What would otherwise have been 250 more gun-toting hoodlums in UP
It was with some trepidation that I drove past Agra, into Firozabad district. Few weeks before assembly elections, the interiors of UP was hardly the place to be roaming around. But, during the 4-hour journey, I had enough re-assurances from Amit of Dr Reddy’s Foundation(DRF) that we would witness something truly heartwarming once we reached the small town beyond Shikohabad.
Heartwarming, it indeed was. 250 young men and women, all from below-poverty-line families, would walk, cycle, or hitch-hike a ride every morning to get to the 4-room ‘centre’ that DRF had set up. This was the ‘Livelihood Advancement Business School’( LABS) center where, over a 90-day period, these kids would learn vocational skills like selling, data-entry, hospitality, etc, and earn a passport out of the poverty of their villages.
When I spoke to these kids, I realized that this was the only real chance for their families, ever. They would be the first-ever bread-earners for their families if they got a job after the LABS training. Without this chance, they would end up being 250 more gun-toting hoodlums in UP.
As DRF’s LABS expands nationally, with some support from the government, and crosses the 100,000 mark( in terms of youth trained for jobs), it is truly making a difference.
August 16th, 2007 at 9:51 am
It is certainly heartening to note that the initiative is helping and setting aspirations for a number of people for alternative profession.
August 16th, 2007 at 9:55 am
the CSR piece are interesting. there’s one by lakshmi mittal, on his visit to the steel city - jamshedpur. it highlights the essence of what CSR ought to be.
in fact, the term ‘CSR’ has become a fashionalble corporate jargon leading to its misuse. it’s not about a one-off charity, announce thru a lot of page 3 activity. it is fundamentally the way a corporate runs its business.
do keep us posted with your observations & insights.
cheers!
August 16th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
No Indian brand except may be infosys has any idea of csr. I mean look at the way Starbucks and macdonald has build the entire brand experience around csr.
Indians, MNCs and mega corporations only come together at the times of national calamities and they do make a difference!!!
From tsunami to kargil only disasters band Indians (corporates and individuals). In case of tsunami the individual and corporate contributed enuf to prime minister relief thats we were the only country to say NO to foreign assistance..
We all are so immune to to poverty and suffering that ‘run of the mill’ news like farmer committing suicide or illiteracy etc is not an ISSUE for US … therefore gives no ROI to companies to take up these causes on a sustainable and regular basis.
what the way… more publicity more media coverage to such things activities…
asim sah
p.s
just a thought
all good charities/movements are BRANDS from Mother Teresa to baba amte from narmada bacho to chipko andolan.
May be corporations can sponsor such people or movements…easy way out
August 23rd, 2007 at 10:51 pm
I agree with Manosh in the sense that CSR has become a catch-all, in vogue phrase which is very often (mis)used by companies when they feel the need to demonstrate that they do care about society.
While I am all in favor of corporations extending themselves and launching initiatives such as LABS, I fear that unless an initiative does not directly tie back to a company’s strategy and growth plans, these movements will not gain the traction and attract the resources(money + talented people) that they sorely need.
If the company’s bottom line is (positively) impacted by these initiatives, there will be a greater impetus for them to contribute to such meaningful causes. This will have far greater effect that the media coverage and publicity that accompanies such measures.
I would encourage you to read Michael Porter’s (who is regarded as the Father of Modern day business strategy) article in the Harvard Business Review on ‘Strategy and Society’. His piece goes into great details to illustrate the point.
http://www.tiny.cc/0fTu8
or
click here
Regards,
Kartik Subramanian
January 27th, 2009 at 10:00 pm
Wow! Thank you!
I always wanted to write in my site something like that. Can I take part of your post to my blog?
Of course, I will add backlink?
Regards, Your Reader