Mrs Radha Agarwal, Chairperson, Kamdhenu Jeevandhara (social wing of Kamdhenu Limited) giving away Certificate of Completion to participant of Computer Training Course organised by Kamdhenu Jeevandhara for underprivileged students
Giving back to society has always been a priority for Kamdhenu Group. In the last few years it has provided education to underprivileged children, skills training to youth, and artificial limbs to needy people besides organizing blood donation camp and yoga camp for children. The efforts to aid the needy are ongoing.
The company recently organised certificate distribution ceremony for underprivileged students who successfully completed its Computer Training Course. In a freewheeling chat with the SkillIndia Post, Mrs. Radha Agarwal, Chairperson, Kamdhenu Jeevandhara (social wing of Kamdhenu Limited) talked about the company’s CSR philosophy, engagements and future plans. Excerpts:
Kamdhenu Jeevandhara – Bringing the less fortunate into the mainstream through skills training and aid
Why did Kamdhenu Limited decide to set up Kamdhenu Jeevandhara?
We believe that life brings moral responsibility along with several other things. Therefore, we believe in giving back to the society. Since the community has given us so much including the recognition in the society, patronage and clientele to spread out business to such great pinnacle, we at Kamdhenu Limited are committed to our responsibility towards the society as a whole.
Kamdhenu Jeevandhara has been entrusted with the major responsibility to lead the underserved children and youth in our country, by providing them with basic education and skills for their growth in mainstream or diverse livelihood.
What is the vision of the Kamdhenu Jeevandhara? What is Kamdhenu Jeevandhara working to achieve?
Kamdhenu Jeevandhara was founded with a vision to build an empowered society through education, community development and environment sustainability.
Kamdhenu Jeevandhara provides quality education free of cost to under privileged childrenand vocational training to unemployed men and women at a nominal fee so that they can increase their income and improve their quality of life.
As part of our commitment to the cause of environment sustainability, we undertake Tree Plantation drive and participate in government projects and schemes like Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
How has the journey of the Jeevandhara been over the last two years?
We are very proud to share that in the last 10 years, we have helped thousands of underprivileged children access their right to education. At our centre in Gurgaon, we have supported these children with books and uniform besides nutritional meal to provide them with vital nourishment. Kamdhenu Jeevandhara has also set up computer literacy centre for underprivileged children and people belonging to economically weaker sections of the society.
We are supporting the cause of livelihood among the needy women population of the country by empowering them with skills offering livelihood opportunities. Towards this, we have opened sewing training centre for women and girls at our centre in Gurgaon. In these training centers, tailoring skills are imparted free of cost to help them earn more income and become economically self-sufficient and independent. On successful completion of the training we provide sewing machines free of cost to these women and girls to facilitate livelihood opportunities.
English is an important aspect in various customer-centric fields in India. We are trying to reach out to low-income users as much as possible and help them learn English to improve their career opportunities.
What are the key focus areas for Kamdhenu Jeevandhara?
Key focus areas of Kamdhenu Jeevandhara are as follows –
- Creating meaningful socio-economic impact in the lives of vulnerable and underprivileged sections of the society that include amongst others, differently-abled, street children, destitute women, children of sexually exploited women, economically weaker sections and victims of natural and other disasters including war and acts of terrorism.
- Enhancing sustainable livelihood through interventions in the areas of traditional arts and handicrafts, micro-enterprise, vocational training and skill development.
- Promoting measures to eradicate hunger, poverty and malnutrition, and promoting preventive health care and sanitation.
- Promoting education, including special education and employment enhancing vocation skills especially among children, women, elderly and the differently-abled, and livelihood enhancement projects. This would also include initiatives to promote financial literacy, consumer education and awareness, and capacity and skill building in various sectors of the economy in alignment with the various Government initiatives.
- Promoting environmental sustainability, ecological balance and conservation of natural resources and maintaining quality of soil, air and water through various initiatives such as resource conservation, renewable energy and energy efficiency amongst others.
Why did you choose education and skill development as key focus area for Kamdhenu Jeevandhara?
Education impacts every aspect of our life. Education and skill development together can boost income and employment rate for both men and women irrespective of their social and financial status. By providing quality education to children we can bring people out of poverty, reduce future crime rate, decrease gender based violence thereby promoting healthy lifestyle and contributing to the well-being of the society as a whole.
Please share details on initiatives/programs undertaken by Kamdhenu Jeevandhara?
| Sr.No. | Project | Activity |
| 1 | Education To Street Children | Provide books, uniform, food etc. free of cost |
| 2 | Computer Training Course | Computer training to underprivileged and economically weaker sections of the society for their better future at a nominal cost |
| 3 | English Speaking Course | English speaking training to underprivileged children and people from socially and economically weaker sections of the society |
| 4 | Summer Camp | Organize Summer camp for children of 5-10 year age group |
| 5 | Yoga Camp | Organize Yoga camp for children of 5-10 year age group |
| 6 | Sewing Class For Women | Impart tailoring skills to women from weaker sections of the society. Provide free sewing machine on completion of the course to facilitate their livelihood |
| 7 | Blood Donation Camp | Organize blood donation camps in collaboration with Lions Club in Cyber City, Gurgaon |
| 8 | Artificial Limbs | Provide Jaipur foot caliper to amputees, polio patients in collaboration of Bharat Vikas Parishad from time to time |
What is the impact and reach of the initiatives? What are the highlights/achievements till date?
Kamdhenu Jeevandhara has been successful in pulling out thousands of underprivileged children from street to schools. We have been able to infuse hope and dreams of a futureamong these children. We have provided these children with basic education and equipped them with necessary lifeskills so that they become responsible citizen and make a meaningful contribution to the society.
What is the geographical spread for your intervention initiatives?
The various intervention initiatives within the Education to Skill Development program by Kamdhenu Jeevandhara are conducted across Gurgaon and Bhiwadi. We are planning to spread our intervention initiatives activities to other areas as well and are looking for reliable partners to implement these initiatives.
How is the top leadership in your company involved in the CSR management in your organization?
Kamdhenu’s leadership team take keen interest in the activities of Kamdhenu Jeevandhara. They play a huge role in driving the CSR programs and actively participate in various initiatives be it blood donation camps or imparting training to underprivileged people.
What are your future plans?
We need to do more to enable underprivileged access to their right to emotional, physical and social development. Towards this, we would want to scale our interventions across geographies through both government and corporate partnerships. We also aim devote more resources and take lead in empowering our youth through our key initiatives to support their skill enhancement.
