Computer Faculty inGovernment Schools: The Companyhas arranged Resource persons toteach Computer skills in 17government schools. No. of studentscovered: 4,200.

Infra–Structure: The Company hasarranged to construct additional classrooms, compound walls, hand washfacilities and provided 3514 dualdesks for the benefit of 10,542students.

Livelihood: The Company establishedNava Bharat Vocational Institute in2010 to provide quality training freeof cost on Welder, Fitter, Electrical,Plumber, 2 wheeler technician,Refrigeration & Air conditioningtechnician courses besides computerskills viz. Tally and D T P courses.

A total of 846 candidates were trainedin NBVI in the above trades and 80%candidates got placements.

Women Empowerment Centre (WEC):NBV established WomenEmpowerment Center at Paloncha toimpart employment oriented skillsto poor women from the localcommunities. WEC is providingvocational training on Tailoring &Embroidery, Beautician, Jute Productmaking, Sanitary Napkin makingPalm Leaf Weaving and garmentmaking.

A total of 1169 candidates weretrained in WEC in the above coursesand 80% candidates got SelfEmployment.

Community Kitchen: The Companyhas arranged financial assistance toAkshayapatra Foundation, Bangaloreto establish community kitchen toprepare midday meal to 22,550students every day.

Construction of Feeder Channel: Inaddition to the focus areas thecompany is involved in improvingthe irrigation facilities for the pettyfarmers, it has constructed a waterchannel/feeder to supply water to300 acres of cultivated land.

Construction of Roads and Drains:The Company also arranged toconstruct Roads and drains in 10villages, benefiting 30,000 people. – Mohammad Ali, Chief Administrator

(SD), Nava Bharat Ventures Limited,Hyderabad, Telangana, India

Garment making.

southasiadisasters.netOctober 2018 9

CSR AND RESILIENCE

Standing with Communities in Need: HCLFoundation's Journey in Capacity Building onHumanitarian Actions, DRR, and Resilience

Natural and man-made disastersare a regular, albeit

unpredictable part of life. As theworld faces intensifying climatechange, weather-related disasters areexpected to grow. Responding todisasters requires the effort andcoordination of many stakeholders-from government and communitiesto NGOs and businesses. When adisaster strikes, the HCL Foundationmarshals resources to providehumanitarian aid to employees andcommunities in need.

HCL Foundation (HCLF) is the CSRarm of HCL Technologies and avalue driven not-for-profit-organization, that strives tocontribute towards national andinternational development goals.HCL Foundation's core values areCredibility, Transparency,Accountability, Outreach to theUnreached, Sustainability &Scalability. The Foundation aims toalleviate poverty and achieveinclusive growth and development.Active community engagementensures optimal long–term gainsand upward accountability. HCLFoundation works through LifeCycle Based, Integrated CommunityDevelopment Approach withthematic focus on Education, Health,Livelihoods & Skilling, Environmentand Disaster Risk Reduction &Response. Child protectivestrategies, inclusion and gendertransformative approaches remaincentral in all initiatives of HCLFoundation, thus ensuringcomprehensive development.

DRR is one of the core thematic focusareas of HCLF with over 26, 000people supported in the last year inIndia. In times of disasters, theorganization coordinates resourcesto provide humanitarian aid toemployees and communities inneed, and supports 'building back.'

Some highlights from our disasterresponse and relief efforts from thepast four years.

Floods in Assam, Bihar, West BengalFollowing the floods in Bihar, WestBengal and Assam in August 2017,HCLF did a SITREP. In partnershipwith local authorities, HCLFoundation conducted a rapidassessment to analyze the situation.In all, employees and HCL'scustomers contributed to 80 boxescontaining essential items. In all5,123 items were mobilized anddistributed to the affectedpopulation. In Phase Two, we areworking on post–flood health issuesin Bihar and health and education

issues in Assam in partnership withfour organisations:a. Partnered with Save the

Children and supported 250families and two Child CareCenters having 200 children inAssam through distribution ofhygiene kits, shelter kits, child-friendly spaces and set up andplay kit distribution, livelihoodkit, education kits, utensils andfood items.

b. In partnership with CaritasIndia, HCL Foundationsupported 7000 most vulnerablepersons with health services and5,000 households with WASHinterventions in the floodaffected districts of Bihar.

c. Through Kaziranga Women'sSociety, HCLF helped providerelief kits and medicines to 300families in Assam.

d. Partnered with HumanitarianAid International (HAI) toprovide relief support andhelped build a response andrehabilitation mechanism to 900

southasiadisasters.net October 201810

flood-affected families in Assamand Bihar.

Floods and Cyclone in Tamil NaduDuring the months of November andDecember 2015, Tamil Nadu waspounded by the heaviest rainfall inover a century. Thousands of peoplein the worst-hit areas faced acuteshortages of essentials as familiesstruggled to cope with the stress ofdisplacement and loss of livelihood.HCL sprang into action with a warroom to assess the status of itssubstantial employee base inChennai and determine their needs.In tandem, the Foundation mobilizedand distributed essential reliefmaterials to the broader community.

Immediate and Long–term Outcomes• Rescue: HCL Foundation played

a significant role by being the warroom with the support ofemployee volunteers, andcommunity volunteers andinitiated a core team to carry out'Look-out and Safety Check' ofstranded HCL employees andemployees' family during theflood in Chennai. 250+ employeesand employee families rescued.

• Relief: HCL Foundationmobilized and distributed reliefmaterials such as food, water andmedicine. 10 tons of reliefmaterial mobilized & distributedto over 1, 00,000 affected peopleduring the flood. Basic householdutility kit was provided.

• Restoration of water pipes,sewage tanks, and other essentialinfrastructure damaged by theflood; Restoration of 1.5 km road,and clean–up drive for 15,000people.

• Emergency Help Line andDisaster Relief Call Center:Drawing on our technicalexpertise, we partnered with thestate government to establish acall center to distribute financialassistance. Finally, we workedwith vendors to clean up affectedareas. 10,500 calls and 312 hoursof support to 1.2 lakh direct andindirect beneficiaries.

• HCL Information Desk: AnInformation Support Desk was setup in Semmenchery, to helpaffected people to get back keyGovernment documents such asRation Cards, etc. Reached out toall the 6,734 households andration cards issued 3,350households.

• Health and Psychosocial Support:Awareness programmes on theaftermath of disasters on mentaland physical health andcounselled the traumatisedpersons.

• Infrastructure: 6,724 housesrestructured and new houses builtin the community; An R.O Plantwas set up to address cleandrinking water requirements.

• Strengthening education andemployability quotient of peoplethrough HCL Gurkul (education

centres) and Yuvakendra(skilltraining) services. HCL Gurkulbuilding was also rebuilt tosupport the well–being andcontinued education oftraumatized children.

HCL Foundation analyzed thesituation and initiated a collectiondrive to distribute immediate reliefitems to victims of yet anotherdisaster on 12 December 2016, atropical cyclone 'Vardah'. HCLfoundation distributed relief kitsto7,000 people. Following this, long–term rehabilitation in thecommunity including communityhealth programs, tree plantationdrives, and infrastructure andrenovation support for the localGovernment school, were initiated.

This collaborative model of Private–Public Partnership adopted by HCLFoundation, not only played adefinitive role in enabling inclusive,humane and socially justcommunities but equipped thestakeholders with resilience to faceand deal with further challengeswith dignity. Throughcollaboratively engaging withvarious stakeholders, HCLFoundation enabled the capacitybuilding of local communitiesaffected by major disasters. Theorganization facilitatedtransformative pathways out ofdistress and poverty over the longerterm in the wake of this naturaldisaster. Complex social problemsthat persistently and systematicallymarginalize and filter the worstimpact on the poorest sections ofsociety require personal attention,problem solving, dynamic learningthrough implementation andintrospection to truly make asemblance of progress towardssocial justice.

– Ms. Nidhi Pundhir,Director-HCL Foundation,

CSR Head-HCL Technologies,Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

southasiadisasters.netOctober 2018 11

Under–privilege, Children weretaught Hygiene which theyfurther carried to their familiesDifference between Right andWrongBasic learning of Academics

Healthy Diet

Student taught basics of robotics

Interacting with Senior Citizens

Protecting Senior Citizens

This will not only impact the basic health and hygiene of the country, butwill also, decrease the health issues and even deaths due to the diseasesrelated to lack of hygiene.This is the basic thing to be taught to the children to decrease the crimerate in future.NYS children taught them the importance of education. They also taughtwith passion and the problem of illiteracy would decrease if each onetakes up the responsibility to teach one.Under–Nourishment – health issues will no more trouble India if everyoneis taught about the importance of healthy diet.If more of such vocational learnings could be provided to theunderprivileged children, they will have something to earn their livelihoodfrom and India will get a healthy work–force. Poverty will graduallydecrease.Develop the Emotional quotient with the elderly's, so that we can reducethe ever increasing number of Old Age Home.With the advancement in technology, it is upmost important to help themwith security, online banking's, etc.

A Better India, with these Initiatives

CSR AND CHILDREN LEADERSHIP

Nurturing Young Seeds: An Initiative of EsselGroup

Priti Goel, a proud citizen ofIndia, has a vision to help lead

India country towards prosperityand advancement and today, I havewritten in great humbleness to youto take you through my journey.

As a founder of Nurturing YoungSeeds (NYS), an initiative of Esselgroup I have a vision to change Indiaby the Children of India. I hadalways day-dreamt and visualizedthe impact, if every capable child ofthis country would do a smallcontribution of time for society, theface of India would change.

NYS has been conducting a yearlyNYS Leadership League among PanIndia schools.

Leadership in CommunityIn this round, the students had tochoose 1 of the 3 tasks, and do for 3weeks:

1. Do a Donation Drive for anNGO (Goonj, Feeding India, etc)

2. Adopt a Senior Citizen3. Conduct Enrichment classes

Importance of this RoundWe wanted to show children thatthey can start contributing to Societyfrom Today itself. We wanted tobreak their myths that they can onlycontribute once they have earned alot or after they have grown up.

It was for them to self learnimportant life skills which are lostdue to pressure of studies etc.

Impact of this Round1. Some students participated in

Donation drive. They collecteda total of approx.3200kg of dryration (rice and daal).Besides that, 400 cartoons camewith items ranging frommattresses, bedsheets, clothes,

stationary, books, toys, shoes,etc.

2. While some studentsparticipated in Adopt a Seniorcitizen. They touched the livesand hearts of many seniorcitizens. They did activities like.

• Spending quality time &learning from their experiences.

• Educating them in Law andorder.

• Teaching them to run basicmobile phone features.

• Linking Aadhar card to theirbanks.

• Helping them in householdtasks.

• Taking care of their medicalneeds.

• Cooking for them.

3. The other students participatedin running Enrichment classesfor the Under privileged

southasiadisasters.net October 201812

Editorial Advisors:

ALL INDIA DISASTER MITIGATION INSTITUTE411 Sakar Five, Behind Old Natraj Cinema, Near Mithakhali Railway Crossing, Ashram Road,Ahmedabad–380 009 India. Tele/Fax: +91-79-2658 2962E-mail: bestteam@aidmi.org, Website: http://www.aidmi.org, www.southasiadisasters.net

Denis NkalaRegional Coordinator, South-South Cooperationand Country Support (Asia-Pacific), UnitedNations Development Programme, New York

Ian DavisVisiting Professor in Disaster Risk Management inCopenhagen, Lund, Kyoto and Oxford BrookesUniversities

Dr. John TwiggSenior Research Fellow in the Risk and Resilienceprogramme, Overseas Development Institute(ODI), London

Madhavi Malalgoda AriyabanduSub-Regional Coordinator, Central Asia & SouthCaucasus, United Nations Office for Disaster RiskReduction (UNISDR), Kazakhstan

Mihir R. BhattAll India Disaster Mitigation Institute, India

Dr. Satchit Balsari, MD, MPHThe University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell,New York, USA

T. Nanda KumarFormer Chairman, Institute of Rural ManagementAnand (IRMA), Anand, Gujarat, India

children. They made adifference in approximately 500children's lives. They taughtabout

• Personal hygiene.• Etiquettes.• Vocational learning.• Difference between right and

wrong.• Healthy and a balanced meal.• Basic Academics.• Law and order etc.• The students touched lives of

people at Orphanages, Old agehomes, Blind Schools etc. andmade a difference.

This year, NYS Leadership Leaguefocuses on Green Leadership.Children will be doing work on thefollowing concerns: Maximumchildren/adults would be involvedwith the initiative to make adifference in.• Hygiene and Sanitation.• Healthy food habits (plants

which they can grow indoor, bythemselves).

• Forestry: planting of plants.• Finance (Basic banking and

saving scheme proposed byGovernment of India, openingof accounts).

• Curb air pollution.• Waste Management (Important-

correct segregation shouldhappen at every home and incommunities; this will solve thegovernment problem ofdisposal).

• Allowed to pick any otherEnvironmental cause.

NYS Initiative is to SURGE the rightLIFE–SKILLS in our futuregenerations.

Children are the future leaders and we nurture them to take the lead!.

S – StrengthU – UnderstandingR – ResponsibilityG – GratitudeE – Empathy

NYS strongly believes that if we caninstil these values in our children,our country will earn back its titleof being a Golden Bird.

– Priti Goel, Essel Group,Nurturing Young Seeds, Noida,

Uttar Pradesh, India