Chennai, 7th December 2018 – Amway India, the country’s largest FMCG Direct Selling company, celebrated the ‘International Day of Persons with Disabilities’ in association with Indian Association for the Blind (IAB) in Chennai. The highlight of the event was a workshop on ‘Effective skill development for career growth’ for the visually impaired students of IAB and from the Presidency collage. The session was followed by a unique awareness drive ‘In the Dark’ for the sighted students of The Presidency collage.
The objective of the event ‘In the Dark’ was to get the sighted students experience and understand the fascinating yet challenging world of the visually impaired. The sighted students were blindfolded and were asked to identify things using all their senses other than sight. The activity received an overwhelming response from the students of The Presidency collage. The event ended with a talk on the importance of International Day of Persons with Disabilities’ to promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society and development, and to increase awareness of the situation of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.
Commenting on the occasion, Gursharan Cheema, Sr. Vice President North & South Region, Amway India said, “Amway has been supporting and promoting the welfare of the visually impaired individuals since 1999. Our experience of close to two decades of working with the visually impaired has made us realize us that an individual’s ability is always stronger than his disability and physical limitations can be overcome with the right education, knowledge and guidance. We have been providing avenues for the education & empowerment of the visually impaired to help them discover their abilities by organising such interesting activities. For us, International Day of Persons with Disabilities holds great significance and multiple initiatives are being organized across the country to celebrate the progress and achievements of the visually impaired. We are delighted that we could contribute to their growth and shall continue to provide much needed support in the future.”
Roshan Fathima, General Secretary, Indian Association for the Blind said, “This year the theme of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities is focused at empowering persons with disabilities for an inclusive, equitable and sustainable development. It is reassuring to see that the visually impaired are getting the opportunities of actively participating in mainstream activities. Amway has been one of the prominent companies in the country who has played a pivotal role to serve the community. We are thankful to Amway India for coming forward to support the cause. These efforts will surely help us go a long way.”
About Amway India CSR initiatives:
Amway India’s CSR initiatives are based on the belief that social responsibility is much more than the incurrence of a cost or a resource or a charitable/ philanthropic act of social benefit. It is an opportunity to bring in social innovation and change. This belief is articulated in Amway’s vision of helping people live better lives. When it comes to commitment to corporate citizenship, Amway India makes a serious and concentrated effort to reach out and help people improve their lives.
Amway India supports a comprehensive CSR programme covering a gamut of initiatives including a water conservation project to improve the ground water level in 7 villages in the Dindigul district located around the manufacturing plant. Amway supports a village health program targeted at 26 villages in the Dindigul district, to provide quality healthcare to the underprivileged. The treatment includes general health check-up, select pathological tests and medicines at zero cost to the beneficiaries. In a span of over 20 months over 240 free health camps have been organised benefitting more than 50,000 people from local communities.
Amway India set up a telemedicine center in the Dindigul district to ensure a consistent healthcare support to the villagers. This program has eliminated distance barriers and improved access to medical services in distant rural communities. The center aims at providing free medical treatment to over 7,000 patients in a year.
Last year Amway India launched a Community Health & Entrepreneurship Program in the rural areas of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to offer livelihood training in Entrepreneurship skills and business fundamentals with the objective to promote self-employment among women and to create awareness on affordable health and hygiene practices.
Recently Amway India has launched the community-based nutrition education program to improve the nutritional status among children (below 5 years) in the select slum areas of West Delhi. The program focuses on prevention, early detection and improved access to care in line with the National Nutrition Mission, Govt. of India.
As a key focus area, Amway has taken various initiatives to support the cause of visually impaired. Amway also supports underprivileged children in education, health and hygiene under a project titled ‘Sunrise’. Under this project, Amway currently supports more than 15 NGOs across the country.
Amway India has been conferred with the ‘CSR Leadership Summit & Award’ in the category of ‘Promoting Employment for Specially-abled’.
Amway India was also recently awarded with the ‘Best Corporate’ award in the ‘Specially-abled’ category at the prestigious National CSR Summit & Awards 2018 for its invaluable contribution towards the welfare of visually impaired by CSR Times.