· The Support My School initiative in Maharashtra has impacted 32 schools and over 7705 students
· Campaign to further scale up its footprints to 1000 schools, 27 UTs & states and 300,000 students
Aandhgaon (Maharashtra), September 21, 2016: Coca-Cola’s Support My School campaign, an initiative which adds to the ongoing efforts of the Government, in realizing the ‘Swachh Bharat, Swachh Vidyalaya’ campaign, today dedicated revitalized water, sanitation and recreational facilities at Vidya Vikas Mandir School, Aandhgaon. Mr. Greg Koch, Global Director of Water Stewardship, The Coca-Cola Company, dedicated the facilities to the school authorities and community.
As part of this initiative, Coca-Cola India along with its implementing partner Round Table India has revamped the overall infrastructure of the school including separate toilets for boys and girls, access to clean water and better sanitation facilities, and a playground.
Mr. Greg Koch, Global Director of Water Stewardship, with school Kid
Further scaling up its footprints, the SMS initiative will now also start building barrier-free toilets for differently-abled children, going forward, thereby further strengthening the initiative and deepening the impact. In Maharashtra alone 7705 students are benefitting from this initiative in 32 govt. schools.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Greg Koch, Global Director of Water Stewardship, The Coca-Cola Company said, “At Coca-Cola we are committed to create and maintain a healthy and supportive learning environment for the students. Today, we are proud to say that our Support My School campaign has brought a positive impact in the lives of 200000 students in more than 600 schools till date. We are committed to revitalize 400 more schools by 2017, benefitting over 300000 students. The overwhelming response which we get from the communities, faculty members and students is what motivates us to achieve more and create life-impacting change for the children of our country.”
Mr. Abhishek More, Round Table India said, “It gives us an immense pleasure to be associated with such a cause that not only impacts several lives but has a vision of building India future. We need more such initiatives like Support My School, which has helped in a holistic growth of children in many schools across the nation.”
Accessibility to clean drinking water and sanitation issues in schools have always been big impediments for a girl child to have access to the basic education in India; resulting in absenteeism and dropouts. SMS campaign began as a response to several studies which indicated that a large number of schools in rural and semi-urban areas lacked basic amenities leading to accelerated student drop-out rates. The campaign has been creating awareness about the conditions of schools in these areas, fostering a private-public partnership where corporate organizations step in to reinstall basic facilities in these government-run schools and making a positive difference to the lives of these children. The impact has seen increased enrolment in schools from 6.95% (2013-14) to 14.77% (2014-15).
Support My School is a WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) initiative that aims to improve basic amenities in government schools like separate toilets for boys and girls and access to clean water. The Schools revitalized under the campaign have served as model schools in several districts and have led to enhanced community engagement and higher emphasis on attendance and enrolment.
About Support My School Campaign:
Coca-Cola India & NDTV launched Support My School in association with the UN-Habitat, Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) in 2011. It undertakes the following core activities:
· Provision of improved access to water·
· Appropriate sanitation facility for girls and boys
· Improvement in the overall school infrastructure and environment
· Provision for sports and recreation facilities and
· Recharging groundwater through rainwater harvesting
With such necessary amenities in place, schools are able to provide a cleaner and healthier environment more conducive to learning.