Promoting education for under-privileged girl children: Ms Shanta Vallury Gandhi, Head, HR, CSR RBL Bank
UMEED 1000 Cyclothon, is a fundraising and an awareness initiative started in 2014 by RBL Bank employees. In the year 2014, the participating cyclists covered 1000 kms from Mumbai to Bangalore, in 2015 from Mumbai to Delhi, in 2016 from Mumbai to Hyderabad, in 2017 Hyderabad to Vizag and in 2018 Mumbai to Bangalore to raise funds for Girl Child Education. The 6th edition of the 1000 km Cyclothon will be flagged off from Udaipur, on November 10th, 2019 and will end at Amritsar on November 20th, 2019.
Why are we doing this Cyclothon?
In India, close to 53% of girls in the age group of 5 to 9 years are illiterate. More than 50% of girls fail to enroll in school; those that do are likely to drop out by the age of 12. Around 39.4% of adolescent girls in the 15-18 age group are not attending any educational institution, and a vast majority — around 65%— of them are ‘either engaged in household activities, are dependents, or, are engaged in begging’, suggests a recent report by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).
UMEED 1000 Cyclothon is a universal call to action to all the citizens of India, individuals, non-profits, businesses. We all share an equal responsibility to do our bit in order to reduce this social gap. One of the most effective ways to break the cycle of poverty and backwardness is education for all. Especially essential for women empowerment, the efforts need to be put in while they are young. We must strive to provide proper education to girls as they are our hope for a better and brighter future.
The Beneficiary
UMEED 1000 Cyclothon has pledged to support the education of the girl children in the schools run by ‘Udbhav’. In the past, the funds raised were used in and supporting two schools in Hyderabad for underprivileged communities. This year, the aim is to set up another similar school in one of the backward areas in the country.
Udbhav School was started by IIMA Alumni who are spurred by the vision that all children should have the same opportunities. Their goal is to impart holistic education to every child to make them future-ready, to make them good citizens of India. The school was renamed as “Udbhav School ” by IIMAAA charitable trust. The management is committed to providing the children with opportunities for their all-round growth and development. Their main goal is to ensure that the students of Udbhav School have access to quality education and opportunities to reach their full potential.
What are we doing?
RBL Bank, since the last 5 years, has been deeply engaged with the cause of ‘Girl Child Education’ through this unique awareness campaign – UMEED 1000. In 2019, our lead cyclist and coach, Jasmeet Singh Gandhi will be accompanied by select cyclists to complete a 1000 km road stretch from Udaipur – Delhi – Amritsar. Funds will be raised through various innovative channels including this crowdfunding campaign.
Appeal
Please contribute as much as you can and share it with others. It will all help us create a long-lasting impact in the lives of as many girl children as possible. To further the impact RBL Bank will be matching all donations made towards this campaign.
Donate Now to help Udbhav School – https://bit.ly/2PmgQMs