Women from the suburbs of Uttarpara Municipality were privileged to access one of their basic rights – The right to health on International Women’s Day, on March 8, 2008.
Hindalco, with the success of this joint endeavour, is planning a series of such initiatives in future too. |
Smile Foundation and HINDALCO, a Aditya Birla Group company, have been taking up series of healthcare initiatives for needy people in remote rural and urban slums areas. The partnership is under Health with Smile programme of Smile Foundation.
A preventive health awareness programme was organized in the model slums of Belur on with the objectives of sensitizing and motivating children and women in particular.
 On a visit to the slum prior to the planned programme, Smile Foundation representative Ms. Soma Kanjilal along with noted resource person Mr. Dipayan Dey, the Founder-Director of South-Asian Forum for Environment (Indian Chapter) marked out the appalling condition of the drainage system of the slum to begin with. There was an urgent need of awareness among the slum dwellers on individual responsibility in keeping the drains clean and in improve the condition of the place they live in. Cases of Diarrhoea, Tuberculosis and Leprosy were found to be very frequent.
A walk through the slum and constant guidance and suggestion on that particular condition made their vision much clearer. Some ways to tackle the situation, as suggested by Smile Foundation, were –
1. Garbage needs to be piled at a specific and designated place
2. Proper walls either of bricks or mud to be constructed to identify that area as a bin
3. If possible, the bin has to be divided into two parts – one for bio-degradable materials, the other for non- degradable materials or non-organic materials .
4. Alternatively, two huge drums can be kept for the same purpose to set an example
Door to door visits were made to sensitize people in their home environment. In the end, two groups of volunteers of active men and women were formed.
The programme was supported with notes of inspiration by Mr. Rakesh Tiga, Head HR and Mr. C K Sur, Dy. Manager – Welfare, PR & Community Services from HINDALCO.
As a model slum, the locality has been taken up for holistic development in future.
Smile Foundation appreciates HINDALCO for its social commitment and acting as a model corporate house. |
