SUPPORT A CAUSE
Great Place to Work
Search
Close this search box.
DONATE
SMILE-FOUNDATION-LOGO-e1662456150120-1.png

Tag: Education In Slums In India

Categories
CSR Smile

TCS World 10K Bengaluru Marathon – A Good Run for Great Reasons

TCS World 10K Bengaluru Marathon

Many people might assume that marathons are only for the physically fit, and while fitness is crucial, marathons go beyond athleticism. They celebrate the spirit of trying something new, fostering discipline and resilience for personal growth. From children to senior citizens, everyone can join a marathon to experience the joy of personal achievement. Embracing inclusivity and the vibrant energy of Bengaluru, the TCS World 10K Bengaluru Marathon is set to take place on 27th April 2025. This event honours diversity and reflects the ever-refreshing spirit of the city.

The Youngest Race

The TCS World 10K Bengaluru marathon is the youngest race to receive the prestigious IAAF Gold Label, bringing the electrifying energy of India’s Silicon Valley to life. On race day, runners from across the city and around the world will gather in the early hours, donning their running gear and meaningful costumes. Amid perfect weather and scenic views, participants will run with unmatched enthusiasm and purpose.

Who Can Participate?

The TCS World 10K Bengaluru welcomes everyone—children aged 12 and above, senior citizens, individuals with disabilities, and corporate teams eager to champion social causes through this run.

Participants can choose from the following categories:

  • Open 10K
  • Majja Run
  • Silver’s Run
  • Champions with Disability
  • Virtual Run
  • World 10K

This inclusive approach allows each participant to run at their own pace, in their unique style, and for their chosen cause.

Corporate Partnerships: Running for a Cause

In today’s world, corporate engagement extends far beyond boardrooms. As businesses adopt a more conscious approach, it is essential for them to demonstrate their commitment to social causes and employee well-being. The TCS World 10K Bengaluru Marathon offers a perfect opportunity for corporate teams to come together, celebrate team spirit, and reinforce their dedication to making a difference.

Over the years, corporate participation in marathons has proven to enhance brand reputation and foster a culture of wellness within organisations. Employees benefit from improved mindsets and attitudes, contributing to a positive workplace environment. Events like these also encourage employees to prioritise their health, leading to better work-life balance.

For instance, the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon last year saw 34,000 runners, including teams from companies like Coca-Cola, Airtel, and Optum, highlighting the growing trend of corporate involvement in such events. These numbers underscore a shared commitment to excellence and social responsibility.

Driving Social Change at TCS World 10K Bengaluru Marathon

The TCS World 10K Bangalore has had a profound impact on social causes. As South India’s largest sporting philanthropy platform, it has raised an impressive ₹46.04 crores over 14 editions. This year, we encourage everyone to participate—register, choose a cause or NGO to support, and fundraise or donate. Every contribution counts, making a real difference in people’s lives.

Why Corporates Should Participate?
  1. Boost Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Corporate Social Responsibility has evolved beyond financial donations. Today’s businesses are at the forefront of driving social change. By participating in the TCS World 10K Bengaluru Marathon, companies can visibly support NGOs, raise funds for meaningful causes, and demonstrate their commitment to giving back to society.

  1. Showcase Creativity and Uniqueness

The marathon is an excellent platform for brands to showcase their creativity. From logos on t-shirts to banners and event materials, companies can leave a lasting impression on a large audience. Your brand might just set a new trend!

  1. Enhance Employee Engagement and Morale

Transform race day into a team-building exercise. Participating as a group fosters team spirit and highlights the company’s empathy and responsibility towards both employees and the community. This, in turn, enhances reputation among customers and stakeholders.

  1. Promote Health and Well-being

Employee health is closely linked to productivity. Corporate participation in marathons demonstrates care for employee well-being by encouraging healthier lifestyles, leading to holistic personal and professional growth.

  1. Networking Opportunities

The TCS World 10K Bengaluru brings together businesses, non-profits, and communities, providing an open space for meaningful interactions. These connections can lead to lasting partnerships, benefiting both organisations and society.

  1. Attract Socially Conscious Talent

Marathons provide an opportunity for companies to showcase their social responsibility. Potential employees are drawn to businesses that align with their values, particularly those committed to social causes. Participating in the marathon helps attract and retain socially conscious talent.

Empower Education at TCS World 10K Bengaluru Marathon

The TCS World 10K Bengaluru Marathon is designed to be one of the most exciting and socially impactful events. It presents a valuable opportunity for corporate partnerships to drive meaningful and positive change.

Participating in the TCS World 10K Bengaluru Marathon with Smile Foundation offers a unique opportunity to combine athletic achievement with a significant social impact. Smile Foundation, a social development organisation in India, works across urban poor, rural, and tribal areas of India, addressing critical issues in education, health, and livelihoods.

By partnering with Smile Foundation, corporates can directly contribute to the transformative education of underserved children through its flagship initiative,”Shiksha Na Ruke.” This programme, aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and India’s National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, provides holistic learning experiences at Mission Education centres. These centres deliver academic instruction alongside comprehensive developmental support, fostering the overall growth of children.

Corporate participation in the marathon not only showcases social responsibility but also creates a lasting impact. Supporting Smile Foundation’s lifecycle approach ensures continuous educational support from early childhood through adolescence, empowering children to build solid foundations for future success and uplifting entire communities.

Running with Smile Foundation at the TCS World 10K Bengaluru Marathon transforms corporate efforts into meaningful change, demonstrating a commitment to fostering educational equity. If your corporate organisation also wishes to make a positive difference then run with Smile Foundation to support underserved children and turn every stride into a step towards a brighter future.

For more information contact- Prasoon Srivastava – [email protected] 

Kumari Surbhi – [email protected]

Categories
Education Smile

Closing Schools to Protect Children from Air Pollution?

Closing Schools to Protect Children from Air Pollution?

Amidst severe air pollution in Delhi, the government had announced the shutdown of all schools as the AQI hovered over 500 across most places, reaching the ‘severe’ category for the first time this season. Leaders rose to the stage to demand action to protect and safeguard the children from inhaling the severely polluted air.

Air pollution continues to remain one of the biggest silent threats to the lives of children under 5 in India, accounting for 464 deaths daily. Air pollution is currently the second biggest health risk for children globally, surpassing the health threats from lack of clean water and poor sanitation. This most recent data from the US-based research group Health Effects Institute (HEI) reveals how air pollution has been responsible for more than eight million fatalities in 2021, affecting adults and children.

How are Children More Susceptible to Air Pollution?

Children are particularly vulnerable to the negative health impacts of rising air pollution. The damage and impact caused by air pollution can be seen as taking a toll since they are inside the mother’s womb, and these effects can last a lifetime. For instance, because their lungs, bodies, and brains are still developing, youngsters breathe in more air per kilogram of body weight and absorb more toxins than adults. 

The inequities linked to the impact of air pollution on child health are striking. Exposure to air pollution in young children is linked to pneumonia, responsible for 1 in 5 child deaths globally, and asthma, the most common chronic respiratory disease in older children.


Is Shutting Down Schools a Wise Idea?

This is not the first time the government has closed schools to protect children from the annual air pollution. However, the justification for shutting down schools as a measure to manage air quality for children is highly unscientific. On the one hand, it absolves educational institutions and governments of their responsibility to ensure their children breathe clean and healthy air. On the other hand, it is wrongly assumed that children can breathe clean air at home.

While assuming that a home setting provides clean air, we overlook a large population of low-income children, often housed in shanties and slum areas, who are most vulnerable to air and water pollution. Hence, shutting down schools further disproportionately affects these disadvantaged children, as their academic performance also suffers.

Further, a study published in 2022 found that indoor air pollution in Delhi is on par and, at times, worse than outdoor air pollution. The study established that PM2.5 levels were dangerously high in both high- and low-income families.

The indoor air pollution levels of high-income homes were slightly lower than those of lower-income households, even though they were more likely to purchase air purifiers. Household air pollution can be caused by several things, including cooking, cleaning, using incense sticks, and the penetration of external air combined with inadequate ventilation, heat, and humidity. Although higher-income groups can purchase air purifiers, it only reduces pollution levels by a marginal percentage. Outdoor air, on the other hand, benefits from dispersion. Indoor areas are more vulnerable to concentrated pollution without adequate ventilation or air purification, particularly during colder months.

Rising air pollution deepens the education divide between households from different socioeconomic backgrounds and exacerbates school closures. Shutting down of schools continues to take a widening toll on students regarding learning outcomes and social and psychological development.


Closing all schools is not the answer to the pollution issue. For practical reasons, the government may be unable to grant certain institutions exemptions; however, a long-term solution that does not interfere with education is required. Today’s children are no longer confined to one place and constantly move around for education and educational activities. Constant closure of schools because of Covid and pollution gives the impression that they are the most unsafe places, which is invalid.

Dealing with Rising Pollution?

India’s annual average PM2.5 levels are around 55 micrograms per cubic meter of air (µg/m³), more than ten times the World Health Organization’s (WHO) guidelines, exposing its 1.4 billion people to severe health risks.


Air pollution is now well-established as one of India’s biggest persistent causes of the health crisis. Several Indian cities are in the world’s top 10 most polluted areas. But what is being done to tackle this?

Over the years, the government of India has gradually increased funding for the Control of Pollution scheme, with the 2023-24 budget estimating a surge to over INR 750 cr. However, there continues to be a huge gap between funding and the actual utilisation of the funds to combat pollution.

Addressing air pollution saves lives and the environment from negatively impacting future generations. Whereas several efforts have been made to adopt measures to combat pollution, approximately half a million deaths among children in 2021 were linked to indoor air pollution from cooking with dirty fuels, including biomass, charcoal, paraffin and coal.

Through several initiatives like Shiksha Na Ruke, Smile Foundation has always been at the forefront of efforts to bring classroom education back on track. Post-COVID-19, as schools gradually reopened, the initiative assisted 87 institutions in opening and resuming physical classes. The initiative has helped underprivileged children continue their education through a blended learning approach.

At Smile Foundation, our core mission is to ensure that every child, regardless of the challenges they face, continues their educational journey. Through initiatives like Mission Education, we have supported nearly 50,000 students across 20 states, helping them overcome the barriers posed by school closures. Our Mission Education Centres have played a pivotal role, not only in keeping education accessible but also in facilitating the safe reopening of schools through direct interventions.

Our focus is on supporting children from marginalised communities by providing them with the education and resources they need to thrive. We are deeply committed towards ensuring that their learning journey continues, despite any challenges. Join us in supporting young learners with the opportunity to learn and thrive and experience a healthy and holistic childhood. 

Categories
Education Girl Child Health Livelihood

Improving Education of Slum Children

Improving Education of Slum Children

Education is an opportunity through which society and its people are empowered. It is a tool for economic advancements. Education aids in the social, emotional, and psychological growth of individuals and hence, the community as a whole. However, not all have been able to reap the benefits of the existing education system.

Slum children’s education in India in this context remains a burning issue. A lot of factors combine together, in keeping more than half of India’s school-going children out of school.

Slum Children in India

According to the Census 2011, there are 13.7 million slum households across 63% of India’s towns. The residents of these households include migrants, half of them being among the poorest of the poor. More than eight million children under 6 years live in approximately 49,000 slums. There are 22.72 million children (age group 5-18) living in urban slums who are out of school.*

The migrant population in India is mostly illiterate and constantly on the move, in search of new livelihood opportunities.  Migrant children move with their parents and often lose out on age-appropriate educational opportunities. Often they engage in labor to escape poverty and support their parents.

Access to early childhood care, balanced nutrition, education, health, and recreational facilities are keys to the positive development of children.  However, in places where clean drinking water and two square meals are a struggle, slum children’s education, health and other contributing factors for development will always take a backseat.

Problems in Education of Slum Children

The Right to Education Act 2009 was expected to bring a huge surge of enrolment in urban and rural schools. However, after more than a decade there are millions of children who are out of school in India, most live in urban slums and remote rural areas. A higher proportion of girl children (3.23%)  are out of school than boys (2.77%).

Girls in slums and rural areas are out of school as they are engaged in domestic work or do not go to school to take care of the younger siblings. Boys drop out of school to supplement household incomes. Lack of healthcare facilities, absence of toilets in schools, and lack of proper nutrition also lead to an increase in drop-out rates.

Focusing on Girl Child and Women Education

The cycle of illiteracy will continue if proper steps are not taken in time to reduce drop-out rates, increase enrollment and encourage girl child education and slum children’s education. Mother is a child’s first teacher. When mothers remain uneducated they cannot fully comprehend the value of education for their children. Children of educated mothers have better access to education, proper nutrition, and timely healthcare needs like timely immunization against various diseases.

Health, Education, and Empowerment

Smile Foundation’s vision is to work as a catalyst in bringing sustainable change in the lives of non-privileged children, youth, and women, with a life-cycle approach to development.

The life-cycle approach of development starts with opening the doors of education for slum children, the underprivileged. Smile Foundation’s Mission Education focuses on bringing out-of-school children under the folds of education. So far, more than 3,00,000 children have directly benefitted from the programme.

Health Cannot Wait

Under its healthcare campaign, Health Cannot Wait, Smile Foundation’s mobile medical unit, Smile on Wheels addresses the problems of availability and accessibility of proper healthcare services for children and women, especially in urban slums and rural areas. Health camps are conducted for school-going children. The programme has so far provided free healthcare services to more than 1.5 Million children and families.

Training for Empowerment and Employment

Smile Foundation’s Swabhiman programme works extensively with adolescent girls, young and expecting mothers. Scholarships are also provided to bright young girls who perform exceptionally well in school. Healthcare services; ante-natal and post-natal care are provided to women. Adolescent girls are provided with sanitary napkins to break the stigma around periods and also to encourage attendance at school.

The STeP programme ensures young students from slums and rural areas who drop out of school receive skill training. This is done to bridge the gap between the demand and supply of skilled manpower in the fast emerging services and retail sectors of modern India. More than 75,000 youth have been trained through the e-learning programme and 47,000 have also been placed in over 400 brands. 71 percent of total beneficiaries were girls.

Search
Close this search box.