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January 20, 2009
SOS Children's Villages of India, The Coca-Cola Foundation and Coca-Cola India have announced a partnership to implement water conservation projects for a better life for children. This partnership will collaborate to ensure sustainable water resources by undertaking rainwater harvesting (RWH) projects at 39 SOS locations across the country. The partnership will also support creating or improving the awareness on water conservation and artificial recharge.
The Coca-Cola Foundation based in Atlanta has provided a grant of $391,920 (nearly Rs. 18,925,817) toward the project. SOS Children's Villages of India will contribute the balance of the $585,000 (Rs. 28,080,000) budget alloted through manpower, material and financial resources. The RWH project at all locations will be implemented by SOS Children's Villages, while Coca-Cola India and SOS-India will help develop monitoring, reporting and governance routines for the project. A national steering committee comprised of experts from the field of water management, eminent personalities from civil society and representatives from Coca-Cola India and SOS Children's Villages will supervise the implementation and progress of the project. The proposed RWH projects will be constructed per technical drawings approved by authorized consultants and the national steering committee. The project will be completed in the next 12 months and will touch the lives of approximately 6,000 children growing up in SOS Villages, with a ripple effect.
In the beginning of 2008 a pilot project was initiated in SOS Children's Village, Bawana, to collect rain water to replenish ground water by using funds from SOS-India budget. Coca-Cola India stepped in to fund this project and helped SOS save funds from its budget for other use. The success of the project in terms of professional implementation and impact on quality of life of SOS children prompted The Coca-Cola Foundation and Coca-Cola India to join hands with SOS for undertaking RWH projects in the remaining 39 SOS locations.
The Coca-Cola Company's sustainability as a business demands a relentless focus on efficiency and prudence in our use of natural resources. Water is fundamental to all communities, and water stewardship remains a priority for Coca-Cola India, where we pursue a 3R program of Reduce, Recycle, and Replenish.
About SOS Children's Villages of India:
SOS Children's Villages of India is a non profit, non-government, voluntary organization, committed to the care of children in need and to strengthening families and communities as a preventive measure in the fight against abandonment and social neglect. The objective of the SOS Children's Villages of India is to help parentless and homeless children by giving them a family, home and a strong foundation for an independent and secure life. SOS-India is a member of SOS-Kinderdorf International, operational in 132 countries.
"SOS Children's Villages of India" was registered as a society and came into being in 1964 after Dr Hermann Gmeiner, the founder father of the SOS movement visited India in 1963 at the invitation of the first Indian Prime Minister, late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. The first SOS Children's Village was established in 1964 at Greenfields, Faridabad, Haryana.
Since its inception in the year 1964 SOS Children's Villages of India has expanded its services for children in need at a rapid pace. Today it reaches out to over 15,000 children with 40 SOS Children's Villages, including facilities for Tibetan children and a new village coming up at Mumbai, and 122 allied projects such as Kindergartens, schools, social, medical, and vocational training centres, and outreach initiatives across the country.
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