As part of its social responsibility, Ford India announced the launch of its Happy School program in 21 schools across Chennai. The Happy Schools program will work towards improving access to holistic education in primary schools by addressing identified gaps in academic support, health, nutrition and infrastructure. The event marked the beginning of ninth annual Global Week of Caring in India.
In 2014, 5300 Ford volunteers in Asia Pacific, including 2000 from India, will participate in over 80 projects in China, India, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, and 8 emerging markets, including Cambodia, Singapore, Laos, Guam, Tahiti, etc.
This year, Ford volunteers are putting a special emphasis on projects that support and protect water resources, a basic necessity for people everywhere. This is in keeping with the company’s corporate water strategy that is designed to effect substantial, sustainable and measureable impacts within its own facilities, across its supply chain and the regions where it operates.
With more than 13,000 volunteers from Ford operations across six continents – ranging from Australia to the Americas, Africa, Asia, Middle East and Europe, the Global Week of Caring will see more than 80,000 hours of expertise being invested in more than 300 community service projects around the world.
Speaking about the Happy Schools Program, Nigel Harris, president, Ford India “Ford Global Week of Caring is a great example of how Ford and its employees are going further to improve the quality of life for people in the communities where we live and work. Ford employees embrace the company’s legacy of caring for and giving back to the community. With education playing a key role in our vision of a Better World, we could not have picked a better day than Teachers Day and a better occasion than Global Week of Caring to launch the program in Chennai.”
Under Happy Schools, Ford is partnering with reputed NGOs working in the field of education to collectively conceptualize and design a social intervention model that addresses the identified gaps specific to each school. During the Global Week of caring, the Ford volunteer teams will also work in areas specific to education, health, safety, environment, women’s empowerment and humanitarian support.
Highlights from the week-long series of volunteerism activities around Chennai, Sanand and Gurgaon will include:
- Special Driving Skills for Life (DSFL) sessions
- Awareness camps on prevention and control of pollution
- Ophthalmology and medical awareness camps
- Science-based workshops for children
- Campaigns on the importance of waste segregation
- Empowering women in the community with tailoring
- Mobile van demonstration of numerous science-based concepts
- Planting of tree saplings and distribution to customers by dealerships
- Installing RO purifiers in nearby communities
- Building Toilets for the Girl Children in Schools
- Installation of Sanitary Napkins and Incinerators in schools
- Clean-up and restoration of water bodies close to Ford’s areas of operations in Chennai
Global projects with a water focus this year include:
- Argentina: Install water pipes for rural communities
- China: Clean up coastlines and rivers
- Germany: Construct an irrigation system at an environmental education center
- India: Set up water purifiers for schools
- Indonesia: Upgrade a sanitation system and install a water pump and filter for a school
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