Nokia has helped 6,000 poor children access more than 1,700 Nokia phones for e-learning

11. 03. 2021 Thursday / By: Robert Denes / Generic / Exact time: BST / Print this page

The children started learning at home, the classes were held online on video conferencing platforms. And while the kids enjoyed this convenient switch, not all kids were so lucky to choose this option.

Nokia Mobile has teamed up with Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation (KSCF) in India and is donating more than 1,740 new Nokia smartphones to disadvantaged children to provide them with online education.

The funds were donated to children who are beneficiaries of the KSCF Bal Mitra Gram and Bal Mitra Mandal. The funds will also be donated to Bal Ashram, a long-term shelter in Jaipur operated by the Bal Ashram Trust, a sister organization of the KSCF.

Children living in rural and urban slums, survivors of child exploitation, and first-generation students from the Banjara community will receive these Nokia smartphones. It benefits more than 6,000 children from marginalized families living in Delhi, Karnataka, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jharkhand.

Sanmeet Kochhar, Vice President, HMD Global said: “When it comes to driving positive social impact, education and skill development for the youth, has always been a key focus area for our CSR efforts in India. Our efforts towards education take inspiration from the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) focused on ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education. We believe that smartphone technology contributes to SDG 4 by enabling unhindered access to educational content, anytime, anywhere.

Hon’ble Prime Shri Minister Narendra Modi recently mentioned, that in order to build an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, the Indian youth needs self-confidence, which is directly impacted by their education and their skills. We believe that India’s youth should have access to opportunities to educate themselves. Technology is a great facilitator to make this possible.

Through our association with Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation, we are keen to play a part in helping our country’s underprivileged children and youth realise their self-confidence through undisrupted access to education.”

Sri. SC Sinha, Chief Executive Officer, KSCF said: “Closure of schools due to lockdown has affected adversely, the access to education of the poor and the marginalised children the most. The education of these children has been disrupted completely as due to non-availability of smartphones, they are not able to access online education. These children having nothing to do may go astray, many of them may become child labour, and some may even get trafficked. Thus, many of them may not go back to school once the schools reopen. Such children, once they have smartphones will be able to access online education and get reconnected with their schools. These phones are likely to be a source of empowerment for them. Once the children are accustomed to the use of phones for educational purposes, they are likely to continue using them for greater learning even when the schools reopen.”

Bal Mitra Gram is a transformative grassroots solution to complex and inter-related problems and issues which adversely affect the protection and well-being of children in rural areas. The programme promotes the best interests of children through child-centric community development. It empowers children to take democratic action to secure their rights by formation of Bal Panchayats (Child Council) and enables parents and other stakeholders to stand up for the rights of the children and build a protective community. It also ensures enrolment of all the children in schools and their access to quality education. A BMG thus creates a safety net around children to protect them from all forms of abuse and exploitation.


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