Albeit a business house, all corporate bodies are bound by the corporate social responsibility (CSR) clause. Take, for instance, the case of Priya Entertainments Pvt Ltd (PEPL), which has forged a long-term link with India’s one of the leading NGOs, Save The Children. Recently, at a press meet in Kolkata, the organisation made an announcement about its CSR campaign launch across all Priya-owned single-screen theatres and multiplexes besides a slew of events in association with the NGO.
Chaity Ghosh, general manager, PEPL alongwith Manabendra Nath Roy, state programme officer, Save The Children, briefed the media about their calendar of events scheduled for the next six months, the nature of their tie-up and the future vision of the organisation vis-a-vis their joint campaign.
The NGO Save the Children primarily works for improving the basic conditions of children in concurrence with a host of pertinent issues topping its agenda. Subjects like rights, health and education form the key areas to uplift lives from a tunnel of darkness and distress to a halo of hope and light. Child rights and privileges will be the foremost area to be tipped off under the focus of this coalition. Through this partnership, the platform of Priya can champion the cause of kids by exploiting its available resources to its optimum, via a vast network of screens, theatres and plexes across Bengal.
“PEPL has always proved its mettle as a socially conscious conglomerate and has constantly manoeuvred to contribute towards social development through its PPP (Public Private Partnership) model. Its initiatives across Bengal have not only provided employment opportunities to the locals but have also addressed calamities such as floods, natural disasters, droughts, epidemics, et al,” says Ghosh.
Doing its bit in terms of spearheading social-welfare activities, Priya has till date joined hands with the local municipal bodies for managing and operating various cultural centres and multicomplexes. “Either we lease out the complex venue on rent to reap in revenues from cultural soirees or host an array of artistic and festive events to keep the local flavour and fervour alive. Job-applicants are hired as administration clerks, PR personnel, security staff, fourth-class staff, daily wage earners and so on. Thus, the district itself gets a social-developmental face-lift,” says Ghosh.
But why this particular NGO? “We always wanted to coordinate with a voluntary set-up that runs for children’s benefits. A child is a nation’s future, the architect of carving out a better tomorrow. In his hands lie the reins of our coming years in this society. Besides, we always wished to serve the society we live in and give back something in return. Considering the 90 years’ legacy of substantial work that Save the Children has put in as an NGO, we thought nothing can be greater than merging with this group that has been ceaselessly fighting against the perennial curse of child labour and being actively vocal in favour of child rights across the global turf,” she says.
PEPL and Save the Children have come together through a formal partnership with a view to promote awareness about “Child rights issues in India”. In the wake of this alliance, a clutch of worth-noting awareness-generating drives will be conducted at various places in the ensuing months. The principal theme during this partnership phase will ideally be — “Child Rights Issues in West Bengal”. “We are happy to come in close contact with a premier corporate brand like PEPL. We hope this relation will bear sweet fruits of success for our children and make a difference to their lives. The events will highlight a cache of child rights’ issues like child survival, right to education, child labour, child trafficking, disaster-risk reduction besides aiming at making people conscious about such issues, changing their mindsets towards these integral facets of life beyond the mundane existence and what they should do to help, motivate and bring about a positive change,” says Roy, state programme officer, Save The Children.
Save the Children (India) is a member of the Save the Children International Alliance, the largest global movement for child rights issues, fighting for its cardinal cause since 1919.
It visualises a world in which every child attains their right to survival, protection, development and participation.
Today, Save the Children works in more than 128 countries with a mission to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children, and to achieve an immediate, lasting change in their lives.
Now, this NGO works across 13 states with local NGO partners, communities, state governments and the Union government. In India, Save the Children functions on four strategic focal areas with child survival, child protection, quality and inclusive education, responding to emergencies and disaster risk reduction being its main fulcrum of operations. It has been hitherto successful in bringing about a relief to over three million children’s conditions across India.
Save the Children has been working in West Bengal since 1997 to ensure education for some of the hard-to- reach children, including street urchins, children dwelling in the brick-kilns, child domestic workers, labourers and other socially alienated kids with a peg on the issues of child labour and literacy.
“A series of cultural events will be showcased at the newly launched Bioscope multiplex at New Town, Rajarhat in Kolkata, besides the revamped Star Theatre auditorium. The performances will feature indigent children who will unearth their hidden talents and creative skills. We’ll also conduct quiz contests, game shows, essay-writing, sit-and-draw competitions, discussions, film-screenings, prize-winning events and other entertaining spectacles of amusement and recreation to help lend a morale boost to the deprived kids,” says Ghosh.