'Support Children’s Education by Buying a Large Pack of Tide; Whisper; Pampers; H&S or Other P&G Products'
‘Shiksha’ is back! It’s that time of year again when all of us can in our own way easily contribute to a cause we all feel strongly about – the education of marginalised children in India by making simple brand choices. All consumers need to do to participate is simply buy any P&G’s large packs of Tide, Ariel, Pantene, Olay, H&S, Rejoice, Vicks VapoRub, Whisper, Gillette Mach 3 Turbo, Gillette Series, Oral B, Duracell or Pampers in the months of April, May & June ’09 and part of the proceeds will go towards children’s education.
Celebrating its 5th year Anniversary – ‘Shiksha’ this year was launched with a grand Walkathon led by none other than the Child Icons from the Slumdog Millionnaire Fame Ayush Khedekar & Madhur Mittal.
As Children stood up to fight for Children’s Rights – egging them on were leading celebrities Kajol; Shiney Ahuja; Neha Dhupia; Diana Hayden; Rahul Bose; Tisca Chopra, Sony Star Jaishree Soni and Director Kunal Kohli. Backed by hundreds of Shiksha Supporters including P&G Employees; Distributors; NGO and Media partners - the ‘Shiksha Walkathon’ took place on Carter Road Mumbai on Friday evening creating massive awareness and buzz around Children’s Right to Education.
About Shiksha
At heart a National Consumer Movement – Shiksha is P&G’s CSR initiative in association with CRY –that allows consumers to support the education of children in need via simple brand choices. Celebrating its 5th year Anniversary this year it has touched over 87000 children in 432 communities across India.
All consumers need to do to participate is simply buy any of P&G’s large packs of Tide, Ariel, Pantene, Olay, H&S, Rejoice, Vicks VapoRub, Whisper, Gillette Mach 3 Turbo, Gillette Series, Oral B, Duracell or Pampers in the months of April, May & June ’09 and part of the proceeds will go towards children’s education.
However, Irrespective of sales, P&G has committed a minimum of Rs. 1 cr. to its NGO partner CRY, which will be allocated to projects focused on enabling the child’s right to education.
With a motto of ‘Padhega India, Badhega India – Mille Sabko Shiksha ka Haq’ - Shiksha believes that the secret to a Brighter India lies in the quality education of our children.
The issue at Hand
India has the world’s largest number of children out of school. Every child in India has the right to free, quality education, but still approximately one out of every two children, (close to 200 million) do not go to school. Even as the economy continues to grow at a fast pace, statistics indicate that there are many challenges like poverty that will need to be taken in stride if this growth is to be sustained.
Impact Shiksha Has Created
Project Shiksha is part of P&G's global philanthropy program P&G Live, Learn and Thrive that focuses on the development of children in need across the globe, with Education of Children via Shiksha being the priority in India. Till Date, Shiksha has set 87,000+ children across 435 communities on the path to the right to education with a donation of over Rs.8+ crore. The Shiksha projects include ones that work with the State Education Departments to re-look at existing education policies; create awareness to build more schools with better infrastructure and basic amenities like water, electricity, health; enroll more children into formal schools and promotion of retention in schools; and build all-round development of children.
Support Shiksha Has Recieved
Shiksha has always received the support of many thought leaders & celebrities in the past such as Sushmita Sen, Kareena Kapoor; Saif Ali Khan; Sharmila Tagore; Konkona Sen, Tabu, Soha Ali Khan, Lara Dutta, Preity Zinta, Kiran Bedi, Diya Mirza; Celina Jaitley; Khushboo; Esha Deol; Shreya; Sanjana Kapoor, Jatin Das, Shaan and many more. P&G has always adopted a multiple stakeholder approach involving employees, trade & retailers, media and consumers that has resulted in Shiksha becoming a national consumer movement.
The Shiksha Walkathon
Taking this approach forward, all Shiksha stakeholders (Celebrity Supporters, Trade & Retailers, Media, Employees & Consumers) got together on the same platform to participate in a historical ‘Shiksha Walkathon’ to launch Shiksha 2009 and express their solidarity with the cause. The walkathon was flagged-off from Amphitheatre at Carter Road, Bandra at 5:30 pm, which then stretched across the “Promenade”.
The Walkathon symbolises the Company’s efforts to create awareness amongst the masses around the burning issue of the education of marginalised children and inspire people to support Shiksha.
Another exciting element to the launch was the visible presence & support of children (Slum Dog Millionaire Child Icons) at the walkathon as they passionately urged consumers to support children’s rights to access education. They spoke and stood for those children, who have no voice of their own and truly symbolized ‘Children fighting for Children’s Rights’.
Present at the Launch, Shweta Shukla – Head – External Relations; P&G India said, “P&G globally is committed to the cause of development of children in need via its corporate cause P&G Live, Learn, Thrive and Shiksha is our response to the situation in India. Shiksha is unique because it empowers the consumer to make a difference simply by choosing to buy quality products from P&G. Shiksha is not just an initiative but a passion we as an organization strongly believe in. ‘Padhega India’ Tabhi tho ‘Badhega India’. We are thrilled to see such wonderful support for the Shiksha Walkathon, which is a visual reminder of the burning cause of the education of marginalised children in the country”.
Puja Marwaha, Director (West), Child Rights and You said, “The support P&G, its media partners and consumers provide to CRY’s work is invaluable. Even more critical, however, is the awareness about the importance of child rights that Shiksha helps create and the avenues it provides for each of us to bring about change with social justice. India will only achieve her true potential, when we make child rights our topmost national priority. To do this we have to go beyond schemes and programs to address the real obstacles to growth – caste, class, gender and governance. P&G’s choice to go beyond tokenism, to partner CRY and take the challenging route is truly inspiring. I urge every Indian citizen to stand up for child rights.”
Apurva Purohit, CEO, Media Partner-Radio City said, “Radio City has always been a very socially responsible Corporate Citizen. As a leading FM Radio network, we have been able to harness the power of the medium to propel awareness and response about key social issues. Looking ahead, Radio City’s core values of inspiring people through music have found resonance in this partnership with Shiksha. And we have taken up the onus of furthering a child’s holistic development, and music we believe, plays an integral part in their growth and learning.”
Shiksha Supporter and Award Winning Actress Kajol said, “Shiksha, education, is one of the most critical factors deciding the choices that life offers to a child. However, millions of children in this country today are deprived of this critical opportunity because quality education is only possible when every child has adequate nutrition, proper healthcare, can live in safe surroundings, is free to study, rest and play, and doesn't have to work for a living. I support project Shiksha in its endeavours to make a difference and am very happy to be a part of the Shiksha Walkathon.”
Shiksha Supporter & Former Miss World Diana Hayden said, “I believe education plays a fundamental role in shaping a citizen and leads the country to greater heights. In that sense, education can be the foundation for an India we seek today where every child explores his or her full potential and has the right to do so. Therefore, it is heartening to know that people like you have enabled 87,000 children to access their right to schooling. I urge people across India to participate in Shiksha and make a tangible difference to the lives of the little ones.”
Shiksha Supporter & Director Kunal Kohli said “Every child in India has the right to free quality education, yet one out of every two children does not go to school. There is something each and every one of you can do to make a difference. It’s as simple as buying any of the large packs of P&G brands, so that part of your money can be donated towards ensuring that every child goes to school. Thanks to Shiksha thousands of children are on the path to education today. Let’s get together and make this dream a reality. Padhega India, Tabhi Tho Badhega India.”
Shiksha Supporter and Actress Neha Dhupia said, “I have always believed in the power of education to bring out the best in us. I know that wherever I have reached today has been in large part due to the kind of education I received. I know that with education, there are many more talents out there that can see light of day. I fully support this initiative to truly make India a developed nation.”
Shiksha Supporter and Actor Shiney Ahuja said, “We sometimes forget that children are also citizens of India. I find such a project which is about making rights a reality for as many as 400 million of India’s citizens truly inspiring. Project Shiksha, I found out, was different in that it does not just sponsor schools fees for a few but creates a rights-friendly environment in every village and slum, so that not just a few but all children living in a particular area can get their right to free quality schooling. I wish project Shiksha all the very best.”
Shiksha supporter and Actor Rahul Bose said, “I have always believed in the power of one to bring about change, however big. I think project Shiksha gives us that opportunity – no matter who we are or however busy our lives are, to take vital steps to support the creation of a child rights-friendly India. All the very best!”
Shiksha supporter and Award Winning Actress Tisca Chopra said, “Children comprise 42% of the Indian population. In a decade, they will be leading the nation. We as a nation simply cannot afford to be callous about this. I believe Project Shiksha deserves the support of every single citizen as this project has the potential to play a significant role ensuring that children can access their fundamental right to education. I am here to pledge my support today. I urge you to join me in supporting Shiksha and spread this message to the entire country.
Child actor and Slumdog Millionaire star Ayush Khedekar said, “It is exciting for me to be here. I got to know here that as many as half the children in India (In the school-going age) do not go to school. I want to make sure that all children get to go to school.”
Child actor and Slumdog Millionaire Star Madhur Mittal said, “Though many of us don’t like school, as you grow up, you understand that education gives you an edge – no one can take you for a ride if you are educated. In fact, education can make sure that you can get all the rights that you are entitled to. I support Shiksha!”
Shiksha supported projects till date:
Annexure I: Shiksha supported projects in 2008 – 2009.
- JAAG (Mumbai, Ratnagiri, and Raigad, Maharashtra)
- Lokhit Samajik Vikas Sanstha (Osmanabad, Maharashta)
- The Association of People with Disability (Kolar, Karnataka)
- Adhar (Bolangir, Orissa). Mandra LC (Purulia, WB)
- Paridhi (Bihar)
- Judav (Madhupur, Jharkhand)
- Jan Shikshan Kendra (UP)
- Jan Mitra Nyas (Varanasi, UP)
- Hanuman Van Vikas (Udaipur, Rajasthan)
- Doaba Vikas Evam Utthan Samiti (Kaushambi, U.P)
You can also visit the Shiksha Website: www.shiksha.pg.com.
