Empowering through Education

Hidden away from the world, nestles a school that brings to life, the dreams and hopes of disadvantaged children, who deserved a future by right that many

could not see. Today, the need has a beginning, one that was meant to be

Tech Mahindra FoundationEmpowering through Education

Educated, skilled and able men and women are a country’s true strength. We aspire to see youth that is constructively employed, children who are purposefully engaged and a society that provides equal opportunities to people with different abilities. Through its CSR initiatives, the Mahindra Group commits itself to this.

T E C H M A H I N D R A F O U N D A T I O N - E M P O W E R I N G T H R O U G H E D U C A T I O N

voices of our beneficiariesSome of the many stories that came to life with Tech Mahindra Foundation’s support.

Sultan Baig, Raza, Bangalore - “My mother is illiterate, yet she brought me up singlehandedly with courage. Raza supports my engineering course. I want to do my MBA, support my family and rewrite our destiny.”

Renuka, Nirmaan, Pune - “I learn spoken English and computer skills at Nirman. I want to study further and be well placed in life. Cousins of mine in Karnataka are engineers and doctors. They reach good positions and then get married. Here, parents only think of somehow marrying us off. I want to become a professional first and do something for women who have very few choices.”

Seema, Vidya and Child, Noida - “I live in a crowded basti and my father is the only breadwinner of the family. Girls in our community don’t study much and none of them go to work. Vidya and Child ensured that I did not drop out of school and coped well with my academics. Today, I have changed my world and my reality, even though I still live here. I am completing my college education and working in a recruitment firm. I am able to support my parents.”

Shweta Nagaria, Akanksha, Mumbai - “I grew up in a chawl in Mumbai and belong to a small town family where girls are a burden, don’t complete school and are married off in their early teens. At Akanksha, I experienced the world differently, met visionaries and learnt to express myself well. I now have the confidence to take my own decisions and fulfil my aspirations to become a human resource professional. I want to prove that a girl is not a burden and can support her family financially, before and after marriage.”

Kritika, XRCVC, Mumbai - “I had always wanted to be a doctor, but I let go of my dream when I lost vision at the age of nine. I thought I might be given admission to a certificate course in physiotherapy, but here I was encouraged and supported at every step to apply for a full fledged MBBS degree. Several committed lawyers fought long legal battles to ensure that kids like me can fulfil their dreams and lead a normal life.”

Pinky, NAB, Delhi - “I want to become a playwright and highlight the menace of khap panchayats. I belong to a village and am visually impaired, but I dont see why this should stop me from expressing the truth. It’s all got to do with the power of the mind.”

“My father abandoned our family when I was very young and I spent my childhood working as a fish cleaner at Sassoon docks in Mumbai to support my mother and younger sisters. I always wanted to go to school, study like normal kids and win prizes. I completed my education in a non formal school and today I am completing my Bachelors in Social Work at Nirmala Niketan. I want to do my Masters from TISS and become a social activist. I am lucky that my hard work was blessed with timely financial support.”

Fatima, Nirmala Niketan, Mumbai Tech Mahindra Foundation partners with Nirmala Niketan to support girls for their employment

T E C H M A H I N D R A F O U N D A T I O N - E M P O W E R I N G T H R O U G H E D U C A T I O N

A childhood and adolescence chronicled by poverty and struggle, Pooja was determined to persevere and achieve. Today, this young engineer begins her journey at Cornell University, which will promise her a career of excellence and leadership. Abandoned by her father at a young age of seven, and brought up by a gritty single mother, Pooja defines the Foundation’s vision of an egalitarian society, where socio economic backgrounds will never be road blocks to potential and opportunity.

Pooja is one of the 50 girls from Katalyst, whose education was supported by Tech Mahindra Foundation. She topped her batch in engineering at RV College in Bangalore and is in Cornell for a Masters degree in Computer Science.

“Every time we had to ask people for help, I felt small. Anger would build up within. But looking back I feel that these very feelings were instrumental in making me so determined and persevering. Today, I have just one dream - to become so accomplished and successful that I can give my mother every comfort that she deserves. I feel so fortunate that my potential received timely support and encouragement...” Pooja, Katalyst, Bangalore

Anand MahindraDirector, Tech Mahindra Foundation Chairman and Managing Director, Mahindra and Mahindra Group

“The Tech Mahindra Foundation’s tagline ‘Empowering through Education’ embodies the Mahindra group’s vision for corporate social responsibility. It is the most effective path to creating equal opportunities and addressing India’s huge socio economic challenges. The Foundation’s work in improving the quality of education for disadvantaged children and helping urban youth acquire employability through vocational training will transform communities and enable dignity.”

Keshub MahindraChairman, Tech Mahindra Foundation Chairman Emeritus, Mahindra and Mahindra Group

“My vision for India, as embodied in the Mahindra philosophy, is to recognize that corporates can be major players in nation building. Towards this end, the group works tirelessly to create a society that provides equal opportunities for all, irrespective of socio-economic, gender or other differences. Our strength is our youth, and I foresee that an educated and employable workforce will spearhead and transform India.”

Vineet Nayyar Director, Tech Mahindra Foundation Executive Vice Chairman, Tech Mahindra Limited Chairman, Mahindra Satyam Limited

“Our core purpose is to drive positive change in the lives of our stakeholders and communities across the world, and to enable them to Rise. I am delighted that we are in a small way through numerous initiatives able to make a sustainable difference to the lives of people and bring about that change.”

CP GurnaniManaging Director, Tech Mahindra Limited Chief Executive Officer, Mahindra Satyam Limited

“Educate a woman, you educate a nation - this is a philosophy that we at Mahindras believe in, and our CSR efforts are directed around both – the empowerment of women and education across levels.”

T E C H M A H I N D R A F O U N D A T I O N - E M P O W E R I N G T H R O U G H E D U C A T I O N

focus areaseducationvocational training and employmentdisability

a network of close to 100 partners across the cities of Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Delhi/NOIDA, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune

Tech Mahindra Foundation commits itself to creating a more equitable and inclusive India by supporting processes that will lead to sustainable transformation, social inclusion and integration. By creating opportunities that nurture talent and enable the socially disadvantaged to utilize their potential, the Foundation contributes to an equitable social fabric. We are committed to inclusive growth and values of good corporate governance, ethical practices, dignity of the individual and creation of a just and humane society.

Education is the key to empowering the urban poor and helping them cross the poverty barrier. To this end, we support and strengthen vulnerable communities through vibrant, innovative partnerships with the government, NGOs, CBOs and others while also creating infrastructure that will reinforce and strengthen existing systems and processes. Tech Mahindra Foundation strives to rise to conquer challenges of the development sector by innovative thinking and path-breaking initiatives in policy and delivery.

The Foundation promotes gender equality by ensuring equal partnership of girls and women through its three verticals that aim at the following:

Education: Empowering disadvantaged children through education, especially the girl child, creating an enabling environment that encourages children to come to school, reducing dropouts and providing knowledge systems that facilitate better learning.

Vocational Training and Employment: Enabling the youth to acquire employable market-oriented skills and linking them to potential employers, thereby facilitating development of self-reliant and contributing individuals.

Disability: Seeking to give dignity and independence to persons with disability (with a special focus on visual disability) through inclusive education, providing employable market-related entrepreneurial skills and opportunities, thereby allowing them to be self-reliant.

Volunteering: Volunteering is one of the core human resource strengths at the Mahindra and Mahindra Group. At Tech Mahindra, we encourage at least 10% of our associates to spend 10% of their free time in CSR activities. The Foundation’s initiatives in engaging our associates with the disadvantaged communities to foster empathy and understanding of social inequalities on one hand, and creating a positive response of the community for our beneficiaries on the other, have been received well.

the csr policy

T E C H M A H I N D R A F O U N D A T I O N - E M P O W E R I N G T H R O U G H E D U C A T I O N

Learning with curiosity, confidence and joy – an experience that grants children from the slums of Bangalore an English medium education and opportunities at par with what the most privileged children of the city have access to. Parikrma Humanity Foundation, Bangalore is funded by Tech Mahindra Foundation.

Tech Mahindra Foundation has a corpus of approximately INR 50 Crores and growing.

47 partner NGOs work in education and educational support services.24 partner NGOs provide vocational training and employment for urban youth.25 partner NGOs help people with disability.

55 % of the funds is allocated to education.

23 % of the funds is allocated to vocational training.

22 % of the funds is allocated to disability.

PERCENTAGES & FIGURES FROM FY 2012-13

22 % of the funds is allocated to disability.

education

T E C H M A H I N D R A F O U N D A T I O N - E M P O W E R I N G T H R O U G H E D U C A T I O N

It is education alone that develops individuals and society. Recognizing this, the Millennium Development Goals set the target of ensuring that ‘by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling.’ Government of India has gone a step further and has recognized Universal Elementary Education for all through the Right to Education Act (RtE), 2010. The country is putting substantial resources in ensuring that quality education is available to all, both as a fundamental right and to enable the country to compete in today’s knowledge driven economies.

Tech Mahindra Foundation was founded with the vision of contributing significantly to the national efforts of bringing quality education to children at the bottom of the socio economic pyramid. The Foundation works for ensuring equitable, inclusive quality education to those whose dreams of being in the mainstream of education have been unfulfilled due to a variety of reasons.

Over the last five years, we have emerged as a leading agency in corporate social responsibility working largely in education for disadvantaged children, minority children and children under difficult circumstances, including the visually and physically challenged.

By supporting NGOs across seven cities, we work towards inclusive education through:

Ensuring quality in education through • innovative practices by means of: Whole School Improvement through school adoption Developing innovative pedagogic practices such as: Curriculum and resource material for story pedagogy Models for multi-grade teaching in alternative schooling Anandayi Kaksha in government schools Resource centre that engages Gandhi Katha, child-friendly literature, theater and other engaging practices in teaching Sport for development and learning through games to strengthen academic performances and develop life-skills Language and multimedia laboratories Models using dance, music and theatre for children under difficult circumstances Mechanism for positive discipline and classroom management

“We love Didi, because she loves us, gives us care and helps us when we are in trouble. We love to study at Ruchika school, because we sing, we dance, we play and then we learn.”Children of Ruchika Remedial Centres

Supporting the child to retain her in • mainstream education to reduce cumulative burden of illiteracy: Night schools Bridge schools Remedial education After-school support Life-skills development Recreation centres Crèches, pre-schools and Gali Schools Open schooling Mainstreaming

Enhancing classroom based support • and building capacities of stakeholders through: Providing classroom based support with the help of support teachers and classroom facilitators Capacity building of teachers and other functionaries in - Planning content, designing lessons, enriching syllabi and developing textbook-based learning material Academic management, infrastructure usage (BaLA) and community management Networking, experience-sharing and lateral learning sessions for various stakeholders - teachers, principals, officials from the municipal corporations and education committees, children and communities Building capacities of child protection and school management committees (CPCs and SMCs) Supporting development of in-service teacher education centres for East Delhi Municipal Corporation Facilitating exposure visits and exchange programmes

“I love Speak Out classes. Last year we did a skit in which I was Goldilocks. It was superb! I enjoy these classes a lot and love the textbook and workbook too!”Nirmala, Speak Out Programme beneficiary, Bhumi, Chennai.

Facilitating cross sharing of experiences •and resources:

Internal sharing of knowledge within Tech Mahindra Foundation across seven cities Networking with likeminded individuals, institutions and universities Using information, communication and technology (ICT) for enriching education of visually disabled Replicating of Shikshak Samman Award (SSA) Scheme across cities

Flagship programmes:•

Shikshak Samman Award Scheme

School Samman Award Scheme

T E C H M A H I N D R A F O U N D A T I O N - E M P O W E R I N G T H R O U G H E D U C A T I O N

shikshak samman awardShikshak Samman Award Scheme is a four-year old flagship programme of Tech Mahindra Foundation. It aims at identifying, recognizing and honouring outstanding teachers from Municipal Corporation Primary (MCP) schools in Delhi. The award has grown to become a coveted accomplishment amongst the teachers, who passionately go the extra mile for ensuring that children in their schools attend school regularly, learn with understanding, acquire quality education and grow up to become enlightened citizens.

The Foundation works around the year to organize the award programme end-to-end and works closely with education departments of the three municipal corporations, zonal offices, schools, teachers and the panels of experts. 103 teachers have been conferred upon the Award for exceptional work since 2008. The award scheme is in consonance with quality standards envisioned by the Right to Education Act, 2010. One of the most remarkable achievements of the scheme is the ripple effect that motivates teachers to excel. Motivated by its success in Delhi, the Foundation is planning to institute an award with the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) soon.

school samman awardInspired by the change driven by the Shikshak Samman Award, Tech Mahindra Foundation is instituting yet another motivational reward for exemplary performance in education. The School Samman Award is being introduced to recognize and honour one school from each of the three Municipal Corporations of Delhi. The awarded schools will be further supported by the Foundation to evolve into model schools, which would then be developed into hubs of quality initiatives in education and serve as resource centres for neighbouring schools.

The framework for this scheme would essentially be a whole-school-development approach. The key elements for evaluation would include teaching learning methodologies, school leadership, physical facilities, school atmosphere and school-community participation.

“For me, the Shikshak Samman Award is not conclusive. It drives me to do something new, yet again.” Kusum Malaasi SSA awardee of 2010-11 MCP School, MayurVihar.

vocational training and employment

T E C H M A H I N D R A F O U N D A T I O N - E M P O W E R I N G T H R O U G H E D U C A T I O N

vocational training and employment

“The Ministry of Labour and Employment has embarked upon the task of establishing 1500 new industrial training institutes (ITIs) and 5000 skill development centres (SDCs) in the country during the next three years.”Dr Manmohan Singh, while inaugurating the 44th session of Indian Labour Conference in New Delhi, February 2012

The rapid growth of the Indian economy since 2004 has clearly brought out the shortcomings of our skill development processes. Today, availability of skills is possibly the single most important constraint to rapid industrial growth. Recognising this problem, the Government of India has set up the National Skill Development Corporation, which seeks to bring about a massive increase in the number of formally trained workers through public-private partnerships.

Tech Mahindra Foundation has a vision of an empowered India, where young people are not just educated but vocationally trained as well. We have been keenly supporting initiatives

in vocational training across India, and have trained thousands of young men and women in employable trades like IT, Tally, hospitality, BPO, retail and sales, nurse aids, beauty and personal grooming services, fashion and interior design, early childhood care and education, family nutrition and diatetrics etc. through our NGO partners. Apart from this, all of our vocational training programmes also deliver training aimed at improvement in English language and communication skills, confidence building and job readiness. The Foundation also connects trained youth to potential employers for placement.

Going further, the Foundation is coming up with specialized centres which will serve as models for employability enhancement and employment-oriented skill generation. These centres will draw expertise from dedicated resource centres which will be developed and managed directly by the Foundation. With these high quality training programmes, the Foundation intends to equip young Indian men and women to craft a career in a vocation of their choice.

T E C H M A H I N D R A F O U N D A T I O N - E M P O W E R I N G T H R O U G H E D U C A T I O N

tech mahindra smartIn alignment with the national vision for skill development for India’s youth, Tech Mahindra Foundation is setting up Tech Mahindra SMART centres across all seven locations. These will be centres of excellence imparting high quality employable skills in a bouquet of vocations aligned to market needs. In fact, these centres will ensure high quality programme delivery starting from mobilization, counseling, training and placement with potential employers.

We have SMART centres currently running in Hyderabad. By 2015, Tech Mahindra SMART centre would have a strong presence in the major cities of India, be driven by a robust set of qualitative processes, and significantly contribute to employability enhancement and employment generation among socio-economically disadvantaged youth.

Different sections of society access the centres for a wide range of IT inputs

Vision:

Tech Mahindra SMART (Skills-for-Market Training) would be a model vocational training programme for socio-economically disadvantaged youth, enabling them to actualize their potential in a career of their choice.

tech mahindra yuva

Yuva is an English language and communication enhancement module created to equip youth in the age group of 16-25 years with basic listening, reading and speaking skills in English, which will eventually increase their chances of employment. It enhances the language proficiency of youth who have had limited exposure to English, grooms them with corporate etiquette and thus, prepares them for professional business environments.

Yuva English is instructor-driven, interactive and focuses on practical, everyday conversational skills with the help of audio visual aids and activity-centered learning processes.This lends the learners a greater comfort in using the language. It is designed to create job readiness, which helps the students in not just securing employment, but also retaining their jobs and using the language with a greater confidence in everyday conversations and dealings.

Yuva has enabled young people to gain employment and perform well at reputed organisations like Walmart

disability

T E C H M A H I N D R A F O U N D A T I O N - E M P O W E R I N G T H R O U G H E D U C A T I O N

At Tech Mahindra Foundation, we see ability in disability and believe that it is not a roadblock to potential. With a special focus on visual disability, the Foundation supports individuals and organisations that innovate to harness the strength of the disabled, and make them able for life.

We handpick organizations that work to facilitate integrated development, mainstreaming and inclusion of the disabled. Some of the notable interventions supported by the Foundation are:

Early interventions to identify disability

Physiotherapy, speech therapy, vision therapy for children with multiple disability

Training of care givers

Scholarship programme for higher education in MSW and MBA

Printing of braille books and development of digital books

‘Yeh hai roshni ka karwaan’- A radio programme for the visually diasabled

Daisy Forum of India - a forum for advocacy, information and problem solving

Job fairs for placement of people with disability

IT training for the disabled

Supporting websites for the visually disabled

Research and development for new technologies to help people with visual disability

Development of teaching aids for Math and Science for the visually disabled

Development of audio aids

Talking books, scholarships and counseling support

Supporting a hostel for visually disabled girls

“Even though educated, I could not find a job that would ensure dignity, safety and growth. Being physically disabled was a huge challenge. Sarthak prepared me for the service industry, endowed me with confidence and skills and now I have a job with a multinational bank.” Preeti Mehra Sarthak, Delhi is a Tech Mahindra partner.

There is always light at the end of a tunnel, when we choose to see it.

Ashwini may have lost her vision, but her talent has taken her across the seas and oceans. She

has enhanced her knowledge of computers at a training centre supported by us and now

teaches music to children in the USA, by using technologies such as Skype.

“I am doing my PhD after an MSW from TISS. I want to highlight the problems of my community, the fishermen Kolis of Mumbai. I hope to be in politics soon, raising the issues that the visually impaired like me have to face.” Kailash, XRCVC, Mumbai.

At a session in Asha Rotary, Hyderabad, an aspirant committed to a proactive course to develop professional skills.

An intern at Jagruti, Pune, proof reads

a text book in braille before it

goes to print.

T E C H M A H I N D R A F O U N D A T I O N - E M P O W E R I N G T H R O U G H E D U C A T I O N

vision for india

The Foundation’s flagship programme, Vision for India, is a national advocacy forum to bring together the visually disabled as well as the organisations working for them. This is an online resource for the blind community, which connects them for mutual sharing of experiences and expertise.

Members of forum are unique in the sense that they not just create opportunities, but also constantly evolve and keep pace with an everchanging world, displaying a rare pragmatism that embraces realities with uncanny grit and helping the visually challenged community live upright and with dignity.

A visually challenged trainer manages the computer training centre at NAB, enabling critical skill sets for students with varying degrees of ability and disability.

An aspiring candidate looking to enhance his employability potential, Sarthak, Delhi.

Vision for India initiatives towards empowering the blind include:

Developing an e-platform to encourage digitalization and compilation of books in braille

Promoting cross sharing and learning between NGOs through newsletters

Supporting assistive technology requirements (scanners, data readers, voice technologies and so on)

Advocating inclusive quality education at primary and second secondary levels.

Realising personal independence, economic self-reliance and social inclusion.

volunteering

T E C H M A H I N D R A F O U N D A T I O N - E M P O W E R I N G T H R O U G H E D U C A T I O N

Somalini Patnaik“I could have never known what wonders could a smile do, had I not been associated with volunteering. I would keep preferring to spare some time for those gifted souls rather than spending money on extravagant materialistic articles for contentment!!”

Volunteering is an integral part of the Tech Mahindra corporate ethos. Associates engage with communities and young minds through partner NGOs to work towards sustainable change. They work individually, and in groups, standing in for each other and ensuring continuity, innovation and optimum efficiency in programme delivery. Be it teaching young children in municipal schools, mentoring teenagers preparing for competitive exams, donating blood and running other donation drives or participating in sport-meets for the disabled, associates earmark time from their busy schedules to care, share and encourage.

Associates also volunteer for supporting our events like exhibitions, sales, summer camps and marathons. They also participate in celebrating days of special significance with beneficiaries of our partner organisations. The team supports volunteering amongst all stakeholders, customers as well as professional associates.

Mallikarjun“I was able to study and achieve what I have in life, thanks to the benevolence of many. I want to mentor children whose life and times are similar to mine and contribute to their healthy future.”

Sazal Sharan“Working with TMF has brought me closer to reality and has also instilled a strong sense of responsibility and belongingness towards my country.”

Neha“Social work has always been looked down upon by a majority in our society. When I started volunteering, it was just about being with my friends and doing something worthwhile. But soon I started enjoying it and participating became a responsibility.”

Taruna“The environment in NGO spaces is so real that it inspires you to be an agent of change. Tech Mahindra has given me the opportunity and I will definitely utilize it.”

Sudarshan Chakrapani “Volunteering is a part of the TMF lifestyle. It comes naturally to me, as naturally as paying taxes or abiding by rules. I think our existence can be complete only if we share our knowledge and skills with those who are less fortunate.”

Vikas“I feel that it is never less or more when it comes to helping others. Contribution could be done in any form, but the most important contribution is spending your time for the development of society and help in building a better place to live in.”

Volunteers helping young students

explore mysteries of the English language,

at a vernacular medium municipal

school in Hyderabad.

Amrut“Engaging with development is an imperative, not just a choice. Any progress that the white collar workforce makes, has to find a parallel dimension in the disadvantaged communities in and around one’s area of functioning. I want to work just long enough to create a security blanket for my family and then quit my job, to pursue a full time career in the development sector. I do believe that the skills I have attained, can be well utilized to drive innovation and delivery in this sector.”

Reading out loud to young children helps them understand the nuances of language and presentation.

T E C H M A H I N D R A F O U N D A T I O N - E M P O W E R I N G T H R O U G H E D U C A T I O N

voices of our partners

Razia Patel, Indian Institute of Education, Pune - “If a community is insecure, then the women and girls face the brunt of that insecurity, often affecting their education and prospects in life.”

Nikita, Masoom, Mumbai - “Many people lost out on an education in the tryst with hunger and poverty and if they wish to complete their schooling then the system must provide them with the infrastructure.”

Sam Taraporewala, XRCVC, Mumbai - “We need a world that will create systems and technology which will respond to the needs of people with disability. ATMs that talk to a customer is the kind of innovation I am talking about.”

Sashi Kumar, Yuganthar, Hyderabad - “If we don’t make our youth employable and train them for jobs on a mission mode, it will be a real tragedy.”

Benazeer Baig, Raza, Bangalore - “Irrelevant concepts are used to prevent the girl child from an education and professional opportunities. We must not stop questioning and life itself will provide most of find the answers. We must make our girls students so powerful that they will fight their own battles.”

Chetan Kapoor, Edulever, Delhi - “With the Tech Mahindra SMART centres, the Foundation has taken a significant step ahead in building a high-quality vocational training program that has the potential to bridge the employability gap among our youth.”

Shanti Raghavan, ENable India, Bangalore - “The emerging vision is intent on creating a disabled workforce that will add value and competency to the work space and make it possible for them to function with as much efficiency and effectiveness as any other employee.”

Milind Kulkarni, Vigyan Ashram, Pune - “High school education in India must offer courses in technology and industrial training and create a sustainable future for the students. Practical knowledge in education will grant them confidence to apply their skills, once they leave school.”

Shivananda Hombal, Dhwani, Bangalore - “Educational content must help a child absorb knowledge, expand her horizon and inspire imagination, all of which is possible if teachers are strenghtened with appealing teaching aids that help transcend the maze of words available in a textbook.”

Beula Christi, LV Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad - “When we do the best we can, we never know what

miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another.”

Thanks to Tech Mahindra Foundation for giving us this wonderful opportunity of experiencing miracles happening in our visually impaired clients life through the projects that we do for them.”

Prof Azra Razzack, Delhi Education Society, Delhi - “Catering to the largely marginalized sections of

the Muslim community students of the Anglo Arabic School enjoys the nurturance and support of the Tech Mahindra Foundation. There is hope for better days to come with sports, photography, film making, art, painting, theatre and mass

communication becoming a part of the students’ everyday life.”

Dr Neela Onawale, Deep Gruha Society, Pune - “It is not just economic poverty that we have to eradicate, there is poverty of knowledge. Awareness is key to every development process.”

Jitender Agarwal, Sarthak, Delhi - “What we have taken is a very small step - the disabled in rural India need help and support because their predicament is horrifying. We need to generate employment for them in the village itself.”

Sanaa Shaikh, Aseema, Mumbai -

“Government schools must be supported

with commitment from corporate citizenry and education is the biggest

space where they can make that difference.”

Devendra Desai, Toy Foundation, Mumbai - “Education goes beyond reading and writing. Learning while having fun moulds the character and temperament of young children. Toys and boards games stir imagination and stimulate creativity and spontaneity, teaching values like discipline and honesty.”

Supriya Akhauri, Vidya & Child, Delhi - “I believe every college student in this country must spend two years working in the development sector, for social transformation to be a reality and for citizenry to actually understand the state of the nation.”

Benudhar Senapati, RSSO, Bhubaneswar - “Children for me are the greatest asset of the mankind. Let’s give them the best possible environment in which they can grow, give them opportunities to dream - after all, we have to shape ourselves and our society fit for children.”

Sister Clara, Marialya, Chennai - “The young people are not only the greatest gift of my vocation to religious life, but also they are the Holy Land where I could share love reciprocally and together build a better society that values and upholds the dignity of every person in the World.”

LV Jayashree, SPASTN, Chennai - “The synergistic community partnership between SPASTN and Tech Mahindra Foundation is based on a shared value of transforming lives through inclusionary educational practices.”

Father Gerard, Jeevodaya, Bangalore -“We can beat proverty

only if we give disadvantaged children the power of a quality

English language education, which

will help them stand shoulder to shoulder

with the rest of the world and access the

opportunities that are created for them.”

T E C H M A H I N D R A F O U N D A T I O N - E M P O W E R I N G T H R O U G H E D U C A T I O N

our team

Tech Mahindra Foundation, supported by a socially-aware leadership commits itself to the vision of an equitable and socially-inclusive society, good corporate governance and sustainable development. After six years of work in corporate social responsibility, the Foundation has built up a commendable body of work in all the three sectors in which we work – education, vocational training and employment and disability. With a team of bright, committed and motivated men and women across seven cities, I feel that no task is impossible.

Some of our initiatives in the recent past have been really unique in the way they have looked at existing activities in the development sector, and I would like to particularly highlight the Shikshak Samman Award (SSA) Scheme that has become a highly sought-after prize for motivated teachers and the Tech Mahindra SMART centres that aim at creating a skilled, constructively employed young population who will be the pride of the nation.

In our vision of an inclusive, equitable society, Vision for India has emerged as a strong platform both for advocacy and action for the visually challenged. I have to also add with pride a word on the strong tradition of volunteering that exists within the Mahindra corporate set up, a tradition in which the volunteer gains as he gives.

Working in the social development sector poses a unique challenge because disappointment and elation chase each other every day and so we work with all our stakeholders- the beneficiaries, the partners and our own volunteers to create faith in abilities, invest in innovation and believe in tangible results. TMF lives this philosophy, creating not just a corpus or environment for disbursement, but an active relationship with policymakers and institutions, fruitful partnerships with public entities, and an emotional connect with communities and groups with special needs. It is an endeavor to build and create a better world endowed with equal opportunities for all.

At Tech Mahindra Foundation, the individual is important – be it a child who has improved her grades by a small percentage at school or the NGO partner who labours in the night school with a small class of five young men and women who want to learn, a single mother who sends her girl to school against all odds or a blind student who wants to have the title of a doctor before his name. Every initiative, every idea and every effort must be supported and lauded. We know that to travel the last mile and help India overcome its challenges, we need each other. We salute all the people who work with us, all the people who want to make a difference and we thank them for being a part of the Tech Mahindra Foundation.

Loveleen Kacker Chief Executive Officer

T E C H M A H I N D R A F O U N D A T I O N - E M P O W E R I N G T H R O U G H E D U C A T I O N

the future as we envision it

Asad learns to overcome the challenges posed by vision impairment in one eye.

Empowering through Education

Tech Mahindra FoundationPost: A 7, Sector 64, NOIDA, Uttar Pradesh 201301 INDIAPhone: +91 120 4652000, 4652894Email: info@techmahindrafoundation.orgWeb: www.techmahindrafoundation.org

“My legs were shivering when I first stepped into the playground. But when the game started and I scored the first goal, I gained confidence. Now I feel confident enough to play with any team at interschool level.”

Mohd. Muqeet, Anglo Arabic Senior Secondary School, Delhi

Through the Sports Club of School Enrichment Programme supported by Tech Mahindra Foundation, Delhi Education Society is reaching out to 2000 disadvantaged children to provide them opportunities to play different indoor and outdoor games which interest them most.