April Issue - 2012
smilescapes
Career Counseling with Eureka Forbes
Smile Foundation organized an employee engagement cum career counseling session for the youth beneficiaries of Smile Twin e-Learning Programme with the EUREKA FORBES in Mumbai. Mr. Melvin Lobo, HR Manager, Eureka Forbes had specially come to the STeP center to orient the students with the available carrier options. 30 Smile Twin e-Learning programme students attended the session.
Mr. Melvin Lobo interacted with the students explaining them about the different products of Eureka Forbes and the requisite qualities the organization seeks when recruiting employees. The students were then oriented regarding the various career options available in Eureka Forbes.The session also made the students aware of the importance of things like team work, interpersonal skills, etc, when different work profiles were mentioned to them. During the session, the students also actively participated in putting forward general and special queries they had regarding their placement and recruitment prospects.
The overall interaction benefitted the students not only in terms of making them aware of the opportunities that are lie in front of them but also in respect of developing the confidence of participating in such group-discussions in the future.
STeP has successfuly placed over 7,500 youth in retail & service sector job.
I am Kalam screened for the students of Maharaja Sawai Man Singh Vidyalaya, Jaipur
Smile Foundation in association with Maharaja Sawai Man Singh Vidyalaya, Jaipur organised a special screening of Smile Foundation’s feature film I am Kalam in the school. The screening was conducted for three days for different class groups in order to sensitize all the children about social disparities and needs of underprivileged children.
Altogether hundreds of children along with teachers & other staff of the school were sensitized towards the cause of education. All the staff members appreciated Smile Foundation’s efforts in sensitizing the children towards the cause.
I Am Kalam is again an initiative by Smile Foundation in order to sensitize the privileged masses. I am Kalam is the first ever feature film to be produced by a development organization
12th Smile on Wheels launched
A new mobile hospital was launched to reach out to the underprivileged in the slums of Faridabad, Delhi -NCR.
This is the 12th mobile hospital of the Smile on Wheels programme. This project covers a population of 48,000 in the slums of Faridabad in Delhi-NCR and is being implemented by Able Charities. This mobile hospital provides preventive, curative, promotive and referral medical services at the doorstep of the slum dwellers.
For the inauguration, Member of the Legislative Assembly of Faridabad Shri Anand Koushik was invited as the chief guest. Shri Ashok Arora, the Mayor of Faridabad, Dr. Vimal Mehta, President of K. L. Mehta Dayanad College for Women and renowned social activist Shri B. R. Ojha were the guests of honour.
Acknowledging this initiative Shri Anand Koushik, said, “It is appreciable that, Smile Foundation is doing such a noble job. This is for the first time in Faridabad that a mobile hospital is reaching the doorstep of the people for providing the much needed healthcare services.”
He thanked Smile Foundation for choosing to serve the people of Faridabad. He also showed his interest to support the initiative in future.
The Smile on Wheels programme has benefited 105695 people in the last year.
GPS monitoring for Smile on Wheels
In order to further strengthen the Smile
on Wheels programme a digital monitoring system has been initiated in the mobile hospital programme.
This digital monitoring is being done by installing GPS (Global Positioning System) in the mobile hospitals of the Smile on Wheels programme. This initiative has been taken in order to regularly monitor and improve the movement and maintenance of the mobile hospitals as they carry comprehensive healthcare facilities to the less privileged in rural villages and urban slums. In the pilot phase GPS systems were installed in four mobile hospitals, three in Delhi and one in Jaipur. And was further installed in three more mobile hospitals, in Lucknow, Varanasi and Ranchi.
This initiative will help improving the programme in many ways – will prevent vehicle idling, over speeding and unauthorized use, if any; because of the easily traceable current location minute details like the time, date, etc of the scheduled visit can be monitored; and enhanced safety and security of the vehicle is also a prominent benefit of the digital monitoring system.
Employee Engagement with GE
An employee engagement activity was organized for the employees of General Electronic Pvt. Ltd., in Gurgaon. Through this activity, the employees of GE were sensitized about the existing issues and problems which the underprivileged youth face in order to get even entry level job opportunities and what are the repercussions of this difficulty in finding jobs.
The sensitization was followed by the employees volunteering to help the students at the Smile Twin e-Learning Programme center.A Resume Blaster activity was conducted to help them understand how to prepare appropriateresumes.
An employee engagement activity was organized for the employees of General Electronic Pvt. Ltd., in Gurgaon. Through this activity, the employees of GE were sensitized about the existing issues and problems which the underprivileged youth face in order to get even entry level job opportunities and what are the repercussions of this difficulty in finding jobs.
The sensitization was followed by the employees volunteering to help the students at the Smile Twin e-Learning Programme center.A Resume Blaster activity was conducted to help them understand how to prepare appropriateresumes.
New Mission Education centers in Maharashtra and Tripura
Smile Foundation has started three new Mission Education projects in Maharashtra and Tripura. Two of these projects are in Jirania and Agartala (Tripura) and the third one is in Pune (Maharashtra).
The project in Jirania block of Tripura is located in Korbongpara. The project is introducing primary English medium classes for tribal children in the area and will simultaneously work towards mainstreaming them to the Government school of the locality. The project also has a Balwadi center for the small children of the target areas. This project is being implemented by Jana Unnayan Samiti Tripura.
The second project in Tripura is located in West Bhubanban, Agartala is supporting education of the children beneficiaries living in the Smile Foundation shelter for children. This project is being implemented by Tripura Rural Development Society.
The project launched in Pune is targeting the community that works in the five brick manufacturing factories in the city. All these families have from nearby tribal areas and drought prone areas of Maharashtra, Karnataka & Gujarat. The parents usually engage the children in their work to earn more money for the family and that has been leading to a great school-drop-out rate. This project mainly aims to prevent this trend of dropping out and targets to ensure maximum enrolment and attendance in the center
There are currently over 11000 children enrolled in the Mission Education programme across India.
Students of DAV Vasant Kunj get close to the lives of the less privileged
Smile Foundation in association with D.A.V. Public School Vasant Kunj Delhi, organised a fieldwork activity for the Sociology students of the school in one of its Mission Education centers. The activity was conducted to sensitize the students about how the lives of the underprivileged children are getting transformed through education.
A group of 25 students spent a whole day interacting with the children beneficiaries, understanding what their parents do and what they used to do before they started coming to school, what they do in their free time, their hobbies, etc. Students also interacted with the center in-charge about the special activities designed for the underprivileged children who are mainly dropouts or out-of-school children.
Students of Benhur Public School meet Kalam
A special screening of Smile Foundation’s I am Kalam was organised for Benhur Public School Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh. All the students participated and enjoyed the movie and thereby contributed towards the cause of education of underprivilged children. Principal, teachers and management of the school, highly appreciated this effort and gave their feedback saying that these kinds of films and activities help the students as a subject of moral studies.
