P&G launches child education initiative for 2nd year

Proctor & Gamble (P&G), which has brands like Ariel, Pantene and Whisper under its banner, has announced the launch of Shiksha programme for the second year. This programme, launched in association with child rights organisation Child Relief and You (CRY), works towards child education. P&G has also tied up with television channels like Maa TV in Andhra Pradesh, Raj TV in Tamil Nadu and Sony on a national level.

"Through this initiative, consumers can support the Shiksha programme by buying large packs of Tide, Ariel, Pantene, Head & Shoulders, Rejoice, Vicks VapoRub, Whisper, Gillette Mach 3 Turbo or Pampers during April, May and June. Fifty paise from the price of each pack will be set aside for the Shiksha programme," V Kumar, district manager, P&G Andhra Pradesh, said at a press conference.

Last year, this programme helped support the education of 11,000 children in 109 villages through funds worth Rs 1.26 crore. This year, P&G has committed a minimum of Rs 1 crore to be allocated through education-focused projects.

Addressing the media, Regina Thomas, director (south), CRY, said, "Fifty per cent of the children in India do not go to school and more than 40 per cent of school-going children do not complete class five. As per the official estimates, 17 million children in India work for a living. Therefore, there is a strong need to support the cause of child education in India."