Wal-Mart extends grant of $1 million to HOPE

Mumbai, August 20, 2007 "� Wal-Mart today announced a grant of US$1.12 million over a three-year period to HOPE Foundation, to set up Industrial Centers of Hope in five underserved communities in and around the areas where factories of Wal-Mart's suppliers are located in India. The grant was given by Wal-Mart's Ethical Standards department under its International Giving Program (IGP).

By providing quality education and equipping young people with life skills, each Industrial Center of Hope will impart primary education for children from the area as well as vocational training, English language education and social skills for disadvantaged young adults.

The goal is to provide short-term, job-oriented education and training to 1,000 older children annually and to provide education to 1,000 young children by the third year of operation.

The Centers will be located in Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Panipat and Moradabad. The location of each Center has been strategically chosen to ensure that they are close to industrial clusters, where many Wal-Mart suppliers' factories are located, so that factory workers, their families and the local community can benefit.

Mr. Mark Templer, Executive Director, HOPE Foundation said, "India is a nation at the crossroads. It enjoys a booming economy and young people have never had more opportunities. But, there is also another India. An India where young people often never go to school or dropout early because they have to help support their families. I am delighted that Wal-Mart has extended its support to set up five Industrial Centers of Hope to address the needs of inclusive development in India. Our experience has shown us that access to better education is a fantastic strategy as it makes people more knowledgeable, boosts earning potential and improves the quality of work."

Rajan Kamalanathan, Vice President of the Wal-Mart Ethical Standards program said, "At Wal-Mart, we believe in supporting local causes that are important to our stakeholders. With inclusive development, can come inclusive growth. Through the Industrial Centers of Hope program, we are empowering not only the children of our suppliers' factory workers, but the entire sourcing community through better education opportunities and training in employable skills. We feel encouraged by the passion and commitment of the team from the HOPE Foundation who took our mandate for inclusive development and created a practical, results-driven program that can have a meaningful impact on society."

The Centers will provide for older children of the factory workers and young adults from the area through English language courses, computer skills, and training in short-term, job-oriented, practical courses (3-6 months long) that will boost their skills and earning power. The education and training will be tailored to the needs of the community and nearby factories and modules will be developed in consultation with local companies.

The younger children of factory workers where the school system is not strong will be educated in an English medium school, with nutritious midday meals being served every day. Their curriculum will include English, the local language, mathematics, history, science, art, and other subjects covered in the standard state educational curriculum.

Wal-Mart and HOPE Foundation have drawn up a four-pronged strategy to ensure the success of the program:

1. Establish a presence in convenient locations where factory workers live to enable students quick and easy access to the training centers and schools.

2. Provide awareness about the programs to individuals and families with the help of outreach workers and opinion leaders.

3. Create a user-friendly, flexible environment that will have professionally competent staff proficient in English and the local language, with school meals to motivate children to attend school.

4. Help with follow-ups and job-placements for the young adults, and site visits to ensure quality in the schools.

HOPE worldwide and its affiliate, HOPE Foundation, (www.hopeww.org) draw upon 15 years of experience as an NGO working in partnership with renowned corporations and the government. In this program, it will build on the already existing synergies between the focus areas of Wal-Mart and HOPE Foundation's main priorities "� education and training.

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