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CHILD WELFARE

The complexities in our society often allow children to fall through the cracks, perpetuating cycles of malnourishment, poverty, illiteracy and crime. We recognise that the environment in which they grow up and the influences around them play an important role in the adults that they become. HDFC supported the following initiatives in child welfare and development:n Preventing child malnutrition

This year, HDFC continued its support to prevent malnutrition in children, in order to give them a healthy start to life. HDFC has supported NGOs

that provide nutrition programmes for children at construction sites as well as mid-day meals for children in school.

n Care for children with cancer

Children and their families coming from smaller towns and villages to large cities for cancer treatment are often overwhelmed – both with trying to navigate the healthcare system as well as with trying to find affordable accommodation during the many months of treatment.

The Foundation supported an NGO that has well established programmes for the residential care of underprivileged children undergoing cancer treatment in safe and hygienic centres.

n Reducing vulnerabilities

This year, HDFC continued its support to orphaned and abandoned children, both through children’s homes as well as through NGOs that promote foster care. The Foundation partnered with an organisation

which works with orphaned children in communities where there is a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS. The organization enables support to the extended family to raise children whose parents have succumbed to the disease.

Vulnerabilities also arise when family members are at work with no caretakers for the children, forcing older siblings to drop out of school. Day care and after-school programmes provide a safe space for children from low income and vulnerable backgrounds. This year, HDFC continued its support to several such day care centres, af ter-school programmes and crèches in urban slums as well as on construction sites.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

HDFC recognises that there are various challenges faced by low income communities. A holistic approach is required to address these issues in order to ensure the sustainable development of communities. HDFC supported the

following initiatives for community development:n Gender based violence

This year, HDFC continued its partnership with an NGO that has a long track record of working in Mumbai’s Dharavi slum to prevent violence against women. Part of the organisation’s model involved creating a cadre of women community leaders who are trained on how to counsel their counterparts and deal with cases of violence as soon as they arise. The project has helped to prevent incidences of gender based violence in one of India’s most densely populated localities. n Community based maternal health

Maternal and infant mortality rates continue to be high in India, especially in rural and remote tribal areas. This year, HDFC’s project partners worked with community health workers in remote rural villages to identify pregnant women and help them gain knowledge and access to basic healthcare required for safe and healthy deliveries.

n Rehabilitation of displaced and destitute persons

Through the Foundation, HDFC supported NGOs that work with destitute people, as well as those that may have been entangled in the criminal justice system, providing

Social Initiatives

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counselling and vocational skills as part of their rehabilitation process. Through the Foundation, HDFC supported a project that helped connect slum populations to basic services, such as the public food distribution system and education. To help families that have been displaced due to social or economic reasons, HDFC partnered with organisations that supported the construction of housing settlements for such families. n Prime Minister’s Relief Fund

HDFC’s employees voluntari ly contributed one-day’s salary towards the relief and rehabilitation of affected people in the Jammu and Kashmir floods. HDFC matched its employee’s contribution and the funds were given to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. DIFFERENTLY-ABLED PERSONS

People who are differently abled have the right to a life of dignity and should be empowered to become

independent members of our soc iety. H D F C h a s s u p p o r t e d causes of the d i f f e r e n t l y abled across a wide range of physical &

mental disabilities for several years and continues to do so. Some of our initiatives include:n Special Education schools and vocational training

Through the Foundation, HDFC supported two schools for children with Autism, Down’s syndrome and

related mental disabilities. These schools provide special education to such children from an early age, adapting suitable therapies and teaching methods. Once the children become young adults, they are introduced to development of vocational skills enabling them to earn a basic livelihood. n Empowering the visual and hearing impaired

Through the Foundation, HDFC has supported organisations working with children and adults who are visually, hearing or speech impaired and come from low-income backgrounds. These organisations provide treatment, vocational training and livelihood opportunities to such persons.n Surgical assistance for physical disabilities

HDFC has supported craniofacial surgeries for children and teenagers coming from economically challenged families living across India and having severe physical deformities since birth. These surgeries enable them to live a life free of discrimination & physical pain. These children are then able to pursue their education and continue with their livelihood.n Day care and residential homes

Very often persons with physical and/or mental disabilities are abandoned by their families, either

due to economic conditions or when their parents grow older or expire. Providing fulltime care for people suffering from disabilities such as Cerebral Palsy, Down’s Syndrome, Paraplegia, Autism and other such conditions in an institutional manner is a necessity. During the year, HDFC supported two fulltime residential centres taking lifelong care of such abandoned persons, and also provided support for a new centre presently under construction.

EDUCATION

We believe that education is an opportunity that helps not just an individual, but also aids the nation in realising its full potential. During the year, HDFC supported a range of education initiatives, both traditional as well as new methods of learning and teaching, ranging from primary to post graduate programmes. n Primary & Secondary Education for underprivileged children

HDFC supported an organization providing quality primary and secondary school education in partnership with the municipal

corporation of Mumbai to children from low-income families. Many students are first-generation learners and are being taught the State Board curriculum in English. The school has dedicated staff and teachers

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who not only educate the children, but also engage with the parent community in order to gain their support and commitment to their child’s education.

HDFC also supported the cause of education for the girl child in rural areas, supporting 700 such girls in a format of education which helps them develop conceptual skills and overcome learning gaps.

n Vocational education

To help youth who have dropped out of the school system due to economic constraints, HDFC supported a project in Raipur for 600 dropouts (girls and boys) to bring them back to the mainstream by providing them vocational and applied skills training in areas such as nursing, computer hardware repairs, mobile repairs and tailoring.

n Alternative education

Engaging in sports at an early age helps physical and mental development, builds self-confidence and the ability to work as a team. This year, the Foundation partnered with an organisation that has successfully tested an education format that works with children from rural areas and urban slums, to mentor them through engagement in sports and give them the skills and confidence to excel in life.

n Scholarships

HDFC provided higher education scholarships to students from low income families who had completed their school education and were aspiring for higher studies in colleges across different educational courses.

HEALTH & SANITATION

We have supported initiatives that enable underprivileged families access healthcare and improve the quality of life. Some of these are as below:n Cancer care, treatment & rehabilitation

With the incidence of cancer penetration in India increasing steadily, a large number of patients living in smaller towns and rural areas need to travel for treatment to city hubs which have a cancer hospital. Also cancer treatment being expensive, it has become out of reach for economically needy patients. HDFC has been supporting the cause of cancer for many years, through multiple partners working in this area. This year, the

Foundation has committed funds to be spent over a 3 year timeframe to a specialised cancer hospital, providing treatment for cancer patients coming from all sections

of society. The hospital largely caters to the poorest and most economically needy patients, by providing treatment & rehabilitation at subsidised costs.

The Foundation has also supported a palliative care hospice which looks after patients in the last stage of cancer, providing them with a peaceful & pain free environment during the last days of their life.

n Leprosy Control

Despite advancements in the treatment of leprosy, it is still prevalent in India with a high endemic rate in states such as UP, Bihar and Maharashtra. Public awareness about the disease, coupled with detection and medical treatment at the right time, can prevent the physical disabilities associated with the disease and curtail its spread. Through the Foundation, we have partnered with an organisation working for over 30 years, to spread awareness and treat leprosy amongst those affected by it in peri-urban and rural areas of Maharashtra.

n Support for preventing blindness

The two major causes of blindness are cataract and uncorrected refractive errors – both of which are preventable. Through the Foundation, HDFC supported a

leading charitable eye-hospital to set up a mobile eye surgery unit which

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would regularly visit poor patients in rural Jharkhand for eye checkups and surgical treatments.

n Research on disability health

Through the Foundation, HDFC has supported public health research for an organisation which has a specialised centre that focuses on disabilities (physical, mental, visual, hearing, learning, speech and intellectual) affecting children & adults in India through multiple interventions. This centre develops research capacity, training, conducts new programmes & initiatives, policy formulation and advocacy in the area of disability inclusive development.

n Urban Sanitation

To positively impact the quality of life and health in urban slums across India, universal coverage of sanitation facilities and sanitation awareness is essential to aid health and preserve the dignity of women and children. The Foundation, has partnered with an organisation in Pune who has significant experience in mapping slum communities and constructing household toilets in the Pune & Greater Pune regions.

OTHER INITIATIVES

n Environment Conservation

The Foundation supported a large initiative towards the conservation of the Indian tiger in the Satpura Tiger Reserve by strengthening the on-ground protection facilities in

the Reserve. This will help create an enabling environment for tigers, protect the ecosystem in Satpura and aid in the sustainability of India’s protected reserves.

n Support to Indian athletes

Through the Foundation, HDFC supported three senior athletes in badminton, athletics and shooting who have the potential of winning an Olympic medal. The partner organisation identifies such athletes across individually played sports and provides them with all necessary training, medical and physiotherapy, and other such facilities needed to compete at the international arena.

n Mumbai Marathon

In Januar y 2015, the HDFC employees took part in the Mumbai Marathon, for which HDFC provided support to two NGOs in the areas of education and child welfare.