CHENNAI: Reiterating its commitment towards building sustainable communities, Coca-Cola, together with its partners- Hand in Hand India and World Vision India successfully implemented the Rehabilitation Project to restore communities in 39 flood-affected villages in Chennai and Kanchipuram districts of Tamil Nadu.
The company had announced commencement of the program in May 2017, sanctioning a grant amount of US$ 389,000 towards the initiative.
Post the torrential floods in 2015, there was a strong need to construct new Anganwadis or Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) centers and reconstruct the affected ones in Kanchipuram and Chennai districts. By partnering with World Vision, Coca-Cola has revitalized 32 Anganwadis to facilitate a safe and healthy environment for children in the community.
More than 500 children below 5 years of age now have access to a safe environment, clean drinking water, outdoor play area, play material, and a kitchen garden. The Anganwadis are equipped with facilities to provide early childhood care and education services to the children. Additionally, capacity building programs are also conducted by health workers to ensure that the community members receive education on health and nutrition.
Cherian Thomas, CEO and National Director, World Vision India, said “Collaboration with Coca-Cola has enabled us to provide a safe and healthy environment for children to play, learn and grow. The parents now feel happy to send their children to these centers as they fulfil the WASH (Water, Hygiene and Sanitation) requirements”.
Coca-Cola collaborated with Hand in Hand India to restore livelihoods in villages of Thiruvallur and Kanchipuram districts. Community members were provided support to restart their livelihood and skill trainings in areas such as Agriculture, Poultry, Milch Animal Management, Tailoring, Handicrafts, and Car Driving. The program has been beneficial in generating income for the beneficiaries, especially for women in rural and slum areas.
Dr. N. Jeyaseelan, Group CEO, Hand in Hand India, said, “We are thankful to Coca-Cola for their support in making this project a success. Enabling communities to generate livelihood is an essential step towards socio-economic development of a nation, and this project has been instrumental in paving the way for their better future”.
Mr. Ishteyaque Amjad, Vice President, Public Affairs and Communication, Coca-Cola India & South West Asia, said, “Coca-Cola has always been at the forefront of creating sustainable communities and actively engages with its partners to ensure better quality of lives of the community members. This is a great example of how we can empower our communities by leveraging the power of partnerships and engaging with our stakeholders.”
Over the years, Coca-Cola India has helped in creating sustainable and thriving communities in the state of Tamil Nadu. The company has adopted eight villages in the state and provided better access to drinking water, health and sanitation, education and livelihood opportunities. The company along with its implementing partners Plan India and World Vision India under its campaign, Support My School has constructed 332 toilets and 614 urinals in 86 government schools in Tamil Nadu. Apart from toilets, the company has developed 17 playgrounds, 74 drinking water stations, 32 filtration systems and installed 10 rainwater-harvesting systems across these schools benefitting almost 60,000 children.
Coca-Cola India is committed to improve livelihood of farmers in the country through its project Unnati. The project aims to harness the higher productivity potential of mango and orange farms, allowing owners of small-sized farms to increase crop yields by up to three times. The project is engaging with farmers at a large scale by providing subsidized plants, drip irrigation equipment and training on Ultra High Density Plantation, benefitting more than 22,500 farmers. In Tamil Nadu alone, Project Unnati is targeting to impact about 5,000 farmers holding 10,000 acres land for enhancing Mango productivity.
