Brookefields lights up lives with their CSR initiative to the Help the Blind Foundation
Brookefields today showcased the impact of its CSR contribution to the Help the Blind Foundation EMET programme (Education, Mobility, Employability, Training) which has been impacting over 70 visually challenged student with essential skills in various areas of specialization.
Since 2018, Brookefields has been providing financial assistance to roll out this transformative initiative in the Madurai and Coimbatore regions, with skills across computer literacy, English Language Proficiency, Mobility and employability with many now being employed and some furthering their education.
Addressing the media about HTBF’s EMET initiative, Mr. Nataraj Sankaran, Trustee, HTBF, said that with India having one of the largest population of visually impaired people in the world, a key objective of HTBF is to support the students through scholarships in schools and colleges.
He added that around 3000 visually impaired students drawn across from 11 states have been provided scholarships. He further said that around 700 students are undergoing skill development training, as part of the EMET program.
Mr. Nataraj Sankaran thanked Brookefields for providing financial support, as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, to roll out the transformative program in the Madurai and Coimbatore regions.
Interacting with the media, Mr. Ashwin Balasubramaniam, Chief Operating Officer, Brookefields, said that HTBF was doing an excellent job providing training to visually impaired students, making them self-reliant. He mentioned that around 250 visually impaired students have already benefitted due to EMET initiative in the Madurai and Coimbatore region.
Project 1 saw 18 students completing it and securing employment, many others are continuing their higher education and preparing for government exams. Some of the alumni of this project are currently working in MNCs such as Amazon, Govt Service such as Income Tax Dept, India Post, Commercial Taxes Dept, Civil Supplies, etc. from the Coimbatore region. There are also private companies like Big Roofing Industries and NGOs like Karnavidya Foundation enabling their career as well as growth.
Some of the beneficiaries of the Project in Madurai are placed in companies like Minda Corporation, Amazon, IDBI Bank, I ware, and some of them with Educational institution like Vasavi College of Arts & Sciences and Govt services like India Post, while one person is working with the Indian Cricket Team.
These initiatives have improved the job prospects and have played an significant role in shifting societal perceptions about their capabilities fostering greater independence and success.
The Coimbatore impact of Brookefields CSR project will also see an accessible resource center being setup at the Govt Arts College, alongside skill development training. This training hub will serve as a Hub, providing training to visually impaired students from various institutions in areas such as computer skills, English proficiency, mobility and soft skill. The center will also host programs that will empower the visually impaired individuals to perform tasks similarly done by sighted people.
The press meet also had a live demo by a beneficiary on how the program has turned around their lives with a computer as well as an app that they can use without any external help. The app communicated seamlessly with their input and is able to get the desired response. The student volunteer was able to book a cab easily with the command and also initiate a payment in the UPI app.
There was also a demo of an optical device that has been made that will be a great help for the visually impaired and can perform tasks like photographing the environment and sending it to the emergency contacts, identifying location and suggesting the route etc.. These device which are costly in the US are now made available due to the CSR funds at a cost that’s 1/1oth of the real cost and the corporations like HP have come to sponsor the laptop to be used alongside their app for their day to day working.
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