VARANASI: In a country where women are expected to adhere to their household roles, it was a unique sight when more than 50 women rode to the Nand Ghar in Nagepur on their bikes. The villagers came together to welcome the ‘Biker Queens’ from Surat at their Nand Ghar’s doorsteps.
Led by Dr. Sarika Mehta, the biker group visited Nand Ghars today, in the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s model villages ‘Nagepur’ and ‘Kakaria’. The ladies presented ‘educational kits’ to children and ‘hygiene kits’ to women.
Vedanta Limited, in partnership with the Government of India’s Ministry of Women and Child Development, plans to modernize around 4,000 anganwadis, which will focus on children’s health and education and skilling women. In order to develop and upgrade the infrastructure of anganwadis, the Union Government has allocated a separate budget every year under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) to improve overall functioning.
Nand Ghars are a network of Modern Anganwadis with an integrated approach to child welfare and skill development for women. Constructed using state of the art Schnell technology, the structure is fire and damp resistant and is also earthquake proof. Nand Ghars are equipped with BaLA designs (Building as learning aid) and TV for delivering interactive learning for holistic development of children. Each cluster of Nand Ghars is equipped with a mobile health van to ensure primary healthcare for children, pregnant and lactating mothers.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Sarika Mehta, who leads the Biking Queens group said, “Nand Ghar is a unique initiative which will propagate the Prime Minister’s efforts towards Women Empowerment and child education. I am happy that we met so many women and children who are benefiting by the presence of a modern facility in their village. Women here are motivated through skill trainings to become self-dependent. It was very inspiring to meet them.”
Anil Agarwal, Chairman, Vedanta, said, “The Nand Ghar project aligns with the government’s vision and commitment to providing quality education for children and job creation through skill development for women, across the country. The ‘Nand Ghar’ will be a game changer for poverty alleviation by delivering long term benefits to communities through interactive learning, healthcare and skills training in a world class infrastructure”.
Nand Ghars are Vedanta’s commitment towards the nation’s most valuable resources – its children. Nand Ghars will be run on an integrated education model which will provide interactive learning and e-learning for children in the age group of 3-6 years.
Additionally, Nand Ghars are designed to provide entrepreneurship development training to women to broaden the base of economic development in Uttar Pradesh. The women at Nand Ghar will be provided entrepreneurship training and assistance in establishing their business through credit disbursal and market linkages.
