Business Wire India
WPP Foundation, the CSR entity of WPP in India, partnered with Shree Ram Welfare Society’s High School to host Hastakala 2019, an annual initiative created by the students, for the students. Taking place at the school premises, Hastakala aims to provide students with a platform to develop skills in the areas of communication, management and marketing, as well as showcase their creative abilities.

Started in 2012 by the Shree Ram Welfare Society’s High School to promote the Skill Development India Project, Hastakala has gradually expanded beyond being just an exhibition to becoming a celebration of the community. Under the theme of ‘Reconnect with the Spirit of Andheri’ this year, the event witnessed thousands of students showcasing their creativity to highlight the varied aspects of nature, importance of connecting with our families and peers. They also showcased various artefacts made from recycled products. This day-long student-run initiative was a resounding success with funds being raised, proceeds of which will go towards the school’s development.

Commenting on the success of the initiative, Rama Iyer, Director General, WPP India CSR Foundation said, “Hastakala encourages young minds to explore the world of creativity as a pathway to their livelihood while instilling confidence, opportunity to express and developing an entrepreneurial mindset. Over the last two years of our partnership, we are delighted to see the impact this initiative has created in nurturing creativity while imparting entrepreneurial skills.”

The event was entirely student-led and saw them taking the lead on the entire process from event management to the creation and sale of products. The first-generation learners also had the opportunity to share with their community what they learnt while demonstrating the importance of education and skill development.
About the WPP India CSR Foundation

WPP is a creative transformation company that builds better futures for its clients through the integrated services of communications, experience, commerce and technology. WPP India launched WPP India CSR Foundation in 2015. The vision is to help 20,000+ underserved children and youth in achieving their true potential in their education and careers. WPP Foundation is committed to a common CSR vision of opening doors for every child and youth from vulnerable and marginalised communities through our holistic child development programmes that focus on education, life skills and job-readiness training. For more information, visit www.wppindiafoundation.com

Journey of the WPP India CSR Foundation

Founded in 2015, the WPP India CSR Foundation strives to bring about a social change through its flagship Education to Livelihood programme (E2L). Addressing key focus areas—retention in school, poor learning outcomes, work skilling and deep-rooted social norms, the E2L programme has been providing interventions and resources to 20,000 first-generation learners from 11- 18 years. Currently, the programme is running successfully in 10 underserved schools across the Mumbai and Delhi-NCR region. Through strategic partnerships with best-of-breed social organizations, the E2L programme takes an evidence-based approach in developing frameworks to facilitate successful implementation.

The Foundation’s key initiatives include improving educational outcomes in literacy and numeracy, with a focus on opening young minds to the world of digital innovation. The Foundation also inculcates in youth a sense of confidence and gender equality as well as train their mindsets and habits for future livelihoods, through counselling, sport, dance and music.

To ensure retention among the youth they support, they provide access to health education and health services.

In a remarkably short span, the E2L program has been able to:

• Help over 70% children secure their future through employment or higher education
• Reduce dropout rates to less than 3%
• Initiate better health standards
• Double the ability of coding
• Reduce gender discrimination
• Increase literacy & numeracy
• Increase confidence levels