A helping hand to the underserved
October 09
The NASSCOM Foundation has been spearheading several CSR activities to support the underprivileged and engage the IT-BPO industry and its employees working in the sector, in these initiatives.
As a part of these endeavours, the Foundation recently invited students from underserved backgrounds for animation training in New Delhi. Already, over 150 underserved youth have been trained in animation skills over the last two years through ‘Anizooms,’ a programme launched by the NASSCOM Foundation. Anizooms centres have been set up in Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh) and Sangli (Maharashtra), with the third centre making an appearance in the Chandni Chowk area, in the old part of India’s capital city.
With this centre, the Foundation is reaching out to ‘below poverty line income families,’ to equip them with animation skills, so that they can find jobs and supplement their incomes. The centre will conduct a one-year animation course, priced at a subsidised INR 20,000 for boys and INR 15,000 for girls, who need to be less than 29 years of age. The Foundation is also exploring the possibility of partnering with some banks to provide soft loans for truly deserving students.
The Foundation’s industry partners have promised 100 per cent employment for students completing the programme. The learners can expect a salary of INR 5,000-8,000, which will enable them to recover their investment in less than three months. Around 60 students will be trained as a part of the first batch in Delhi, beginning this Diwali.
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Living up to their responsibility
My Kartavya (MK), is yet another effort launched by the NASSCOM Foundation, which is engaging IT employees in innovative social work. Four companies, including Mphasis, Aegis BPO, Future Focus Infotech and Dassault Systems, have supported the endeavour since it was announced on July 28, 2009, and set up a MyK website for use by NGOs.
Around 20 NGOs have been trained to use the MyK site and are actively posting volunteering opportunities on this platform. MyK hosts a range of events such as mountain-trekking through villages while performing development tasks, dance workshops as fundraisers, video-making for NGOs and so on, that seek the participation of employees in the IT-BPO sector.
