Friday, March 18, 2016

Hindustan Coca-Cola’s “Sarthak” way of empowering Women



·         Shri. Anil Dhingra, District Magistrate Hapur, felicitated outstanding women for their spirit of entrepreneurship 
·         HCCB has empowered over 480 rural women through 40 Self Help Groups in the communities,

Dasna, Uttar Pradesh, March 17, 2016: Committed to inclusive growth, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverage Pvt. Ltd., has been working in the area of women empowerment by way of skilling through its initiative “Sarthak” and Women Self-Help Groups. To recognize the entrepreneurial spirit of women benefitted through these initiatives, Hindustan Coca-Cola felicitated women achievers of Dasna area.

Shri Anil Dhingra, District Magistrate, Hapur felicitated these women achievers and gave away awards for their spirit of entrepreneurship. Also, present at the event were Daadi-Chandro Tomar and Daadi Prakasho Tomar, winners of several medals in National Veterans’ Championships including Shooting. These two incredible women shared their inspiring stories.

“Sarthak’ is a woman empowerment initiative by HCCB that provides skill training in artificial jewelry making, tailoring and embroidery, handicrafts, entrepreneurship orientation, basic literacy, financial literacy and self-help group formation in the area.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Guest  Shri Avnish RaiSDM, Hapur praised the initiative of Hindustan Coca-Cola and congratulated these women for their entrepreneurial spirit. He added that for any society to progress, it is a must to empower women and enabling women to realize and unleash their potential.
Speaking at the event, Mr. Mohnish Verma from Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverage Pvt. Ltd. said, “During the initial years of our work in the area, we observed that the village women were reluctant to come out and participate in community meetings.  HCCB along with its NGO partners, connected with these women through structured yet informal meetings which have been incredibly effective at bringing about changes in their communities. The response to Sarthak has been very encouraging and satisfying”.

“Sarthak” initiative is being implemented in partnership with Gram Niyojan Kendra and SADRAG. Women from villages, namely - Khichra, Dehra, Hassanpur, Piplehra, Nangla, Galand, Nandpur, Poothi, Kakrana and  Dasna have benefitted from this initiative. Since its inception, HCCB has empowered over 480 rural women through the creation of 40 Self Help Groups in the communities. Sarthak and Women SHGs has helped women to enhance their skills and contribute to family income.

About Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd.

Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd, is the largest bottling partner of The Coca-Cola Company in India. It is part of The Coca-Cola Company's Bottling Investment Group (BIG) and responsible for the manufacture, package, sale and distribution of beverages under the trademarks of The Coca-Cola Company. The Company has always placed high value on good citizenship. For further information on the Company's India operations and its products, please visit www.hindustancoca-cola.com     

For further information, please contact:

-       Heena Kapoor, Account Manager +91 9811463710; Heena.kapoor@mslgroup.com
-       Shaina Mehra, Account Executive +91 9717729923; Shaina.mehra@mslgroup.com

Annexure:

Case Study I:
Sharing her experience of change, Manju, a beneficiary of this program elatedly states that she was identified as a potential woman leader when SADRAG project team was working in their village. She learnt all the skills which were imparted to women under programme Sarthak, including artificial jewelry making, handicrafts and designing. Later, with 18 other women, she started a SHG group “Gayatri” and the group was provided training in Marketing, Money Management, Record Keeping & Entrepreneurship Skills. Today, Manju runs a shop from her own house and sells items of daily use to people in the neighborhood. She also displays the products made by Gayatri group members and promotes its sale and manages to earn more than Rs.1500 every month. Manju saves the income from her shop and is keen to expand her shop into a proper kirana store in near future. 
Case Study II
Seema Shekhawat, another proud beneficiary from village Galand, states that it was her good fortune to become part of a training program in their community on Entrepreneurship for Women organized by HCCB and SADRAG. She is a Self-motivated entrepreneur who is showing the path to other ladies in the village to become socially and economically empowered.  Her interest in cooking led her to think of starting a paid Tiffin service for working people and students studying in the nearby colleges. A small survey was conducted by SADRAG and it was identified as a viable option in that area. 
Seema, planned a Tiffin service with three more members of her “Ma Jagdamba Group” in August 2015 and launched Maa Vaishno Tiffin Service. SADRAG with HCCB’s support printed pamphlets and got them distributed across all villages in Dasna and provided them orientation on personal hygiene and cleanliness at the place of food preparation. 
Soon, Maa Vaishno Tiffin Service bagged 4 orders for the supply of lunch. Today, Seema is a proud entrepreneur and recognizes HCCB and SADARG’s role in her success.







Case Study III:
38 year old homemaker Ameer Jahan from Dehra village was struggling hard to make both ends meet. Coming from a conservative family, barely literate, raising four children with a limited income was a challenge for her. She was sending all her children to school for a brighter future. Her husband worked at a nearby carpenter shop and the only source of income for the family. Few years back her husband fell severely ill and lost his job. With limited income and no education, she sought temporary relief from her parents but soon she realized that it was no solution to the problem. During one of those days, she learnt from the village women about the tailoring center and beauty course conducted as part of CSR initiative of HCCBPL for rural women to help them start their own enterprise.
She joined tailoring and beauty culture course and completed the certification course and alongside she also formed self-help group along with other women of the village. She herself became the treasurer of the group. Post completion of her beauty culture and tailoring course, she started her own work of stitching and beauty culture by seeking loan from the group. Her monthly income is estimated to be around Rs. 5000. With this she began a new chapter of in her life supporting children education and running the household. Her grit and determination helped her overcome all the challenges and lead a dignified life.

Case Study IV:
40 year old Muneesh realized her dream to become literate in Non Formal Education center in Dehra village as a part of CSR initiative of HCCBPL. Married at a very early age she was forced to give up her education after primary schooling. While she was engaged in raising her four kids and all the household chores some where her innate desire to pursue further education was still alive.
One day she came to know of a Non Formal Education Centre operational in Dehra village of Dasna. She spoke to her husband about her plans to pursue further education. Initially reluctant to support her idea he was counselled and he consented to her joining the NFE centre.
Muneesh diligently pursued her classes and also appeared for higher secondary exams and cleared the exams. Post that she joined the Anganwadi as Anganwadi worker. She also completed certificate course in tailoring and began her own work. Today she earns around Rs. 5000 through tailoring and as Anganwadi worker. With her head held high, she confidently encourages fellow village women to send their children to school. 

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