Blueair, a world leader in indoor air cleaning technologies, today committed to positively impact the lives of school children in India through a 'Clean Air for Everyone' program.
Blueair's nationwide program gets underway with the immediate donation of 200 Blueair air purifiers that will benefit the lives of 10,000 students in schools across the capital. Going forward, Blueair said, "It is looking to make the program sustainable over the long term by encouraging like-minded corporations interested in improving the health of school children to partner in creating joint air pollution battling programs."
Designed to give school children a pollution-free environment in classrooms, the Blueair program was launched in Delhi in the presence of Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways.
"Clean air is a basic right of every child, and a society's concern towards its future generations is displayed in how it cares for those who are most susceptible and vulnerable. Sadly, air pollution is such an enormous problem that millions of children across India are breathing air that threatens their development, health and safety," said Bengt Rittri, Blueair's Founder and CEO.
"We are failing those children if we do not help them. On the back of the severe pollution seen during Diwali in Delhi, Blueair is launching this initiative by immediately donating air purifiers to Delhi schools as a first step," added Gadkari.
Children are particularly at risk from polluted air. A 2015 Blueair report that studied the lung capacity of children living in four major cities, including Delhi, found that 40% of the children in the national capital were suffering 'poor' or 'bad' lung capacity.
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Today's donation will benefit many thousands of school children by putting Blueair's health-protecting air purifiers in classrooms across the capital. As part of a longer-term project, Blueair says it looks forward to working closely with the government to help spread the initiative and increase awareness among younger people about ways to combat air pollution and protect the environment.
"Fighting pollution is a partnership between people and governments, and should be jointly pursued. However, we must provide the most vulnerable immediate relief by at least protecting them from contaminated indoor air, which can be many times worse than that outside. For us, it is a natural step to start with classrooms," said Girish Bapat, Blueair Director South and West Asia.
"We are always deeply concerned about the health of our youngest, and we appreciate the start that Blueair has made with this donation drive. We plan to use the air purifiers in the classes of the youngest students, and create a safe air zone in classrooms," said Liris Thomas, Trustee, New Generation Trust, which runs schools called Rafa Homes for underprivileged and HIV affected children aged between five to 13.
"I started Blueair 20 years ago because I wanted my son and daughter to benefit from the same clean air where we lived in the city as they did at my summer house in the Stockholm archipelago. I am deeply pained when I see suffering being inflicted on innocent children by air pollution. For over 20 years we have been driven by the goal to deliver the world's best indoor air purifiers. Now, with the 'Clean Air For Everyone' program, we are making a meaningful difference to children's lives by providing them air as clean as nature intended," said Mr. Rittri.
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