GMR Infrastructure Ltd – CSR Activities
GMR Varalakshmi Foundation, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm of GMR Group has been undertaking several CSR activities on a significant scale since its establishment in 1991.
The Foundation works with the deprived sections of society wherever the Group starts business operations. It focuses on four specific areas: Education; Health, Hygiene and Sanitation; Empowerment & Livelihoods and Community Based Programme.
Today the Foundation activities span the length and breadth of the country with ongoing initiatives in Rajam, Rajamundry, Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Mangalore, Uttaranchal, Bangalore.
Education :
The Foundation helps the Government in its endeavors to strengthen and improve quality of pre-school and school education:
Supporting Government Efforts for Education
GMRVF works in collaboration with the local educational authorities towards improving quality of education in government schools. It has provided Vidya Volunteers in about 50 schools where the teacher-student ratio is poor. It has also contributed to physical infrastructure development like building of toilets, towards mid-day meals etc. The Foundation volunteers work closely with the community to ensure that dropouts are enrolled, that parents are aware of the importance of education, etc. Over the years, over 950 dropouts have been enrolled thanks to the Volunteers� efforts.
The Foundation runs 50 Bala Badis (pre-schools) in remote villages. Over 1700 children attend these centers which impart not only joyful learning but also work on inculcating good habits. A nutritious snack is provided daily to the children, The concerted efforts with 3-5 year age group helps in school-preparedness and also gets parents motivated and involved in their children�s learning.
GMRVF is running tuition classes for poor children in various locations including Chennai, Rajam, Hyderabad and Delhi. These children usually come from homes where parents cannot help them with their studies. This intervention, which is today availed by over 1500 students, has resulted in improved academic performance of students.
The Foundation also supports innovative and joyful education through provision of Teaching-Learning materials to government schools; through facilitating teacher training, etc.
Supporting Meritorious Students
The Foundation has several schemes for helping poor and bright students to access quality education. Today GMRVF is supporting over 70 children to get education in the best of schools through its �Gifted Children Scheme�, under which these children are supported right from kindergarten to professional education. These children are from the poorest of poor families and selected through a rigourous process.
GMRVF provides scholarships and interest-free loans for poor students for undertaking a variety of professional course including engineering, nursing, CA, etc.
�Vidya Jyothi� is a scheme for degree students of the SGCSR college run by the Foundation. Poor students are given scholarships to pursue their degree courses. They in turn have to provide free tuitions to poor school students in their villages
GMRVF, in collaboration with Helpage India, is running 3 Mobile Medical Units which cater to over 90 villages every week. These Units operate with the mandate of delivering healthcare to the doorstep of the aged. They visit every week and provide free check-ups and medicines to the 60+ patients. Over 4500 people benefit from these services.
The Foundation also runs ambulances for emergencies. In the remote areas where these ambulances operate, the timely availability of such a facility to take a patient to healthcare establishment, can make the difference between life and death. Each ambulances attends to 30-40 calls per month, and has saved many a life.
General and specific medical camps are conducted in all the Foundation�s work areas. GMRVF stresses on school health check-ups and health education in schools and communities.
Where necessary, the Foundation also runs regular clinics for the communities.
In the last year, the Foundation has also started working in the area of AIDS awareness in the communities it works with.
Hygiene and Sanitation
The Foundation has built and is maintaining 8 public toilets in villages and slums. These are maintained at the highest standards of hygiene. Communities avail these facilities at a very nominal charge of Rs. 10 per family per month. This step has helped not only in improved sanitation in the areas, but also in restoring dignity to the women of the communities.
In a Public-Private partnership with the Municipal Commission of Hyderabad, the Foundation is building and operating Pay and Use toilets in the city. These facilities, in the short time they have been in operation, have won recognition as setting a new standard for public facilities. They have been developed on the basis of thorough research and high level of professional design inputs. Constant monitoring and inspections help to keep up maintenance standards.
The Foundation also stresses sanitation education in a bid to break the vicious cycle of ill-health due to poor personal and environmental sanitation.
Livelihood Training Institutes
The Foundation has set up and is running several institute of Entrepreneurship development. Three of these are in partnership with Andhra Bank, and two are being run independently.
These institutes train unemployed youth in a variety of skills, from plumbing to tailoring to two-wheeler repairs to photography and videography. Apart from the technical skill, great emphasis is placed on developing the entrepreneurial spirit of the participants, strengthening their motivation, communication skills, confidence, etc. After the training, the Foundation closes the loop by facilitating bank loans for those who want to set up micro-enterprises, and works with potential employers for placements. About 2000 young people are trained every year, and the settlement rate is upwards of 75%. The Foundation extends hand-holding support to trainees for two years after the training, to ensure that they are able to build on their training.
Self-Help Groups
The Foundation is currently facilitating 80 SHGs through group processes, motivation, training, etc. These SHGs have managed to get loans of upwards of Rs20 lakh. The SHG members are engaged in a variety of income generation activities, from petty shops to fast food joints to shell picking.
Community – Based Programmes
Slum-based
GMRVF works with 5 poor communities in Rajam, including Medaras or basket weavers; dhobhis; cleaners, etc. The approach to these programmes is to analyse what is holding back the community, and then to work with it in overcoming these barriers. For instance, in the case of Medaras, it was found that on the one hand there were serious problems of alcoholism which was leading to a lot of �leakage� of income, besides other social and familial problems. On the other hand, the weavers were not able to access reasonable loans for purchase of raw materials and so were going to money-lenders for high interest loans. Interventions included counseling for de-addiction; formation of SHGs; provision of interest-free loans, etc.
Village-based
The Foundation works in 50 villages with the aim of participatory rural development and strengthening of village communities and their institutions. These efforts include working on strengthening education in the village; creating health awareness; facilitating training for members of local institutions; working with youth clubs; developing village libraries; facilitating clean and green efforts, etc.
Contact Details – GMR Infrastructure
Skip House ,25/1, Museum Road, Bangalore -560025
Website : www.gmrgroup.in