Aaron D’Souza, a Coca-Cola bottler, was on a different errand. D’Souza was not selling, distributing or merchandising the cola major’s wares, part of his regular routine, but was instead raising funds for the upliftment of rural school children.
Part of the 13 franchise bottlers of the cola major in the country, D’Souza teamed up with his colleagues and one company-owned bottler to pledge Rs 1.25 crore for 25 schools, in the exercise.
Along with other bottlers, D’Souza went across the country, visiting rural schools, checking into their water and sanitation programmes, some of which were abysmal.
The bottlers decided to pledge a minimum of Rs 5 lakh per school, and the Coca-Cola Foundation pledged another Rs 5 crore. A telethon marked the culmination of a six-month long fund-raising drive, noted Coca-Cola India CEO Atul Singh.
Coca-Cola India, along with celebrities, corporates and a television network, managed to raise Rs 13.6 crore towards the upliftment of 272 schools in rural and semi-urban areas, in the second year of its telethon. Encouraged at the response, the telethon is to roll out in Nepal and Bangladesh next.
“We have been working for some time at the water and sanitation programme and realised the best work could be done in schools, for the children of tomorrow,” said a Coca-Cola official.
Several factors were brought to their notice. “Given the dire conditions in some of these schools, children preferred to miss schools. We were also told about the large number of drop-outs given the unsanitary conditions,” said the official.
In its endeavour to help build sustainable communities, Coca-Cola India, along with its non-Government organisation (NGO) partners, UN-Habitat, Charities Aid Foundation and Sulabh International, embarked upon a unique initiative some three years ago.
The campaign aimed to develop over 100 healthy schools in rural towns by improving basic amenities and subsequently generating monetary resources, thereby benefiting over 50,000 students across the country.
End-2011, the first telethon was held, which managed to raise Rs 6 crore for 102 Government schools, directly benefitting 43,000 children. “We chose 10 States and engaged with many charities and foundations,” said the official.
The fact that they could mobilise support and impact school-going children, had the company raising Rs 13.6 crore in the second year, impacting 272 schools.
“We have received commitments from individuals and organisations and have raised money, which will be utilised in revitalising these municipal and Government-run rural schools,” said an official. The idea also includes garnering funds from eminent celebrities and support from corporate houses, NGOs and individuals.
The UN-Habitat pledged Rs 94 lakh, Tetra Pak Rs 20 lakh, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Rs 25 lakh and SRF Foundation Rs 10 lakh. Other corporates such as Walmart, Sriram Foundation, Worldvision and Plan also chipped in, while important resources such as free libraries were provided by the Pearson Foundation.