Girl’s education has always been a priority for Forbes Marshall in our endeavour to empower the communities we work in.
We believe that the concept of educating girls surpasses the act of just ensuring the enrollment of girls into schools. It is also about ensuring that girls have the opportunity to complete all levels of education while acquiring the necessary skills to be productive members of society; make decisions about their own lives, and contribute to their communities and the world.
Inception
By 2017, we had already begun working closely with the communities living in the Chakan villages adjoining Chakan phase 2 and realised some ground realities especially with reference to women and girls. Similar to the rest of the country, socio-economic conditions like the low income of the family, residing in underserved or remote locations, or belonging from a minority section of the society often created barriers for a girl child to access and complete her education.
It was with the vision to empower these girls that the Girl’s Scholarship Program (GSP) was started in 2017 with the support of Mr Dirk Vyncke, Chairman, Vyncke Energietechniek NV. Initially, 38 girls were supported to continue their education and transition from primary to middle school. In the second year of the program, Mr Henk Wipkink of Krohne Marshall also strengthened the initiative by supporting us and until last year, the Girl’s Scholarship Program was able to cater to the educational needs of 105 girls in the community.
Reaccessing needs and forging meaningful Partnerships:
On 24th January 2020 - the occasion of International Day of Education and National Girl Child Day, a report by Right to Education Forum and Centre for Budget Policy Studies with support of the World Bank and UNICEF was launched which revealed that even after ten years the Right to Education (RTE) Act came into being, nearly 40% of adolescent girls in the age group of 15-18 years are still not attending school.
We at Forbes Marshall acknowledged that in order to tackle complex social issues like these, we need more collaborative efforts and strategic solutions. Therefore, we took up the issue and approached our corporate partners who have been collaborating with us for the past two decades. We invited Mr Rohit Saroj, Manager CSR, Tata Motors and discussed the GSP with an aim to increase its outreach and impact. Shortly, we were also able to reach out to Tata Autocomp through Rati Forbes, Director, Forbes Marshall, who is also a member of their CSR Board.
Vidyadhanam, Girls Scholarship Programme
After a series of discussion, we found alignment in our approaches, values and philosophies with the TATA Companies and decided to join hands to launch the " Vidyadhanam, Girls Scholarship Programme” to support girl’s education in Khed Taluka. A virtual inauguration was held on 5th December 2020 which was attended by senior management teams, our NGO partners, the recipients of the scholarships and the Principals of the schools they attend.
Envisaging a better tomorrow:
“Educating girls not only provides them with the foundation they need to succeed, but also improves the future of their families, their communities, and the nations where they live”
We at Forbes Marshall are committed to improving the lives of the people in communities we operate. We sincerely wish that through collaborative efforts and strong partnerships we can continue to create such opportunities and avenues that make a positive difference to the lives of our stakeholders.
We envision a day when every girl in Khed Taluka completes 10 years of schooling!